Capitalism: A Ghost Story

There is a beautiful variation in Roy's sentence structures. The second part is moralistic but the first part has given a trenchant argument to justify that. The whole makes fewer than one hundred pages. This is masterly polemic. The book's subtitled 'A Ghost Story' not just because of the spectre of communism but because the poor have been ghosted. Written before Modi's re-election in 2019, and on the eve of the 2014 elections in which he won the first majority in the lower house since 1984, it looks at what 'good governance' in line with Bretton Woods may mean in practice. Even before Modi's Digital India, Roy is writing here about digitalisation as a 'version of the Enclosure of the Commons' and a surveillance state. Events usually reported as police actions using troops, or as aspects of foreign policy, are seen by Roy in the context of multinationals' investments. Those who resist the privatisation of natural resources (which means the sale of land rights and the displacement of people by state governments) are denounced as Maoists or jihadis. Roy presents it as a tragi-farcical repeat of primitive accumulation. The book's afterword is a transcript of a call from Roy for an end to privatised natural assets and the inheritance of real wealth, as well as for a ban on cross ownership over different economic sectors and for universal rights to health care, education and shelter. Cross ownership means not only that the richest 100 people own assets equivalent to a quarter of GDP in a country of 1.2 billion: it means a re-creation of 'company towns' on the simply vast scale of the 'Special Economic Zones'. No 'trickle down' occurs because financialisation has broken any link that might have been between 'gush up' and job creation, so privatisation creates vacuums for NGOs that in Roy's view are themselves the creatures of connected foundations like Ford and RAND. Roy has concluded that 'corporate philanthropy began to replace missionary activity' and NGOs are 'global finance's way of buying into resistance movements'; a repressive tolerance (p.29). This analysis endures so far. Modi has come to power since the book was written on an anti-corruption, people-versus-politicians, majoritarian ticket, but his investigations into NGOs go alongside an actual liberalisation of direct investment rules and are part of his authoritarianism and 'perception management' (p.17). Pages 51 to 52 on the irrelevance of the Jan Lokpal Bill to a poor person's circumstances could be read alongside Modi's subsequent currency and further World-Bank-style 'reforms'. Roy warns us as well that the zombie economy and investment paralysis are still happening in 2014 (though they are likely now to be blamed on COVID19). On pages 36 to 42 she makes a profound attack on the Left for the chauvinism, sexual and otherwise, among its own activists that drove certain constituencies into line with the NGOs' agendas and their 'important, but in the long run stagnant' identity politics. It is the Good Old Cause made topical; it is like Tom Mann trying to unite the Catholic dockers and Protestant carters. Model writing.

Roy describes a phase of crony capitalism we like to think that we've left behind, but that seems rather to be spreading, firstly from the U.S. to south and east Asia and then in its turn colouring the character of western capitalism as the influence of Asian corporations grows. She draws parallels between what's happening in India and the enclosures of common land, specifically in Britain though similar takes can be told throughout the West. The Maoists in India seek to halt 'program's in its tracks, no doubt there are others who see modernization as a necessary historical phase but the question for all of us is how do we stop the Juggernaut at a global level?

Arundhati Roys' charismatic style of writing is once again reflected beautifully in the book. Not only does she categorically scrutinizes the downsides of a fundamentalist form of capitalism, she also captures readers attention towards recent trend aimed at systematic influencing of artists/creators thereby channeling their views towards supporting capitalist practices. Highly recommended.

Arundati Roy is a fearless champion of true democracy and reveals the dark underbelly of Indian politics, the shame of caste and the military occupation of Kashmir. Looks beyond the hype of economic growth to something a little closer to the truth.

When democracy has an ethical foundation we might imagine it to be the best choice of political system. However all such systems can become degenerate when avarice and lack of initiative lure government representatives into corruption. Arundhati Roy explores this human fallibility and counts the cost to vulnerable citizens, particularly when they engage in trying to restore the human rights of persecuted individuals.

I learned the hazards of corporate philanthropy and cross ownership of business empires from this book e.g. mining companies owning media outlets and arms manufacturing factories financing universities.

How can you not support Arundhati Roy? She is a fearless exposer of corruption and cant in India, and there are so few voices that manage to be heard.

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Arundhati Roy has got facts right and has neatly established the capitalism politics and lobbying. Maturity was shown in prescribing few solutions (authenticity of those yet to be tested) in the end rather than bashing Capitalism throughout.

Ms. Roy tells a compelling story of the insidiousness of Capitalism. It has a right to exist and no one is against making money; however, the way in which they make it, is poison to the peoples of the world and their countries. The destructive behavior of "Global Capitalism" misdirects the essential goal of the human project from advancing mankind to advancing a few people. This has been done in the name of trickle-down economics, which, itself, has too few leaks. To little attention is given to spreading the advances of knowledge because of the self-centeredness of a few people who celebrate their advantages and wish to remain so - advantaged. They forget that those below them bureaucratically are still those who put them where they are, the people need to understand their power to remove the advantaged into a more just position. Read the book!

Like other works by the author, this book is powerful and eloquent--though overstated and unfair in parts of the argument.

While the book aspires to present how capitalism works globally its focus is on India and it takes a bit more to understand local dynamics and political landscape. However very interesting examples of political hypocrisy and exactly what author is arguing how justice disappeared

Its collection of field reporting, good content but the fonts are too small and paper seems poor quality.