The Bichler and Nitzan Archives
Not a member yet
759 research outputs found
Sort by
The Global Political Economy of Israel (Book Review)
Get PDFFROM THE REVIEW:
“In the end, The Global Political Economy of Israel definitely provides a wealth of information and is a very interesting read, but a person does not need to buy the cow when they can get the milk for free.
Capital As Power (권력 자본론)
No full textIt is hard these days to open a newspaper or watch television without coming across a debate about capitalism. “Globalization,” “imperialism,” and “neoliberalism” have become household words. Experts preach the gospel of productivity, while anti-globalization protestors blame the IMF and transnational companies for much of our social ills. Some view economic growth as a magic bullet, for others it spells ecological disaster. Many interpret the new wars of the twenty first century as serving “economic” interests and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as a backlash against western “liberalism.” For some capitalism means the “end of history,” for others a source of conflict and an engine of change. No aspect of capitalism seems to escape controversy.
In this context, it is surprising to find little or no debate on the concept which matters the most: capital itself. Capital is the central institution of capitalism and yet we do not have a satisfactory theory to explain it. As it turns out, we do not know precisely what capital is. This omission is crucial. Without a clear definition of capital we cannot fully understand how it works and why. Until we understand capital we are destined to misunderstand our society, misjudge its alternatives and fail to imagine a better future. In order to debate capitalism we first need to debate capital. This book offers a new way to do so. The secret to understanding capital, we argue, lies not in the narrow confines of production but in the broader processes and institutions of power. Capital, we claim, is neither a material object, nor a social relationship embedded in material entities, but rather a symbolic representation of power
Differential Accumulation and Middle East Wars: Beyond Neo-Liberalism
No full textIt is popular these days to talk about the "discontent" of neoliberal globalization. This "discontent" is no longer the prerogative of intellectuals. Increasingly, it comes from below, with opposition from the grassroots. But there may be another type of discontent lurking behind the scenes. This other discontent comes from above. It is the discontent of the ruling class. In our opinion, the world may have reached a historical junction in which a significant part of the global ruling class has become discontented with neoliberalism. The purpose of this presentation is threefold: (1) to explain why the world’s dominant capital groups have become discontented with neoliberal globalization; (2) to speculate on what may replace neoliberal globalization; and (3) to link this transition in the nature of accumulation to the new wars
Forget the New Historians. Here are the Real Revisionists (Review of Nitzan and Bichler's "The Global Political Economy of Israel")
Get PDFFROM THE REVIEW:
"With the publication of Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler's The Global Political Economy of Israel the challenge to the established discourse about Israeli society and history is not only renewed, but also taken further in a far more radical fashion than ever before. The account Nitzan and Bichler offer is not only a radical re-interpretation of Israel past and present, it is also a major contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon commonly referred to as "globalization," as well as a radical challenge to established disciplinary boundaries and our approach to the study of politics and the economy. . . . The Global Political Economy of Israel is a highly challenging account of the Jewish state and argues that post-Zionism may not simply be a new ideological development, but may indeed be the logical consequence of Israel's evolution as a capitalist society. . . . It is also an all-out, all-round attack on political scientists, international relations scholars, and liberal and neo-liberal economists, which invites a great deal of controversy. Although the evidence is sometimes presented in an anecdotal style (which may serve as an excuse to discard an inconvenient analysis for many) it is thorough and deserves to stir up controversy, not only with regard to the interpretation of Israel’s past, but also with respect to the general theoretical understanding of what politics is and how social change occurs. . . . Nitzan and Bichler deserve the attention of a larger audience. All those who read the New Historians and followed the debates on the revisionist historiography closely, as well as those interested in globalization and its implications for the social and political spheres, should study this book intensively and consider its interpretations and wider implications. Disagree one may, but ignore, one cannot afford. Forget the New Historians, these are the real revisionists"
The Global Political Economy of Israel (Book Review)
Get PDFFROM THE REVIEW:
“Throwing stones at a glass house is fine if the thrower does not himself sit in one. On this the authors fail miserably. . . . The authors' stumbles in matters of fact are legend. . . . Strangely, the authors never mention the one comprehensive analysis of Israel's political economy . . . [namely, my own book] The Political Economy of Israel: From Ideology to Stagnation, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1994. . . .
Stagflation and the Coming War in Iraq (Radio Interview with Jonathan Nitzan)
No full textThe coming war in Iraq will bring not stability and lower oil prices, but rather instability and stagflation (Duration: 25 minutes)
The Global Political Economy of Israel (Book Review)
No full textFROM THE REVIEW:
“The term ‘political economy’ in Nitzan and Bichler's work gives the book away. It is neither economics nor political science but flow-of-consciousness Marxoid rhetoric. The authors could not pass a quiz in first-year economics, and I doubt they would do well in freshman political science either. Instead, they pack their book with the usual leftist pseudo-thoughts. . . . The Global Political Economy of Israel is full of baseless sweeping generalities unsupported by any scientific evidence at all. . . .To the extent that there really is a ‘dominant class’ in Israel, it consists of yuppie leftists who vote for the left-wing political parties, in other words people very much like the two authors themselves. . . . The book is true to the genre of radical ‘scholarship’ in believing that nothing is so powerfully analytic as the invention of a nice polysyllable. . . . Such pomposity, mixed with a few macroeconomic structural equations with some Greek letters that the authors clearly do not understand, is meant to convey the impression of depth and scholarship. Could the authors even read a balance of payments table?
Political Economy: Past and Future
Get PDFPolitical economy, radical as well as conservative, remains anchored in Newtonian cosmology. This cosmology, liberating as it was in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, has become a fetter on understanding present-day society
Review of Bichler and Nitzan's "From War Profits to Peace" (מרווחי מלחמה לדיבידנדים של שלום - ספרם של שמשון ביכלר ויהונתן ניצן)
No full textספרם של שמשון ביכלר ויהונתן ניצן "מרווחי מלחמה לדיבידנדים של שלום" מומלץ בכל פה לכל מי שגורל החברה בישראל יקר לו. עוד לא נכתב ספר כזה בישראל, ויש לו מקום גם במדף הספרים העולמ
It's All About Oil
Get PDFThe new wars in the Middle East are certainly about oil, but not in the way most people think