Introduction

Economic theory is perhaps best understood as being located within a broader liberal tradition. The meta-crisis alluded might then is explained as a consequence of liberalism imploding – with the result that both economic theory and capitalism appear in a state of crisis. Liberalism – as a theory and set of practices – rests on a certain 'picture' of what it is to be a human being. Both market economies and the foundations of economic theory rely on a picture of economic agents as rational, self-interested individuals. There are a series of interlocking contradictions of capitalism: the dominance of commodification, private property, exchange values, concentrations of power, the conflict between production and realization as well as the tension between the reproduction of capital and what is called 'social reproduction'. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.