Book Review: Getting Rich Without Capitalism

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The “lens” in which we view the world is important. The “lens” is a simplistic term for describing our worldview, our analysis, and perhaps our ideology, in which we interpret an event, a relationship, or a situation. We all have a lens whether we admit it or not. The more important aspect is which lens should we be using to understand the current affairs of our country and the world?

Caleb Maupin’s book, “Getting Rich Without Capitalism: America’s Way Out”, provides the reader with a lens in which to understand the current affairs of the U.S. and the world. It provides a straightforward explanation for the perplexing issues of today. It provides a historical framework to the current affairs of today. It touches on many particular issues but is written for everyone. The book provides a “lens” in which to view our social lives, culture, politics, economy, and international relations.

There is a lot of history Caleb provides for the reader, much of it complex but broken down to be easily digestible, which gives us an analysis of where many of today’s problems originated.

Although Caleb is publicly known to be a leftist, this book isn’t just for lefties. Anyone searching for a breakdown of current issues, and the history of where it came from, as well as how to move forward will benefit greatly. Many of us don’t have time to conduct real research to find the solutions to the questions we have, but this book is a solid starting point. Why is the U.S. demonizing Russia? What’s the deal with China? Why is the U.S. still in Afghanistan? What the hell does Cultural Leftism mean? Why are there so many mass shootings in the U.S.? What would socialism in the U.S. look like?

I, myself being a military veteran and now an outspoken leftist, benefited immensely from reading this book.

I really appreciated the fact that Caleb touches on U.S. foreign policy, which I believe many leftists today forget about. This is just one of many aspects of which I respect both Caleb’s work and this book.

The book touches over so many issues and the book isn’t some 400-page outline providing theory for activists and organizations. It is simply a break down of events, explanations of different behaviors in both the political and social spheres of our lives, and possible solutions that are taken from real concrete examples from all over the world and history. Let me just make a short list of ideas in the book:

• Acknowledging that everyone wants a better world, but there are many different worldviews people draw from, and which way is the most sensible and least destructive
• How the CIA thwarted the socialist movement in the U.S.
• The importance of technology in society
• Analysis of the breakdown between the US ruling class, called American Bonapartism
• Breaking away from the dangerous idea Economic Nationalism
• The ideological origins of Mass Shooters and terrorism in the Western world
• International relations, particularly the demonization of Russia from the West
• Populism: left and right of the political spectrum
• Ancestral roots of “Cultural Leftism”
• Concrete analysis of the Afghanistan War (which many peace/antiwar activists do not address)
• How resources and capital accumulation drive US foreign policy
• Why socialism is the cure to the disease of capitalism without going into complicated ideas

This book isn’t just an analysis of the world; it is a materialist view of the current events which are unraveling around us. It is a Marxist perspective for the 21st century. I’m surprised that anyone could provide such a detailed analysis of important and significant events which are shaping the 21st century in just 141 pages. Caleb’s mind is filled with all this knowledge and he shares it with the world. It’s just a matter of tuning-in and paying attention.


Source: thepeacereport

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