basics-028 Crack Capitalism

Published by Crackers Books,

27 May 2024

Crack Capitalism:

A Concise Overview

The concept of "Crack Capitalism," as discussed in academic literature, revolves around the critique of capitalist systems and explores ways to challenge and transform them. Here are five key points based on the research:

Critique of Everyday Life and Revolutionary Subject: John Holloway's "Crack Capitalism" emphasizes the importance of everyday life and the revolutionary subject in detotalizing social relations, challenging the conventional notion of revolution and advocating for struggles that go against-and-beyond the totality of capitalism (Tischler, 2012)(Tischler, 2012).
Autonomous Marxism and Critique of Capitalism: The book is grounded in 'open Marxism' or 'autonomous Marxism', focusing on the importance of autonomous agenda-setting and ordinary constitution of social struggles. It also acknowledges the adaptable power of capitalism and proposes an alternative critical theory (Susen, 2012)(Susen, 2012).
The Concept of 'The Crack': Holloway uses the metaphor of 'the crack' to describe resistance and rebellion against capitalism. This concept emphasizes the potential for creating radical change through diverse forms of individual and collective action (Garland, 2012)(Garland, 2012).
Challenges in Overcoming Capitalism: Despite recognizing various pressures that force people to reproduce capitalism, Holloway argues for the need to actively look for and exploit weaknesses in capitalism's structure to create transformative cracks (Christophe, 2007)(Christophe, 2007).
Critique of Holloway’s Approach: Holloway's work has been critiqued for its conceptual vagueness, overuse of poetic language, and lack of engagement with the question of normativity. It also faces criticism for potentially understating the transformative capacity of anti-capitalist practices and holding an unrealistic view of society (Cockburn, 2012)(Cockburn, 2012).

Conclusion "Crack Capitalism" offers a radical critique of capitalist systems and explores the potential for transformation through everyday acts of resistance and the formation of alternative social structures.

Bibliography

Christophe, B. (2007). Georgia: Capitalism as Organized Chaos. L ink
Cockburn, C. (2012). ‘Who are “we”?’ asks one of us. Journal of Classical Sociology, 12(2), 205-219. Link
Garland, C. (2012). Refusing the terms of non-existence, breaking their constraints: John Holloway, cracking capitalism and the meaning of revolution today. Journal of Classical Sociology, 12(2), 256-266. Link
Susen, S. (2012). ‘Open Marxism’ against and beyond the ‘Great Enclosure’? Reflections on how (not) to crack capitalism. Journal of Classical Sociology, 12(2), 281-331. [Link]
Tischler, S. (2012). Revolution and detotalization: An approach to John Holloway’s Crack Capitalism. Journal of Classical Sociology, 12(2), 267-280. Link