System in Crisis : The Dynamics of Free Market Capitalism

Contents: Acknowledgement and dedication. Introduction. I. The crisis of free market capitalism: 1. The dynamics of systemic crisis. 2. The imperial counteroffensive: contradictions, challenges and opportunities. 3. Post-9/11: a period of empire building. 4. Argentina: between disintegration and revolution. 5. Right/left polarization: the ballot box and the street. 6. Cod: an ecological crisis of industrial capitalism. II. Political dynamics of anti-globalization: 7. Latin American peasants against the state. 8. Indigenous peoples arise: Ecuador on the move. 9. Los piqueteros: new actors on the political stage. 10. The dynamics of anti-globalization. Endnotes. Bibliography. Index.

"This book stands out from the crowd as it roots its analysis of globalization in imperialism. A special virtue is its fresh (and refreshing) analysis of modern political developments, notably about Latin America. In addition to its value for the general reader, college teachers should find this an excellent tool for the classroom.

From the 1960s to the present, the capitalist system has suffered a prolonged period of crises leading to recessions, financial speculation, attacks on social welfare and imperialist wars. The result has been the massive destruction of ecological and material resources and human lives. The capitalist "solution" to these crises has been to spend vast sums on information technology and to intensify the system of exploitation by fiat, legislation and relocating capital to regions of low wages.

Petras and Veltmeyer examine this failure of the technological fixes and the logic of military and colonial conquest emerging from the intensified competition of capitalist states. They look critically at the popular resistance embodied in the "anti-globalization" and anti-imperialist movements, pointing to the promise and potential of the new movements that go beyond protesting against the multinational corporations and build ongoing grassroots political organizations aiming for state power. In System in Crisis, Petras and Veltmeyer name the system of power and destruction - imperialism - and identify the anti-imperialist movements that are calling into question its policy of ruin and rule." (jacket)