“Consuming the World”: A new book by Arno Oren deconstructs “annihilation capitalism” and exposes the violent economic struggle over scarce resources in the age of Xi Jinping and Trump
The new historical and economic book entitled “La confisca del mondo: Storia del capitalismo della finitudine” (The Confiscation of the World: A History of Annihilation Capitalism) has sparked a wide wave of interest and serious analysis in contemporary global intellectual and economic circles. The newly published work in Italian by the prestigious publishing house“Giulio Einaudi” in the “La Biblioteca” series, contains two hundred and eighty-eight pages of medium size, and was meticulously translated by researcher Alessandro Manna. This author comes to present a bold and shocking thesis that dismantles the false promises of the globalized neoliberal system, which has always promised humanity endless economic growth, free open markets, and shared prosperity. Oren reveals that contemporary reality proves exactly the opposite and leads us towards the rise of capitalism of a different kind: protectionist, monopolistic, and engineered with tools.Deadly military.
This investigative work derives its intellectual sobriety and historical depth from the distinguished academic and professional background of its author, Arnaud Oren, a prominent French economist and historian who succeeded in formulating a study that combines rigorous economic theory with historical documentation extending over five centuries of time. In this work, Oren poses a fundamental and troubling question: What happens when the global economic system bases its workings on the inevitable realization and strict awareness that the planet's resources are not infinite but...Limited and exhaustible? From this detailed question, the author formulates his famous concept of “capitalismo della finitudine,” to explain through it how the most aggressive and monopolistic dynamics in the history of humanity were generated as a result of the fear of the end of abundance and the struggle of the major powers to manage the limits of available resources.The book's structure of analysis traces the historical and geopolitical roots of this ferocious economic model, as Oren demonstrates that this brutal manifestation is not an accidental phenomenon, but rather has clear historical precedents; It manifested itself in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through fierce wars and bloody clashes between European empires for absolute control over colonies and emerging markets, and then it reproduced itself strongly in imperialism and fierce colonial competition that caused the outbreak of the two world wars.The first and second. Today, this economic and political model returns with a new mask, taking on the features and faces of contemporary great power leaders such as Donald Trump in the United States and Xi Jinping in China, embodied in a merciless global struggle over raw materials, rare metals, international energy corridors, digital infrastructure, and even the conquest of space.Oren succeeds in dismantling the myth of the “abstract free market,” to demonstrate through a revealing and profound analytical painting that the market was never separate from the apparatus of political power, military maneuvers, and advanced technological policies. Awareness of the “end” and “limits” has made the contemporary capitalist system transform into an explicit and violent predatory rentier mentality (Predatorio, violento e rentier). The book points out that this dangerous transformation is clearly evident in the monopolistic attacks of digital technology giants.And the vast and organized acquisitions of fertile agricultural lands on various continents of the impoverished world, in addition to the huge and exceptional financial and military investments that China is making to develop and upgrade its navy to secure its energy and commercial sovereignty.The book “The Confiscation of the World” received very high critical praise from leading contemporary economists. The famous French economist Thomas Piketty wrote a review and recommendation for the book, stressing that “this important educational work reminds us that authoritarian and predatory capitalism is the real and true form that economic liberalism has taken repeatedly throughout history, which makes it an essential and vital lesson for understanding our present crisis.” At the end of his comprehensive apocalyptic thesis, Oren concludes that humanity...We are entering a new and dangerous era governed by armed conflicts and trade wars cold and hot for the sake of “border management,” requiring peoples and thinkers to recognize the profound logistics of the current system to formulate visions that ensure the preservation of peace and social and environmental justice before the conflict of predation leads the planet toward inevitable structural destruction.
