Vulture Capitalism

January 22, 2024
“There is a deep contradiction between the belief that we are free and the reality of living under capitalism,” according to this fiery treatise. Blakeley (The Corona Crash), a staff writer at Tribune magazine, argues that contrary to free market doctrine, capitalist economies rely on planning by bankers, large companies, and states. The capitalist imperative of constant growth leads big businesses to become monopolies that wield their power to circumvent market dynamics, Blakeley contends, noting how Amazon artificially depresses workers’ wages by dominating regional economies in which residents have few other employment options. Successful businesses can even rival state power, as when in the early 1900s the United Fruit Company, whose banana plantations were based in Guatemala, assumed control of the country’s postal service and propped up the presidential candidacy of autocrat Jorge Ubico, who “handed over tracts of land to the UFC” once in power. Blakeley makes a persuasive case that “corporations are political institutions” unaccountable to the employees, customers, and community members most affected by their decisions, and she details fascinating experiments that show what alternatives might look like (in the 1980s, a small Andalusian village won collective control of local land and continue to make decisions as a group about how to use it and what to do with the profits it generates). Impassioned and provocative, this will challenge readers’ understanding of the fundamental forces that govern economic markets. Agent: Chris Wellbelove, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Mar.)Correction: The author’s last name was misspelled in an earlier version of this review.

February 1, 2024
A jeremiad against conventional "free market" wisdom and its reliance on oppressive, covert planning. British economics writer Blakeley offers a passionate argument that the interconnected crises of our time are "driven by a toxic melding of public and private power," resulting in profits and impunity for elites and in precarity for others. She connects these circumstances to the fact that "free market capitalism has never been as unplanned as its advocates have suggested." The author meticulously unpacks this secret history of planning, noting how principles of competition and innovation have become illusory, meaning "today's megafirms are barely constrained by the pressures of market competition." Blakeley connects the metastasizing social immunity of massive corporations with the gradual political triumph of neoliberalism. She then argues for transformative "democratic planning," citing attempts at alternative communities or reworked corporate structures "based on the democratic production of socially useful commodities," featuring worker input, which corporate managers abhor. Such plans were countered by politicians like Margret Thatcher to "ruthlessly reassert the power of capital over labor." Blakely concludes by proposing larger-scale organizing efforts, though she acknowledges that the few examples--e.g., Allende's Chile--suggest that "any attempt to democratize an economy will encounter massive resistance from capital." Nonetheless, the author's tone remains optimistic. "When we frame our political project in terms of collective empowerment," she writes, "we show that politics can't be reduced to elections--it's something we all do every day." This is a complex discussion, and Blakeley's structure alternates among dramatic flashpoints (e.g., the corporate debacles involving Enron and WeWork), narratives about disrupting public-private malfeasance, and arguments about economic theory that engage the views of many significant figures. Though these strands can seem abstract or repetitive, the author writes knowledgeably about the variety of intricacies involved. Engaging, occasionally unwieldy meditations on the relationship between social governance and late-stage capitalism.

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February 15, 2024
In today's world, the divide between the haves and have-nots continues to grow. Political and economic journalist Blakeley reveals how this inequality is driven by capitalism. She says that the public is persuaded to believe that capitalism and free-market society are one in the same. She explains through several chapters how this is untrue and describes what she calls vulture capitalism--planned, capitalist economies that benefit companies and the ultrarich at the expense of everyone else. Blakeley notes that this way of doing business keeps poor nations from developing while exploiting their raw materials and cheap labor to benefit capitalist societies and build the wealth of the few who make the rules. To make her point, she dives deep into history, including a wide variety of examples, like Henry Ford's Fordlandia, banana republics, the Enron collapse, the exploitation of Africa by Europe, and more. Her approach helps readers understand the impacts of capitalism in the United States and globally. Readers will appreciate this well-researched book on a complex topic.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.