Table Of ContentPaul Kennedy
VAMPIRE
CAPITALISM
Fractured Societies and
Alternative Futures
Vampire Capitalism
Paul Kennedy
Vampire Capitalism
Fractured Societies and Alternative Futures
Paul Kennedy
Department of Sociology
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Manchester, United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-137-55265-5 ISBN 978-1-137-55266-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55266-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016961824
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To Jasmine and Camille
Acknowledgements
In this book, I have stood on the shoulders of so many giants that it is
difficult not to feel dizzy as well as extremely privileged to have enjoyed
a career that allowed me to draw so freely and often on the knowledge,
wisdom, inspiration and practical skills of such a vast number of scholars
and thinkers. They have not all been mentioned in this writing but their
influence over me during decades of study, teaching and writing is never-
theless embedded firmly in this work.
Then there are all those work colleagues in addition to associates
and friends through my affiliations to professional organizations, par-
ticularly the UK and North American Global Studies Association, who
have shaped my ideas and offered support in countless additional ways
over many years. Among valued colleagues and friends at Manchester
Metropolitan University (MMU), I would particularly like to thank
Shoba Arun, Colin Barker, Susie Jacobs, John Jordon, Steven Miles, Phil
Mole, Gary Pollock, Chris Porter, Scott Poynting, Berthold Schoene
and formally, Derek Wynne. Beyond the walls of MMU, the following
have been more influential and helpful than they probably realize: Barrie
Axford, Marco Caselli, Robin Cohen, John Eade, Stephen Edgell, Jerry
Harris, Ray Kiely, Roy May, Darren O’Byrne and Leslie Sklair among
many others.
Special thanks are due to those who have bravely endured, read, criti-
cally reviewed and handsomely advised on this manuscript during the past
vii
viii Acknowledgements
year as it evolved. They are Robin Cohen, Stephen Edgell, Jerry Harris,
John Jordan, Ray Kiely, Tony Nixon, Phil Mole and Scott Poynting. I
tried to follow their suggestions as much as possible but clearly I remain
fully responsible for any flaws, omissions or mistakes that may lurk within
this writing.
Beyond academia, the team at Palgrave has been patient and support-
ive at all times and I thank them sincerely. Finally, many thanks are due
to my family who have always provided enthusiastic support and emo-
tional solace during the long period of preparation and writing, especially
my long-suffering wife and partner, Sue.
Contents
1 Introduction: Capitalist Modernity in Question 1
2 The Rise of Vampire Capitalism (and not a slayer in sight) 29
3 The Roots of Vampire Capitalism 61
4 Living with Twenty-First-Century Capitalism 99
5 The Juggernaut of Science and Technology: Friend or Foe? 131
6 Individualization and the Cultures of Capitalism 169
7 Global Capitalism and the Biosphere: Our Future in
Jeopardy 203
8 Does Capitalism Have a Future? 239
ix
x Contents
9 Alternatives: Exploring Possibilities 273
Bibliography 315
Index 339
List of Acronyms
AI Artificial Intelligence
AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States
CCS Carbon Capture and Storage (systems/technologies)
CDOs Collateral Debt Obligations
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CEPGs Corporate-funded Climate and Environmental Policy
Groups
CO Carbon Dioxide
2
COP Conference of Paris
EA East Asia
EU European Union
EU ETS European Emissions Trading System
EPOS Electronic Point of Sale (systems)
EPZ Export Processing Zone
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization
GATT General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
G20 World’s Largest Economies
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHGs Greenhouse Gasses
GPT General Purpose Technology
HNWI High Net Worth Individual
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Description:This book argues that in recent decades an unrestrained vampire-capitalism has emerged, disengaged from the needs of citizens and workers, leading to a deepening of social class, generational, gender, educational and ethnic divisions. The author explores how our cultural obsession with self-realizat
