The End of Capitalism (As We Knew It)

A Feminist Critique of Political Economy

2006
Author:

J. K. Gibson-Graham

The classic text on representations of capitalism and their political effects—with a new introduction

In the mid-1990s, at the height of discussion about the inevitability of capitalist globalization, J. K. Gibson-Graham presented a groundbreaking argument for envisioning alternative economies. This new edition includes an introduction in which the authors address critical responses to The End of Capitalism and outline the economic research and activism they have been engaged in since the book was first published.

Paralyzing problems are banished by this dazzlingly lucid, creative, and practical rethinking of class and economic transformation.

Meaghan Morris, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

In the mid-1990s, at the height of academic discussion about the inevitability of capitalist globalization, J. K. Gibson-Graham presented a groundbreaking and controversial argument for envisioning alternative economies. This new edition includes an introduction in which the authors address critical responses to The End of Capitalism and outline the economic research and activism they have been engaged in since the book was first published.

J. K. Gibson-Graham is the pen name of Katherine Gibson and Julie Graham, feminist economic geographers who work, respectively, at the Australian National University in Canberra and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Paralyzing problems are banished by this dazzlingly lucid, creative, and practical rethinking of class and economic transformation.

Meaghan Morris, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Profoundly imaginative.

Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, City University of New York

Both humbling and rejuvenating.

Progress in Human Geography

Lucid and engaging.

Political Geography

Provocative and optimistic. The great merit of The End of Capitalism is to show that there are and can be different conceptions of capitalism—not only of the big Capitalism that we on the Left have long carried around but also of smaller capitalism, different capitalism, alongside which many forms of noncapitalism can be envisioned, created, and strengthened.

David F. Ruccio, Rethinking Marxism

Creative and fun to read. It deserves a wide audience not only for deconstructing capitalism but for exemplifying how to practice deconstruction on the 'real world' with a sense of humor.

Theory and Event

A wonderful lesson in how Marxist and other theories of globalization, flexible accumulation, and late capitalism ‘function to express and constitute a shared state of admiration and subjection’. This project of writing noncapitalism and not waiting for the revolution to do it remains an essential one.

Economic Geography

Filled with insights, it is clearly written and well supported with good examples of actual, deconstructive practices.

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research

A valuable theoretical contribution to the political economy tradition. In considering the realms of economic thought and political processes, outwith the traditional domain of capitalist reproduction, J.K. Gibson-Graham attempt(s) to rethink the future of the dominance of the capitalist economy. This book covers a wide conceptual field, primarily focusing upon critical feminist theories of the body and sexuality, post-structuralist conjectures and anti-essentialism within a Marxist tradition. Demonstrates the valuable insights to be gained from feminist approaches to social theorizing and therefore The End of Capitalism (As We Knew It) represents a timely contribution to this continuing and important area of research.

International Affairs

J.K. Gibson-Graham mounts a sustained critique of the discursive coherence of capitalism. The End of Capitalism (As We Knew It) is a triumph. It is an exciting and thought-provoking book that is clearly written, witty and incisive. Not only may it assist in the discursive dethroning of capitalism, but its tentative drawings on the blackboard may help us to negotiate the predicament of finding effective political strategies in a poststructuralist era.

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law

An important contribution to the development of left-wing forms of political economy.

Australian Geographer

Original and often poetically articulated. Feminists who are interested in economics, public policy of any kind, or considerations of labour, including unpaid and caring labours, should read this stimulating book.

Australian Feminist Studies

Enjoyable reading and an important resource. The author’s primary task of creating space for emancipatory politics no longer predicated on a working-class/industrial capital relation is achieved.

Gender, Place, and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography

This book performs a vivid example of effective poststructural practice. From the start, J.K. Gibson-Graham presents us with a text that is clear and accessible, but equally evocative of the complexities that the elected poststructural and overdeterminist approach requires. This book is an original, creative and elegant feast of theory and geographic opportunities. The influence of this book will likely be profound and widespread as geographers continue to explore these possibilities.

New Zealand Geographer

Contents

Introduction to the New Edition: Ten Years On

Preface and Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Strategies
Chapter 2 Capitalism and Anti-essentialism: An Encounter in Contradiction
Chapter 3 Class and the Politics of "Identity"
Chapter 4 How Do We Get Out of This Capitalist Place?
Chapter 5 The Economy, Stupid! Industrial Policy Discourse and the Body Economic
Chapter 6 Querying Globalization
Chapter 7 Post-Fordism as Politics
Chapter 8 Toward a New Class Politics of Distribution
Chapter 9 "Hewers of Cake and Drawers of Tea"
Chapter 10 Haunting Capitalism: Ghosts on a Blackboard
Chapter 11 Waiting for the Revolution . . .

Bibliography

Index