Decolonising Political Economy: Reading Capital and Imperialism at Neoliberalisms Crisis Conjuncture

This Viewpoint article considers the importance of decolonising political economy in the current context of neoliberalisms crisis conjuncture. The discussion centres around a major new work in critical-decolonial political economy, Capital and Imperialism: Theory History and the Present, by Prabhat and Utsa Patnaik. This work revisits `colonial drain theory, explaining how colonialism, imperialism and the North-South divide were necessary adjuncts to capitalism as a `money-using system, operating through mechanisms of colonial taxation, trade and financing. Capital and Imperialism is discussed in the context of the challenge to `decolonise economics, to suggest that colonial drain analysis needs better integration with intersectional struggles against structural injustice. A broader analysis is required to meet the challenges of nationalism, neo-fascism and environmental limitations.