David Harvey BBC HARDtalk interview, 2010 (1/3)

Capitalism is the way the world works, whether we like it or not. President Obama is trying, against stiff opposition, to reign in the worst excesses of free market capitalism with his reforms of Wall Street. But Professor David Harvey, Marxist author of The Enigma of Capital says he's wasting his time. He tells Sarah Montague that capitalism is amoral and lawless, and should be overthrown.

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[CosmosLoyal]

I think some people posting here really need to go away and read Marx's OWN writings on the state. Try Critique of Hegels Philosphy of Right, 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, The Jewish Question, The German Ideology, or any of his writings on the Paris Commune. Or are they just going to take Vladmir Lenins out and out peversion of Marxism at face value? The truth is Marx had more libertarianism in one of his carbunicles than the fraudsters of US corporate 'Libetarianism' combined.

[Tougemaster06]

Europe's problem have to do with the eurozone and the systemic failiures that are inherent in capitalism. Welfare policies are not why capitalism falls apart lol.

[JAMAICADOCK]

My guess is, we are going to follow a 19th century trajectory. I.e. the French Revolution was rejected for being too oppressive and bloodthirsty - yet slowly over the course of a century many of the failed goals of the revolution were embraced. The French Revolution was an idea that came before its time, much like communism did.

[johnburnsmorgan]

"Communism/Marxism has wiped out roughly 4 times more people then those in combat in all wars combined last century."

Total nonsense. Capitalism has wiped out countless millions. WW! and WW2 were capitalist based.

[ukhiphophead]

Such a shame that the BBC has cunning managed the quell the ideas Harvey brings to light here. If you weren't familiar with his work this interview makes him seem crazy... but I can assure you he is far from that...

[Kelly41m]

CosmosLoyal - Thanks for comment.

Find Daniel Yergin, Joseph Stanislaw - Commanding Heights Series.

Episode 1 - Battle of Idea's

Episode 2 - Agony of Reform

Episode 3 - New Rules of the Game.

Basically - Marxist policies put in place - to make things better for the people.

However, in very short order, these economies - rapidly deteriorate. Policies are then modifed to "make it work" - which ends up being even a bigger disaster.

Please read reviewers comments of books listed below.

[Samantha Bowden]

His education? Try Oxford and Cambridge. He's the most cited social scholar alive.

[Abraham Amín]

This kind of thinking is a negation of the problem that we are facing right now. Any serious marxist IS NOT promoting a new soviet union, a new moist china or even a new cuban revolution. Capitalism is in the worse crisis since 1929 and we have to think about it, think in alternatives to capitalism, and of course we have to critic the old ones.

[Kelly41m]

Communism/Marxism has wiped out roughly 4 times more people then those in combat in all wars combined last century. To watch an individual such as this continue to promote such a destructive and corrosive ideology kinda makes one wonder about his education and? character. Following can be found at amazon.com:

Lethal Politics - Dr. R. J. Rummel

Death By Government - Dr. R. J. Rummel

Execution by Hunger - The Hidden Holocaust - Miron Dolot.

Black Book of Communism - Stéphane Courtois

[Lupakalia]

If it were that simple then there would be almost no anti-capitalists, because very few want to see everything owned and controlled by massive State bureaucracy.

Almost all human societies through history have mainly private ownership. It's the human norm, so objecting to it would be fatuous. For example, ancient Rome had overwhelmingly private ownership, including of slaves, but the Roman Empire was not capitalism.

Feudalism is private ownership but it's not capitalism.

[z0mgrugbyREUP]

There's no problem. Both sides agree on what capitalism is. Capitalism is an economic system in which production and the means of it are in private hands. Capitalism is private ownership.

Nobody disputes that.

Free market capitalism is actually a type of capitalism that came AFTER capitalism. Therefore, America is capitalist, even if it isn't free market.

Pretty simple.

[Lupakalia]

Well this is the problem isn't it. There doesn't seem to be a straightforward clearcut definition of what "capitalism" actually is that both "capitalists" and "anti-capitalists" can agree on. The word just seems to have become a smokescreen and an evasion of the real issues, ie the ones I list above; monopolism, cronyism, oligarchy and plutocracy / plutonomy