Last week the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) at the University of Nottingham hosted its Annual Lecture with the additional financial assistance of the local association of the University and College Union. Previous speakers have included David Harvey (2006), Gerald Cohen (2007), Hilary Wainwright (2008), Philip McMichael (2009), Siba Grovogui (2010), and Samir Amin (2011). This year it was a pleasure to host Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin presenting their new book The Making of Global Capitalism published by Verso.
The book is rightly heralded as a groundbreaking assessment of American empire in shaping global capitalism. In their now classic phrase, Panitch and Gindin trace how the American state came to superintend capitalism on a worldwide scale. Across a whopping tomb of some 450 plus pages, they deliver a truly accessible and popular account of the political economy of the American state as the ultimate guarantor of capitalist interests globally throughout the twentieth century. On the night of the annual lecture, Panitch and Gindin also delivered a wonderful example of public and political engagement, which has catapulted a wave of interest in their new book.
