Since the early 1970s the world economy has been in a state of acute instability. Now the world seems to be facing the most serious crisis so far. The prevailing economic orthodoxy in the post-war period, Keynesianism, was discredited in the 1970s when the world economy suffered inflation and stagnation. In the 1980s and early 1990s many proclaimed the triumph of the 'free market'. But the current crisis of the world economy has thrown their theories into disarray.
It was Marx who first provided a comprehensive and compelling analysis of the capitalist system, both in its periods of growth and boom and of crises and recession. In this classic account of Marxist economic, Chris Harman explains the essential elements of Marx's analysis. He then goes on to apply those insights to an explanation of what has happened in the world economy over the century since Marx's death. Finally he demonstrates why Marx's central theories are superior to many of the other analyses of the crises of the last 25 years.