The Entropy Of Capitalism: Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume 39(Studies in Critical Social Sciences)

The project of applying general systems theory to social sciences is crucial in today's crisis when social and ecological systems clash. This book concretely demonstrates the necessity of a Marxist approach to this challenge, notably in asserting agency (struggle) as against determinism. It similarly shows how Marxism can be reinvigorated from a systems perspective. Drawing on his experience in both international systems and low-input agriculture, Biel explores the interaction of social and physical systems, using the conceptual tools of thermodynamics and information. He reveals the early twenty-first century as a period when capitalism starts parasitizing on the chaos it itself creates, notably in the link between the two sides of imperialism: militarism (the 'war on terror') and speculative finance capital.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Introduction 1. Understanding the Limits and Decay of the Capitalist Mode of Production 2. Capitalism as an Adaptive System 3. The ‘Systemic Turn’ in Capitalist Political Economy 4. The Era of Feedback from Entropy 5. Militarism and State Terrorism as a Response to Crisis 6. Organisation of the Twenty-first Century International System 7. Contradictions in the Contemporary Phase of Imperialist Governance, and the Forces for Change within it References Index

About the Author :
Robert Biel M.PhD (1991) International Relations, London School of Economics, teaches political ecology at University College London and publishes extensively, including The New Imperialism (Zed Books, 2000). He researches systems theory and conducts a wide-ranging practical programme on urban agriculture

Review :
"There is now a constant flow, if not a flood, of books on the various overlapping crises of the present climate change and ecological destruction, the economic crisis, peak oil etc.. In The Entropy of Capitalism, however, Robert Biel has produced an analysis, synthesizing all of these developments, that certainly deserves a place on your bookshelf. It is a fascinating and insightful book, about which there is too much to say, every page warranting copious marginalia and underlining. David Tyfield, Journal of Critical Realism Overall, The Entropy of Capitalism constitutes an important contribution to the debate on the (un)sustainability of capitalism, and offers an interesting complement to similar theories, like Gunther Teubner’s idea of systemic addiction.’ The book is very thoroughly researched, and made even more interesting by the author’s own involvement in transition initiatives (like Transition Town Brixton) and the urban agriculture movement.” Luigi Russi, The Commons Sense "There is now a constant flow, if not a flood, of books on the various overlapping crises of the present – climate change and ecological destruction, the economic crisis, peak oil etc.. In The Entropy of Capitalism, however, Robert Biel has produced an analysis, synthesizing all of these developments, that certainly deserves a place on your bookshelf. It is a fascinating and insightful book, about which there is too much to say, every page warranting copious marginalia and underlining. —David Tyfield, Journal of Critical Realism “Overall, The Entropy of Capitalism constitutes an important contribution to the debate on the (un)sustainability of capitalism, and offers an interesting complement to similar theories, like Gunther Teubner’s idea of ‘systemic addiction.’ The book is very thoroughly researched, and made even more interesting by the author’s own involvement in transition initiatives (like Transition Town Brixton) and the urban agriculture movement.” —Luigi Russi, The Commons Sense