Can capitalism survive? Not if we want to solve the climate and poverty crisis – William Mitchell (opens in new tab)

The opening line of Part II of Joseph Schumpeter’s 1942 book – Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy – were “Can capitalism survive? No, I do not think it can”. His thesis was not that capitalism would perform badly, quite the opposite. Rather the considered that “its very success undermines the social institutions which protect it, and inevitably creates conditions in which it will not be able to live and which strongly points to socialism as the heir apparent.” The climate crisis facing the w...