Marxism Research Network
Unofficial English Translation

Uncovering the Bottom Card of Economic Crises

Recommended Works

If Capital is an encyclopedia and classic textbook for dissecting the laws governing the operation of the capitalist economy, then the current financial crisis serves as its most brilliant contemporary case study. The events are scattered like stars on a map, the plot is full of ups and downs, the characters are intricate and complex, and doubts and suspicions arise at every turn.

Why does humanity suffer from the repeated harassment of economic crises? Why did the United States—which claims to be the most free and democratic nation with the most complete market institutions—become the epicenter of this storm? Why are the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government unable to produce a "panacea" [1] to overcome the economic crisis? Why has the Chinese economy been able to "fly against the wind" [2], and to what extent can it "cultivate its own virtues in isolation" [3]?

Table of Contents

Substitute Preface: A Few Reflections on the Global Financial Crisis

Introduction: Why We Need to Listen to Capital More Than Ever

  • Capital "Heats Up" Amidst the Financial Crisis
  • An Old Almanac or an Evergreen Tree: The Unfailing Charm of Capital
  • Asking "Why": Viewing the Current Economic Crisis Through the Lens of Capital

Part I: No Escape from the Fatal Destiny of Crisis

Chapter 1: The Pursuit of Profit is the Pursuit of Crisis

  • Consumer Credit: Whose Lifeline?
  • Poverty Amidst Abundance, Hunger and Cold Amidst Excess
  • Profit! Profit! Chasing It All the Way to Wall Street
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Chapter 2: Recurrent Systemic Maladies

  • The Repeated Harassment of a Lifelong Companion
  • This Was Absolutely Not an Accident!
  • The Survival Logic of the "Snake Game" [4]
  • The Forced "Severing of the Arm to Save the Body" [5]
  • The Material Basis of Periodic Renewal
  • Economic Cycle—Systemic Cycle—Life Cycle
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Chapter 3: The Global Crisis Dancing Under the Banner of Freedom

  • The Crimes and Punishments of Neoliberalism
  • The Fading American Dream Under the Banner of "Freedom"
  • Global Dangers and Opportunities
  • The Real Picture Behind the Fictitious Economy
  • Greenspan: Too Late to Escape
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Part II: Calamity Rising from Within the Financial Walls [6]

Chapter 4: The Dominoes Toppled by Wall Street

  • How the "Trilogy of Crisis" Was Tempered
  • The Alchemy of Fictitious Capital
  • The Crisis-Ridden "Inverted Pyramid" Structure
  • Who Forged Pandora’s Box?
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Chapter 5: How the U.S. Dollar "Caught a White Wolf with Empty Hands" [7]

  • The Wealth-Gathering Methods of a "Ponzi State"
  • The Struggle of the Dollar: Seeking Hegemony 1.0
  • The Struggle of the Dollar: Seeking Hegemony 2.0
  • The International Financial Crisis: A Congratulatory Gift Received by the Hegemonic Dollar
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Part III: On What Basis Can the Raging Tide Be Turned?

Chapter 6: Rescue Operations Equivalent to "Drinking Poison to Quench Thirst" [8]

  • The "Eight Great Tricks" of Market Bailouts Fail to Show Real Effects
  • The Keynesian Prescription Cannot Provide a Panacea
  • New Scars Added Before Old Wounds Have Healed
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Chapter 7: Chinese Sails Beside the Sinking Ship [9]

  • Shockwaves Crossing the Great Ocean
  • Economic Crisis: "Made in China"?
  • Economic Crisis: "Made by China"?
  • How China Flies Against the Wind
  • How Far is Spring? Where to Welcome Its Return?
  • Mini-Dictionary
  • Extended Reading

Concluding Remarks: The Dawn Lies Just Ahead

Main References