This book offers a new perspective on the financialisation of the economy and its profound technological transformation in an increasingly interdependent and globalised world. A deterioration of capitalist property has led to the reactivation of pre-capitalist social phenomena such as slavery. Meanwhile secular deflation and international destruction of the social state have wrought havoc with all familiar modern welfare infrastructure. Yet, Sapelli argues, there is still hope in the form of the gradual evolution of a community-based socialism based on diverse forms of ownership, co-operative living and working, and sustainable capitalist property. Sapelli presents a severe and dramatic look at the present world, where there is still a light at the end of the tunnel.

This wide-ranging book focuses on the economic and political changes that have taken place between the advent of globalization and the COVID-19 pandemic and assesses how this may bring about a profound reconfiguration of the global political system. Sapelli considers a range of developments in different spheres, from international to national politics, military aggressions, and worldwide political trends such as the rise of populism, to illuminate the moment of neoliberal crisis in which we now live. He argues that Europe and its institutions in particular no longer demonstrate a model of diplomacy and statesmanship, with the rise of technocratic structures and elitism reflecting how an ideal of ‘global convergence’ towards liberalism and democracy no longer holds true. The book then considers how a new international order based on the reason of state can be brought about by global cooperation between the US, Russia and China, along with a return to properly regulated finance and a renewed focus on community in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The book will be of interest to those working in international economics and international relations, as well as academics of economic history and political economy.

This book offers a fascinating overview of the challenges posed by the world's new geostrategic order and likely future directions. It opens with an unconventional view of the Arab Spring, identifying its origins in the relative US withdrawal from the Middle East caused by both the need for military disengagement for economic reasons and the discovery of shale gas and tight oil in the heart of the North American continent. The rise in the geostrategic importance of Putin's Russia is explored in this context. The implications of the worldwide economic crisis are analyzed in depth: the author's interpretation is that the world is entering a phase of unstable growth generated by hyper financialization and deflation. Against this background, the book explores the US attempt to trigger growth through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (based on the US-Australia military alliance) in restraining China's advance, and the potential for Africa to become the driver of the world's economic future if it can resist Chinese penetration and continue the nation-building process.

This book offers a new perspective on the financialisation of the economy and its profound technological transformation in an increasingly interdependent and globalised world. A deterioration of capitalist property has led to the reactivation of pre-capitalist social phenomena such as slavery. Meanwhile secular deflation and international destruction of the social state have wrought havoc with all familiar modern welfare infrastructure. Yet, Sapelli argues, there is still hope in the form of the gradual evolution of a community-based socialism based on diverse forms of ownership, co-operative living and working, and sustainable capitalist property. Sapelli presents a severe and dramatic look at the present world, where there is still a light at the end of the tunnel.