Unleashing Usury: How Finance Opened the Door for Capitalism Then Swallowed It Whole

· SCB Distributors
Ebook
238
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

Usury laid medieval society to waste. Western civilization was saved by the rise of capitalism, which tamed the activities of money lending, and endowed them with socially redeeming value, tethering finance to expanding production of material goods and increased social wealth. Now, as the 21st century begins, bloating tides of money with no possibility of ever being converted into real capital wash over the world. Finance again has turned to its dark side, using money to make money with no socially redeeming purpose. Such is the endgame of economies managed by capitalists without capitalism. As Marx foresaw, capitalist society, like all others, is destined to be outpaced by history as the conditions of its existence decompose and become a drag on the human future. Either we will succeed in bringing about new politico-economic structures—or civilization will collapse into barbarism, just as usury broke it down in the past.

About the author

Richard Westra is Designated Professor at the Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, Japan and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University, Canada. He has authored and edited 13 books and is co-editor of Journal of Contemporary Asia. His Ph.D. was completed in 2001 at the Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University, Canada. Among his numerous international publications he authored The Evil Axis of Finance, Clarity Press, 2012 and Exit from Globalization, Routledge, 2014.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.