Ep 151 - Invisible Empire w/ Tony Norfield

Sean speaks with Tony Norfield (@StubbornFacts) who worked for decades in international banking and has seen first hand the way capital exploits the world, about the intersection of finance and empire. His book, 2016's The City, is more than just an update Lenin and Hilferding's work on imperialism, it provides a crucial Marxist analysis and critique of the capitalist world system, interest-bearing capital, international institutions, and more.

In this interview we discuss the long duree of Brexit, where the British ruling class fits in the hegemonic world order, the connection between market power and state violence, the rise of 'neoliberalism', and critique the idea that capitalism is being replaced by 'neofeudalism' or 'rentier capitalism'.

Bonus episode on the spicy question, 'is China imperialist,' is also available, so become a patron today at www.patreon.com/theantifada for access to this and more!

Buy the book: https://www.versobooks.com/books/2457-the-city

Articles mentioned in the discussion:

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2016/07/value-theory-finance-and-imperialism.html

https://anti-imperialist-action-ireland.com/blog/2020/08/01/china-and-us-power-with-tony-norfield/

https://economicsofimperialism.blogspot.com/2014/09/t-shirt-economics-update.html

Outro: Dirtbombs - Living Just Enough for the City (Stevie Wonder)