In “Vulture Capitalism”, Grace Blakeley sheds light on a topic at the heart of current discourse: “Can one envision a society that transcends capitalism?” This question, which is often scoffed at, especially by mainstream economists, underscores the challenging task of imagining such a possibility. However, Blakeley’s rigorous academic study, “Vulture Capitalism”, convincingly urges readers to ponder the feasibility of alternatives to capitalism.
Blakeley meticulously constructs her argument in four sections. Initially, she depicts the prevailing capitalist system that took form post the Reagan-Thatcher revolution. Next, she outlines its formation through the intentional deconstruction of the social democracy system that held sway since the conclusion of the second World War. She then illuminates certain catastrophic results triggered by the removal of democratic intervention in capitalist planning. In the end, she posits that merely reverting back to social democracy will not suffice anymore due to the escalating consequences of climate change. She contends that we are in dire need of radical and swift innovative thinking.
The objective of “Vulture Capitalism” is to demonstrate that our current form of capitalism, contrary to being a cherished model of free market for mainstream economists, is instead a system where the powerful elite actively decide the allocation of wealth and resources in the worldwide economy. Blakeley asserts that what differentiates capitalism is not the concept of free markets but the dominance of society by capital. In the world of today, the capital owners encompass four influential entities — corporations, financial institutions, states, and empires. Each of these is analysed by Blakeley.
Banks and financial institutions play more than a passive role as financial lenders. Their authority is such that they now dictate which businesses can endure, which innovations can progress, and which nations can obtain loans.
Corporations also serve as influential participants not only in the economy but also in politics and society at large. The proprietors of substantial corporations often control media enterprises, manipulate legislation to evade taxes, and sway governments to reduce social expenditure in favour of policies that cater to business interests.
Financial institutions, through their involvement in mergers and acquisitions that yield significant profits, have a predominant role in the establishment and sustenance of the existing model of capitalism that combines corporate, financial, and state elements.
Corporations and financial institutions are of such enormous magnitude that they can wield influence within a state to marshal the state’s administrative resources to serve their own ends. Consequently, real power now predominantly resides within this trifecta of corporate, financial, and state bodies, where ordinary citizens are largely side-lined and their interests subservient to the interests of corporations. In place of genuine democracy, what exists is a form of self-involved political theatrics that is inherently incapable of tackling core structural problems responsible for current crises.
Moreover, Blakeley elucidates that this exclusionary principle extends to the relationship between developed and developing nations. The glaring economic disparity between well-off countries and impoverished ones is not merely the result of different stages of historical development but also an intentional feature of the corporate-financial-state capitalist system. The affluent nations’ overdevelopment is built on the continuous drainage of wealth from the poorest countries on the globe. The ongoing attempts by China to liberate itself from this system and the West’s countermoves to prevent this form a significant part of today’s geopolitical configuration.
Blakeley posits that the surfacing of this corporate-financial-state system is a consequence of the deliberate undermining of social democracy, which stood as the postwar equilibrium between democracy and capitalism. This compromise gave workers, despite restrictions, a place at the negotiating table. However, the Reagan-Thatcher era marked the beginning of a systematic disintegration of unions and worker’s influence, and their expulsion from both corporate and state planning. The state began to act more in favour of corporations than striking a balance between employers and employees. Wendy Brown argues that this has led to a systematic whittling away of political spaces that formerly allowed for debates over justice and other shared benefits, value debates, power struggles, and visions for general welfare. The ineffectiveness of contemporary democratic politics, says Blakeley, is not accidental but devised.
As David Graeber points out, maintaining a free-market economy paradoxically requires far more red tape than an absolutist monarchy akin to the Louis XIV model.
The current manifestation of worldwide capitalism is distinguished by an acute centralisation of authority within the merged system of corporate finance and state power, a convergence of the state with corporate financial interests, and a degradation of social democracy. This situation has tremendous repercussions for the well-being of global citizens and the greater environment. Rapidly expanding power of billionaires and significant surges in disparity are only a part of the problem. In the book “Vulture Capitalism,” three repercussions of this that negatively impact everyone, are detailed.
Initially, numerous economic shifts have resulted in a substantial augmentation in administrative bureaucracies and a stark increment in mid-level management, especially within the public domain. As per David Graeber’s argument, a laissez-faire economy’s maintenance necessitates a thousand-fold increase in paperwork than even an absolutist monarchy akin to Louis VIX’s reign. The public sector’s governing has been transformed into managing by statistics, emphasising perceived value and performance audits. Such an environment promotes unnecessary evaluations and debilitating micro-scrutiny, which have been severely harmful for a variety of crucial professions – teaching, social work, healthcare, where finance is not the primary driver or the essential intended result.
Next, Blakely brings attention to the reality that enormous concentration of corporate power allows mega-corporations to dictate which technologies are developed and for what use. The concept of the small-scale entrepreneur as an innovative genius has mostly been consigned to history, with giant corporations acquiring or suppressing start-ups that might compete with their technologies. This dystopian concentration of technical power in such an era of AI, deep fakes, transhumanism and neurological implants, points to a significant government failure in preserving collective benefits.
Lastly, argues Blakely, our system of integrated corporate finance and state capitalism has adopted a worrying trend, where repetitive cycles of prosperity and depression are manipulated to consistently drain wider populace’s wealth into already affluent elites. Each recent calamity, whether the 2008 financial meltdown, the global pandemic, or the cost of living crisis, the state has intervened, always in favour of capitalistic interests. The common factor in each of these instances has been governments allocating billions in public funds to big corporations, who then distributed dividends amongst shareholders and retrenched employees. The result is a staggering shift of wealth upward.
To conclude with Blakely’s core query: “Can a global society exist beyond capitalism?”
The current capitalist scheme is beset by a multitude of pronounced harmful effects— spanning from economic and political to social, environmental, and psychological spheres. Blakeley contends that it wouldn’t be plausible or enough to regress to social democracy, especially given the escalating ramifications of climate change. The same limited circle of people and organisations responsible for the climate crisis, which they significantly profit from, she argues, should not by any means be trusted with formulating a solution to the crisis.
As John Barry, the Professor of Green Political Economy at Queen’s University Belfast, aptly puts it, it seems more conceivable to envisage the world’s end than the end of capitalism. That thought-provoking notion poses arguably the most significant hurdle to rethinking our economic structure. As Blakeley articulates, the most robust obstacle to initiatives that offer viable alternatives to capitalism is not the dominance of capital, but rather the ingrained belief in millions that change is unattainable.
In fact, it is one of the most remarkable achievements of modern capitalism in making the prevailing economic system seem justifiable—a product of natural forces that are beyond question and resistance. The academic field of economics has been instrumental in executing this feat. Indeed, rather than expanding the horizons of knowledge like typical academic disciplines would, mainstream economics can be accused of stifling imagination.
A compelling concept currently cropping up in discussions on global warming is that of ‘consensual knowledge’. This is the information utilised by policymakers and civilians in decision-making processes. However, just because something is factual doesn’t qualify it as ‘consensual knowledge’, which is fundamentally a power play. Various viewpoints, including feminist, ecological, Marxist and indigenous perspectives, are often overlooked and excluded from the ‘consensual knowledge’ within mainstream economics. This notably constrains the discipline’s imaginative scope and capacity to contribute constructively towards a more promising future.
Blakeley suggests that the opportunity to build meaningful worlds, “like that of an architect”, can only be realised when we move past the confining borders of capitalistic structures anchored on corporations, finances, and states. The book Vulture Capitalism strongly proposes that reconstructing our shared understanding and reducing the role of economics as the main influencing force in our modern society, can guide us past our damaging capitalist mannerisms. By doing so, we would be allowed to envision an economic system that more suitably aligns with our humanistic attributes. This proposition comes from Ian Hughes, known for his book titled ‘Disordered Minds: How Dangerous Personalities are Destroying Democracy’.
Adding to this perspective, the book ‘The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism’ by Martin Wolf, a leading economic commentator for the Financial Times, serves as an emphatic warning about the self-destructive tendencies inherent in modern capitalism. It also inspires awe for returning to the balance that once marked social democratic governance.
The study ‘”In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West’ by Wendy Brown, deftly explores the ideological roots that have driven the relentless pursuit by free-market proponents to erode social democracy. It illuminates how the demolition of democratic values was a radical, planned action behind their tactics. The book ‘Living Well at Others’ Expense: The Hidden Costs of Western Prosperity’ by Stephan Lessenich critically examines the crises in our international economic environment, claiming that solely focusing on the uber-rich overlooks the complicity of most inhabitants of affluent nations in maintaining the inequalities generated by capitalism.
Lastly, the book titled ‘Caring Democracy: Markets, Equality, and Justice’ authored by Joan Tronto, contests the supremacy of economics as the central aspect of politics and human life. Instead, it emphasizes that the principles relating to care like love, friendship, and solidarity, demand our utmost respect. These principles, she argues, must function as the bedrock to structure our societies and should drive democratic governance.