DeepSummary
In this podcast episode, host Adam Proctor interviews Grace Blakeley, a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research in the UK, about the dynamics of financialization and the challenges it poses for a socialist transition. They discuss Blakeley's experience at the World Transformed conference, an event parallel to the Labour Party conference, and the social movement that has emerged around the Labour Party.
Blakeley provides an in-depth analysis of the rise of financialization as a new regime of accumulation, tracing its origins to the crisis of the Fordist model in the 1970s and the neoliberal reforms implemented by Thatcher and Reagan. She explains how financialization has led to increasing levels of debt, rising inequality, and the erosion of workers' power in favor of finance capital.
The conversation then turns to the potential strategies for a Labour government to confront the power of finance capital, including the introduction of capital controls, debt write-offs, and measures to rebalance the economy away from its reliance on the finance sector. Blakeley emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach that not only reduces the influence of finance but also improves the lives of ordinary people.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Financialization has emerged as a new regime of accumulation, characterized by the dominance of finance capital, rising debt levels, and the erosion of workers' power.
- The crisis of the Fordist model in the 1970s and the neoliberal reforms of Thatcher and Reagan facilitated the rise of financialization.
- Confronting the power of finance capital is a central challenge for a socialist transition, akin to Thatcher's confrontation with trade unions.
- Potential strategies for a Labour government include capital controls, debt write-offs, and measures to rebalance the economy away from its reliance on the finance sector.
- The current moment represents a transitional period with opportunities for both capital and labor to shape the future, highlighting the importance of agency and political struggle.
- Addressing the complexities of finance capital requires a comprehensive approach that not only reduces its influence but also improves the lives of ordinary people.
- There is a need to explore alternative metaphors and perspectives for approaching finance capital, such as taming and harnessing its power rather than completely subduing it.
- Blakeley's upcoming book aims to provide a more detailed analysis and potential solutions for confronting finance capital.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And for me, you know, we live under a regime of financialization, of finance driven accumulation. And so any attempt to kind of move beyond that requires really, as I said to Ed Miliband, taking on the banks, I think I said that labor needs to take on the banks the way Thatcher took on the unions.“ by Grace Blakeley
- “So, yeah, we're living in, as I said at the very beginning, you know, this grammar moment of the collapse of the old without the emergence of something new, which is a moment that creates a huge amount of potential, it creates a huge amount of space for agency, but that can be said for both capital and labor.“ by Grace Blakeley
- “So rather not putting it back in its box, but we want to tame it and bring it to heal so it can fight our battles on our behalf.“ by Adam Proctor
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Episode Information
Dead Pundits Society
Dead Pundits Society
10/16/18