“An original take on the ancient question of reformism, distinguishing reforms in advanced capitalist societies and reforms in those countries, usually semi-peripheral, that needs/want to ‘catch-up’. The advanced societies can impose global rules, often through the financial system, while the semi peripheral must fight back or adapt. The author provides a truly global perspective (the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, China). The whole book is enlivened by quotes and erudite references. A must read!”
Donald Sassoon, Queen Mary University of London.
Author of The Anxious Triumph: A Global History of Capitalism, 1860-1914.
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“A fascinating account of state debt as a mechanism in international relations forcing liberal reforms on the capitalist periphery, doing away with ways of social life in conflict with the requirements of modern capital formation. Contains striking historical material from countries like Egypt and China during Polanyi’s Long Nineteenth Century.”
Wolfgang Streeck, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne.
Author of Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.
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“Liberal reformism is today an empty shell including multiple meanings and yet governing the world. Conte traces the intellectual, political and economic roots and trajectories of this apparent paradox showing the historical interconnections between the capitalist core and quasi peripheries such as China and the Ottoman empire. A must-reading.”
Alessandro Stanziani, EHESS and CNRS, Paris.
Author of Tensions of Social History.