What’s New
Originally published at joefrancis.info Joe Francis Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson (AJR, 2002) famously argued that a ‘reversal of fortune’ had taken place among ex-European colonies. Generally speaking, they argued, those ex-colonies that …
Originally published at pluralistic.net Cory Doctorow “Surprise billing” is when you go to the ER and discover that the doc, the specialist, or the test you got were performed by “independent contractors” who are not …
Originally published at sbhager.com Sandy Brian Hager Switching Things Up This year I am introducing a new second year undergraduate module on theories of international political economy. Modelled on the theory module I teach on …
Originally published on Economics from the Top Down Blair Fix A few weeks ago, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson contacted me about an essay series he’s editing called Advice for an Aspiring Economist. The series …
Originally published at joefrancis.info Joe Francis Last year the eighth edition of the Penn World Table (PWT) was released to considerable fanfare – indeed, one commentator described it as ‘a special day for all researchers …
Originally published at pluralistic.net Cory Doctorow Comparing the government to a household or a business isn’t merely inapt (a government is a currency creator, while a household is a currency user – their budgeting constraints …
Review of Capital as Power (RECASP)
Soft-wars A Capital-as-Power Analysis of Google’s Differential Power Trajectory CHRIS MOURÉ October 2021 Abstract The capital as power framework, developed by Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler, argues that the aim of business is not ‘profit …
Reconsidering Systemic Fear and the Stock Market A Reply to Baines and Hager JAMES MCMAHON August 2021 Abstract This article responds to Baines and Hager’s recent critique of the capital-as-power model of the stock market. …
From Commodities to Assets Capital as Power and the Ontology of Finance JESÚS SUASTE CHERIZOLA May 2021 Abstract Assets are a crucial concept of the practice and mindset of the capitalist class. Critical analyses of …
Growing Through Sabotage Energizing Hierarchical Power SHIMSHON BICHLER and JONATHAN NITZAN June 2020 Abstract According to the theory of capital as power, capitalism, like any other mode of power, is born through sabotage and lives …
The Autocatalytic Sprawl of Pseudorational Mastery ULF MARTIN May 2019 Abstract According to Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler (2009), capital is not an economic quantity, but a mode of power. Their fundamental thesis could be …
Propertization The Process by which Financial Corporate Power has Risen and Collapsed JONGCHUL KIM September 2018 Abstract Elsewhere I argue that the legal concept of property was created in the image of money in the …
Blog
Originally published at joefrancis.info Joe Francis Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson (AJR, 2002) famously argued that a ‘reversal of fortune’ had taken place among ex-European colonies. Generally speaking, they argued, those ex-colonies that …
Originally published at pluralistic.net Cory Doctorow “Surprise billing” is when you go to the ER and discover that the doc, the specialist, or the test you got were performed by “independent contractors” who are not …
Originally published at sbhager.com Sandy Brian Hager Switching Things Up This year I am introducing a new second year undergraduate module on theories of international political economy. Modelled on the theory module I teach on …
Originally published on Economics from the Top Down Blair Fix A few weeks ago, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson contacted me about an essay series he’s editing called Advice for an Aspiring Economist. The series …
Originally published at joefrancis.info Joe Francis Last year the eighth edition of the Penn World Table (PWT) was released to considerable fanfare – indeed, one commentator described it as ‘a special day for all researchers …
Originally published at pluralistic.net Cory Doctorow Comparing the government to a household or a business isn’t merely inapt (a government is a currency creator, while a household is a currency user – their budgeting constraints …
Publications
Abstract This paper argues that the ability of dominant corporations in the fossil fuel and other polluting industries to shape government policy on climate change and energy issues is directly related to their financial interests …
Abstract For more than a century, political economists have sought to understand the nature of capital. The prevailing wisdom is that there must be something ‘real’ — some productive capacity — that underpins capitalized values. …
Abstract According to neoclassical economics, the most efficient way to organize human activity is to use the free market. By stoking self interest, the theory claims, individuals can benefit society. This idea, however, conflicts with …
Abstract Recent years have seen the convergence of industries that focus on higher protein foods, such as meat processing firms expanding into plant-based substitutes and/or cellular meat production, and fisheries firms expanding into aquaculture. A …
Abstract Today, human capital theory dominates the study of personal income. But this has not always been so. In this essay, I chart the rise of human capital theory, and compare it to the rise …
Abstract The theory of capital as power (CasP) is radically different from conventional political economy. In the conventional view, mainstream as well as heterodox, capital is seen a ‘real’ economic entity engaged in the production …
Working Papers on Capital as Power
Abstract We write this essay for both lay readers and scientists, though mainstream economists are welcome to enjoy it too. Our subject is the basic toolbox of mainstream economics. The most important tools in this …
Abstract Humanity’s most pressing need is to learn how to live within our planet’s boundaries — something that likely means doing without economic growth. How, then, can we create a non-growth society that is both …
Abstract According to the capital as power framework, pecuniary earnings, or profits, are a symbolic representation of the struggle for power between different capitalist groups. In this struggle, capitalists measure their own power differentially – …
Abstract Until the late 2000s, our work focused primarily on why capitalism should be understood as a mode of power. We argued that capital itself is a form of organized power and researched how capitalists …
Abstract Neoclassical economists fundamentally misunderstand the role of natural resources in the economy. I discuss here the source of this misunderstanding, and the ways we can better understand the role of energy to human societies. …
Abstract A recent New Political Economy article by Baines and Hager (2020) critiqued Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan’s capital-as-power (CasP) model of the stock market (Bichler & Nitzan, 2016). Bichler and Nitzan’s model of the …
Forum
jmc
Impressive list! At the rate of a novel a month, that’s around 17 years of reading.
Jonathan Nitzan
Novels by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan Originally posted on The Bichler & Nitzan Archives *** The study of society today is divided into different disciplines – the so-called social sciences – a division that …
Blair Fix
I think both Chris and I get that definition of ‘markup’ from Jonathan Nitzan’s class. We can quibble with names (some people call profit/sales the ‘profit margin’) but I think the metric itself is unquestioningly …
Adam Marshall
Please ignore my last question. I’ve found the answer now. Most of you will proabably know this already, but I found the following explanation very helpful: “(N)ot to be confused with the S&P Composite 1500…(t)he …
Adam Marshall
Hi all, I just wanted to pick your brains about something. I’m looking for earnings data for the S&P 500 (going back 10-15 years or so). Although I have access to Rober Shiller’s data (www.econ.yale.edu/~shiller/data.htm), …
Scot Griffin
I read “Soft-Wars” today, and I have a couple of quick comments regarding the essay. First, I note that MSFT’s fiscal year ends on June 30 and GOOG’s ends on December 31, but the figures …
Bichler & Nitzan Archives
- Novelson October 23, 2021
Novels Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan. (2021). October. pp. 1-11. (Review; English).
- Red Gianton October 12, 2021
Red Giant Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan. (2021). Research Note. October. pp. 1-8. (Article - Working Paper; English).
- Soft-wars: A Capital-as-Power Analysis of Google's Power Trajectoryon October 10, 2021
Soft-wars: A Capital-as-Power Analysis of Google's Power Trajectory Mouré, Christopher. (2021). Review of Capital as Power. Vol. 2. No. 1. October. pp. 71-90. (Article - Journal; English).
- Investigating Networks of Corporate Influence on Government Decision-Making: The Case of Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Policieson October 5, 2021
Investigating Networks of Corporate Influence on Government Decision-Making: The Case of Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Policies Lucas, Adam. (2021). Energy Research & Social Science. Vol. 81. No. 102271. November. (Article - Journal; English).
- Dominant Capital and the Governmenton October 3, 2021
Dominant Capital and the Government Bichler, Shimshon and Nitzan, Jonathan. (2021). Research Note. October. pp. 1-7. (Article - Working Paper; English).
- How Dominant are Big US Corporations?on September 29, 2021
How Dominant are Big US Corporations? Fix, Blair. (2021). Economics from the Top Down. 29 September. (Article - Magazine; English).