Beyond Liberalism

Prabhat Patnaik (Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University)

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English

Columbia University Press
10 September 2024

Social & political philosophy; Political science & theory; Economic theory & philosophy; Political economy

Series: Columbia Themes in Philosophy

Liberalism holds that individual freedom can be realized under capitalism. ""Classical liberalism"" tends to focus on excessive state interference as the primary threat to freedom. More recent theorists, however, recognize that capitalism, left to itself, would be characterized by mass social ills and argue that state intervention is necessary to guarantee individual freedom.

This book is a Marxist critique of liberalism. Prabhat Patnaik demonstrates that liberalism and Marxism provide vastly differing accounts of individual freedom and the forces that restrict it. In the Marxist view, people, contrary to appearances, lack real agency under capitalism. Competition coerces individuals to act according to the impersonal logic of capitalism, making them mere instruments of the system. In this way, capitalism creates universal alienation, and true individual freedom is possible only through overcoming it.

Patnaik argues that socialism can secure individual agency in both economic and political spheres, though actually existing socialism has failed in this respect. He also considers what a socialist society should look like: not a planned economy but a highly decentralized system in which citizens are directly involved in taking decisions affecting their lives and enjoy fundamental economic rights as well as political ones. Readable yet rigorous, Beyond Liberalism brings together political philosophy and political economy to offer a renewed vision of socialism.

By: Prabhat Patnaik (Professor Emeritus Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780231216326
ISBN 10: 0231216327
Series: Columbia Themes in Philosophy
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 10 September 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface Introduction 1. Some Misconceptions in Economics 2. John Locke on Hired Labor 3. Adam Smith and the Division of Labor 4. Historical Evidence on Land Productivity 5. Neoclassical Economics and “Rationality” 6. Keynes and the Socialization of Investment 7. Capitalism: Its Specificity and Origins 8. Competition Under Capitalism 9. Imperialism or Economic Cooperation? 10. Capitalism in Its Spontaneity and Appearance 11. Freedom in the Era of Globalization 12. The Struggle for Individual Freedom 13. Socialism and Individual Freedom Notes Bibliography Index

Prabhat Patnaik has taught economics at the University of Cambridge and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he is currently professor emeritus. His books include Accumulation and Stability Under Capitalism (1997), The Value of Money (2009), A Theory of Imperialism, with Utsa Patnaik (2017), and Capital and Imperialism, with Utsa Patnaik (2021).

Reviews for Beyond Liberalism

Prabhat Patnaik’s book, integrating perspectives from economics, philosophy, and politics, is a brilliant critique of the complicity of liberal doctrine with capitalism through its entire history: from its earliest formations in the seventeenth century through the extended period of European colonialism, the Keynesian caesura after the Second World War, down to the neoliberal period of globalized finance of our own time. -- Akeel Bilgrami, author of Capital, Culture, and the Commons Prabhat Patnaik skillfully combines empirical evidence and philosophical reasoning to make an engaging and insightful interdisciplinary critique of liberal doctrine, questioning its account of capitalism at its avowedly strongest point: its claim to embody and promote individual freedom. -- David Leopold, author of The Young Karl Marx: German Philosophy, Modern Politics, and Human Flourishing This book offers a deep analysis of the idea of individual freedom under capitalism. Patnaik first pursues this question through examining the works of major authors, including Locke, Smith, Keynes, and Marx. Within this framework, he then considers issues around colonialism, imperialism, socialism, and social democracy with insight and force. -- Robert Pollin, coauthor of Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal