Over the past two centuries or so, capitalism has undergone profound changes - economic cycles that veer from boom to bust - from which it has always emerged transformed and strengthened. Surveying this turbulent history, Paul Mason argues that we are on the brink of a change so big, so profound, that this time capitalism itself, the immensely complex system within which entire societies function, is changing into something wholly new.
At the heart of this change is information technology, a revolution that, as Mason shows, is driven by capitalism but which, with its tendency to drive the value of much of what we make towards zero, has the potential to destroy an economy based on markets, wages and private ownership - and, he contends, is already doing so. Almost unnoticed, in the niches and hollows of the market system, whole swathes of economic life are beginning to move to a different rhythm. Vast numbers of people are changing the way they behave and live their lives, in ways discrete from, and contrary to, the current system of state-backed corporate capitalism. And, as the terrain changes, so too new paths open up.
Mason shows how, from the ashes of the crisis, we have the chance to create a more socially just and sustainable economy. Although the dangers ahead are profound, he argues, there is cause for hope. This is the first time in human history in which, equipped with an understanding of what is happening around us, we can predict and shape our future.
