Beyond Liberalism - (Columbia Themes in Philosophy) by Prabhat Patnaik

About the Book

"Political philosophy provides the basis for political praxis; it requires a functional understanding of society in which the economy is an extraordinarily significant component. This is no less true of Marxism than it is of liberalism: it is all at once a political philosophy and an analysis of political economy, both of which are oriented toward and motivated by an agenda of human engagement. Often obscured by the complexities of Marxian analysis is the nature of its critique of liberalism, which preceded it and to which it was intended as both a theoretical and practical response. Beyond Liberalism offers a detailed elaboration of that critique, restoring to a central position the long history of imperialism that has been at the heart of capitalism since its inception and explicating Marxism's relevance to the contemporary era of globalization, in particular financial globalization. The dramatic opposition between the two political theories turns heavily on their differential perspectives on individual freedom. The book provides a corrective to the common misperception that, while liberalism is concerned with such freedom, Marxism and the socialist agenda it advances emphasize instead a contrasting sphere of the collective. Prabhat Patnaik argues that liberalism and Marxism give very different analyses of the status of the individual within capitalism and that the Marxist alternative leads to the conclusion that the freedom of the individual can be realized only by means of an upheaval of capitalism through collective action. It is as relevant to Keynesian social democracy, marked by state intervention to alleviate conditions of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, as it is to classical liberalism. In the latter the functioning of the capitalist system constrains individual freedom; in the former, on the capacity of the state to intervene, which is especially apparent in our era in which finance is globalized but states remain national. Capitalism requires a degree of unemployment, for example, to limit wages and maintain the accrual of surplus value. The system also tends toward the centralization of capital, augmenting the power imbalance of global corporations over nation-states and the coercion of individual agency. It is only through the overturning of the system and the adoption of a socialist system that individual freedom and economic equality can be fostered"--

Book Synopsis

Liberalism holds that individual freedom can be realized under capitalism. "Classical liberalism" tends to focus on excessive state interference as the primary threat to freedom. More recent theorists, however, recognize that capitalism, left to itself, would be characterized by mass social ills and argue that state intervention is necessary to guarantee individual freedom.

This book is a Marxist critique of liberalism. Prabhat Patnaik demonstrates that liberalism and Marxism provide vastly differing accounts of individual freedom and the forces that restrict it. In the Marxist view, people, contrary to appearances, lack real agency under capitalism. Competition coerces individuals to act according to the impersonal logic of capitalism, making them mere instruments of the system. In this way, capitalism creates universal alienation, and true individual freedom is possible only through overcoming it.

Patnaik argues that socialism can secure individual agency in both economic and political spheres, though actually existing socialism has failed in this respect. He also considers what a socialist society should look like: not a planned economy but a highly decentralized system in which citizens are directly involved in taking decisions affecting their lives and enjoy fundamental economic rights as well as political ones. Readable yet rigorous, Beyond Liberalism brings together political philosophy and political economy to offer a renewed vision of socialism.

Review Quotes

Patnaik's proposal provides a refreshing approach to post-Soviet Marxism, which often does not engage in the practical problems that face Marxist revolutions. Beyond Liberalism is a hopeful discourse in the 21st century. Patnaik provides a thought-provoking and necessary change in Marxist discourse.-- "Choice"

This book offers a deep analysis of the idea of individual freedom under capitalism. Patnaik first pursues this question through examining the works of major authors, including Locke, Smith, Keynes, and Marx. Within this framework, he then considers issues around colonialism, imperialism, socialism, and social democracy with insight and force.--Robert Pollin, coauthor of Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal

Prabhat Patnaik's book, integrating perspectives from economics, philosophy, and politics, is a brilliant critique of the complicity of liberal doctrine with capitalism through its entire history: from its earliest formations in the seventeenth century through the extended period of European colonialism, the Keynesian caesura after the Second World War, down to the neoliberal period of globalized finance of our own time.--Akeel Bilgrami, author of Capital, Culture, and the Commons

Prabhat Patnaik skillfully combines empirical evidence and philosophical reasoning to make an engaging and insightful interdisciplinary critique of liberal doctrine, questioning its account of capitalism at its avowedly strongest point: its claim to embody and promote individual freedom.--David Leopold, author of The Young Karl Marx: German Philosophy, Modern Politics, and Human Flourishing

About the Author

Prabhat Patnaik has taught economics at the University of Cambridge and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where he is currently professor emeritus. His books include Accumulation and Stability Under Capitalism (1997), The Value of Money (2009), A Theory of Imperialism, with Utsa Patnaik (2017), and Capital and Imperialism, with Utsa Patnaik (2021).