1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910457411403321

Autore

Biel Robert <1945->

Titolo

The entropy of capitalism [[electronic resource] /] / by Robert Biel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden ; ; Boston, : Brill, 2011

ISBN

1-283-31058-9

9786613310583

90-04-20429-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (401 p.)

Collana

Studies in critical social sciences, , 1573-4234 ; ; v. 39

Disciplina

330.12/2

Soggetti

Capitalism

Marxian economics

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Understanding the Limits and Decay of the Capitalist Mode of Production -- Capitalism as an Adaptive System -- The ‘Systemic Turn’ in Capitalist Political Economy -- The Era of Feedback from Entropy -- Militarism and State Terrorism as a Response to Crisis -- Organisation of the Twenty-First Century International System -- Contradictions in the Contemporary Phase of Imperialist Governance, and the Forces for Change within It -- References -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects.

Sommario/riassunto

The project of applying general systems theory to social sciences is crucial in today’s crisis when social and ecological systems clash. This book concretely demonstrates the necessity of a Marxist approach to this challenge, notably in asserting agency (struggle) as against determinism. It similarly shows how Marxism can be reinvigorated from a systems perspective. Drawing on his experience in both international systems and low-input agriculture, Biel explores the interaction of social and physical systems, using the conceptual tools of thermodynamics and information. He reveals the early twenty-first century as a period when capitalism starts parasitising on the chaos it itself creates, notably in the link between the two sides of imperialism: militarism (the ‘war on terror’) and speculative finance capital.