The New Prophets of Capital by Nicole Aschoff | Goodreads
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The New Prophets of Capital
(Jacobin)
by
Nicole Aschoff
3.94 · Rating details · 362 Ratings · 42 Reviews
A deft and caustic takedown of the new prophets of profit, from Bill Gates to Oprah
As severe environmental degradation, breathtaking inequality, and increasing alienation push capitalism against its own contradictions, mythmaking has become as central to sustaining our economy as profitmaking.
Enter the new prophets of capital: Sheryl Sandberg touting the capitalist work ...more
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Paperback, 160 pages
Published March 31st 2015 by Verso (first published March 1st 2015)
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1781688109 (ISBN13: 9781781688106)
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Jacobin
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Jun 09, 2015Molly rated it did not like it
Strangely obtuse when not stating the obvious. Lots of fog about "markets" and nothing about property and exploitation. More of an advertisement for Gates than a criticism, Aschoff's book misrepresents the goals of the outfit, obscures + prettifies its anti-democtratic mission, and covers up the most nefarious Gates activities including human medical experimentation in the 3rd world that has caused massive suffering and deaths (among them the deaths of poor rural girls used without consent for H ...more
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Mar 07, 2015Micah rated it it was amazing
Incredibly readable book that uses some of the most important figures and institutions of our time to provide a strong radical critique in simple language. The book has plenty that will make it worth reading for those already familiar with leftist politics, but I think it would be especially eye-opening for folks with no familiarity with radical critiques whatsoever. We need more books like this one.
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Apr 01, 2015Greg Brown rated it it was amazing
Excellent, approachable examination of how efforts to reform or correct for the problems of capitalism often end up retrenching its worse tendencies. It's no surprise that LEAN IN or CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM can be found in airport bookstores everywhere, since they ultimately pose no threat to the established order: adding rich women to corporate boards doesn't mean policies will become any kinder to poor women, and nods in the direction of social responsibility don't break the cycle of consumption that drives environmental harm. Meanwhile, Gates pours his billions into social change by fiat (giving editorial columnists ever a case of the vapors) while Oprah follows Sandberg's lead by exhorting her followers to focus on self-betterment rather than agitating to change the existing order.
Aschoff critiques all four through a Marxist lens, which is to say one that points out the embedded capitalist ideology in each and how they perpetuate some of the capitalist processes that contribute to the problem in the first place. To crib from crushingbort's great tweet about libertarians, each thinks "the problems are very bad while the causes, the causes are very good". All that's missing is a look at respectability politics, perhaps excluded because it's waning while the others still seem to be waxing.
Highly recommended, and a quick read with excellent resources for diving further. (less)
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Jan 29, 2018Raya Al-Raddadi rated it really liked it
يقدم كتاب "الأنبياء الجدد لرأس المال" نقد لأربع نماذج شهيرة في عالمنا اليوم: شيرل ساندبرغ التي تشغل أحد أهم المناصب في شركة فيسبوك والتي أصبحت رمزاً نسوية في عالم التكنولوجيا الذي يسوده الرجال ، أوبرا وينفري الإعلامية الشهيرة وسرديتها عن النجاح والسعادة ، جون ماكي الرئيس التنفيذي لشركة هول فوودز ومفهومه لما يسمى بالرأسمالية الواعية ، وأخيراً بيل غيتس مؤسس مايكروسفت ومفهومه للرأسمالية الخيرية.
تبدأ الكاتبة بنموذج النسوية التي تؤمن به ساندبرغ (أن وجود نساء في القمة سيساعد بالضرورة المزيد من النساء ...more
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Mar 02, 2017Kyle Minton rated it it was amazing
When Whole Foods came to Detroit I remember Kai Ryssdal of NPR’s Marketplace doing an interview with Walter Robb, the CEO of the company at the time. Admittedly, I was on the bandwagon; I thought a Whole Foods in Detroit was a good thing, was part of the revitalization effort happening across the city. Ryssdal, though, posed some difficult questions to a clearly annoyed Robb (who at one point says something along the lines of “that’s why I’m an entrepreneur and you’re just a journalist”). The skepticism Ryssdal expressed was rooted in gentrification and because of Robb’s continued counter to the concerns over high prices always boiling down to “just doing it right” Ryssdal ended up asking him what his plans were to teach the residents of Detroit how to shop at the store.
This interview profoundly affected me. I began to see the urban revitalization led by Dan Gilbert and his ilk (whom I worked for at the time) as flawed, despite their intentions. At the same time, I had difficulties expressing this skepticism, I wasn’t sure why dumping private capital into economically disadvantaged areas seemed to result in more inequality when the intention and efficiency were in the right places. It was also difficult to explain to fellow suburbanites why I had my doubts about Detroit being labeled as a “comeback city” when they saw the city generating profit in ways it hadn’t for some time.
This was until, very recently, I read The New Profits of Capital by Nicole Aschoff. The New Profits basically breaks down the stories of successful, well-intentioned, entrepreneurs that seek to make the world a better place through capitalist markets. Aschoff focuses on four big players: Sheryl Sandburg of Facebook, John Mackey of Whole Foods, Oprah, and Bill/Melinda Gates.
Each section follows a pattern. The first part generally discusses the subject in a positive light; Sheryl Sandberg breaking barriers as a woman CEO, John Mackey hasn’t taken a paycheck in years and pays his employees profit share, Oprah’s unfettered benevolence, the Gateses wild success in reducing disease worldwide. This is important, Aschoff isn’t a snooty leftist whose aim is to defecate all over the capitalist class for being evil or greedy. She recognizes the importance of understanding each of these individuals as essentially good. For Aschoff, the flaw is in the philosophy.
The next part of each section usually delves into the limitations of capitalist markets to accomplish the endgame of each subject. The ideas here are enlightening and, in many ways, a total game changer. Some key points used against the subjects are that capital - unlike human needs - can’t be satiated, that markets require inequality, and that private capital is undemocratic. There are more about the limits of the individual vs the system (you can’t bootstrap your way out of poverty) and conscious consumerism as well. Each was backed up by an abundance of sources demonstrating that capitalism necessitates inequality and a certain amount of people left behind.
The final part of each section talks about ways in which society could be constructed, democratically and socialistically, that would serve the needs of people over the needs of capital. Whether or not you believe this is the answer, The New Profits of Capital is certainly worth reading. If only to poke holes in the success stories capitalists are telling in the wake of immense suffering and poverty. I can’t recommend this book enough, I almost wish it were a documentary for fear that too few people will read it.
And just FYI, I emailed Aschoff at editor@jacobinmag.org to request a Part II featuring Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, Dan Gilbert, and Sarah Koenig from the podcast Serial. So...fingers crossed.
(less)
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May 10, 2015Caleb rated it liked it
Aschoff ably exposes the pervasiveness of capitalist values by analyzing their manifestation in lauded (neo?) liberal institutions/figures like Oprah, Sheryl Sandberg, and the Gates Foundation. She makes a radical critique of capitalism accessible by eschewing jargon and writing with tremendous economy. The book is perhaps best as a primer for the uninitiated or a refresher for lapsed radicals tempted by the tasty abundance of a Whole Foods buffet. I do wish for more ecumenism by thinkers like Aschoff, but that didn't significantly diminish my appreciation for this particular project.(less)
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Nov 25, 2017Regan rated it really liked it
If Aschoff were more polemical, she would've title this The New False Prophets of Capital or The (False) Idols of Neoliberalism. If my alternate titles get more to her conclusion, her title preserves the ambiguity at the heart of of her case-study of (what I'll call) "apologist" capitalists. Apologist Capitalists are those who believe we can utilize the existing economic system to advance moral and social (especially global/internationalist) goals. Her examples are Sheryl Sandberg of "lean in" fame, John Mackey of WholeFoods, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. All of these multimillionaires(+) propose to modify (thereby improving) capitalism by working within the system itself. In other words, the market itself can and will resolve the inequalities by means of eco-capitalism, philanthrocapitalism, etc. Aschoff denies that any permutation of capitalism can resolve the fundamental social and economic problems, but she gives each a fair hearing. (less)
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May 31, 2015Sara rated it liked it
Shelves: philanthrocapitalism
Is capitalism for profit?
[Through my ratings, reviews and edits I'm providing intellectual property and labor to Amazon.com Inc., listed on Nasdaq, which fully owns Goodreads.com and in 2014 posted revenues for $90 billion and a $271 million loss. Intellectual property and labor require compensation. Amazon.com Inc. is also requested to provide assurance that its employees and contractors' work conditions meet the highest health and safety standards at all the company's sites].
The four cases usefully pulled together here seem to imply that no, capitalism is not so much about profit as the author herself thinks, religiously quoting David Harvey as the only possible authority on the matter. Also the fact that our master, the owner of GoodReads, Amazon Inc., has been recording losses for years (2013 was the exception), without being dumped by its shareholders for this (on the contrary) should support the inference.
The idea that a company's objective should be to make profits has no foundation in the US legal system either. Companies are allowed to make profits, whereas not-for-profits are denied this option. But companies can and do stay around if they just break even or make losses, as Amazon's case proves. The important thing is that what they do is legal, which should absolutely not be taken for granted, as Gates' antitrust troubles or Mackey anti-union behaviours suggest (and if they do something illegal, they lose their so called licence to operate, regardless of their profitability).
The four hard-nosed capitalists portrayed in these pages in a crescendo of horror make the case for a shift of our attention away from the profit red herring. Sandberg, who maybe is the odd one out, and Oprah preach hustling technologies of the self to encourage capitalism's subjects to submit to capitalism's discipline tapping into their inner resources, thus avoiding being sacrificed to the Moloch. Their ideology is notorious and goes under the name of 'meritocracy at the top (only)' (a magisterial exposé thereof can be found in Rosanvallon's The Society of Equals). Mackey and Gates' paternalism (branded conscious capitalism and philanthro-capitalism respectively) is a redux of the old 'entrepreneur as hero' of Schumpeterian tradition.
In sum, our capitalists just want to be the ones who decide who is good and who is bad, what is to be done, and how - without anyone getting in the way, thanks. Profit is not necessary, once you can undemocratically shape society as it pleases you, teaching people how to know their place, especially 'the poor', who are essentialized as a foreign nation (and will be probably provided soon with a special passport, courtesy of the Gates Foundation, so that they can be helped more efficiently). For more horror, see Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty.
If capitalism were just interested in making profits, the world would be a better place - as loss making Amazon's employees know so well. (less)
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Aug 18, 2015Robb Bridson rated it it was amazing
Aschoff writes a concise and broad critique of neoliberal hegemony by covering the ostensibly liberal movements that attempt to use capitalism as a force for good. She looks at four huge public figures: Sheryl Sandberg, John Mackey, Oprah, and Bill Gates.
This book is not an attack piece; it does not vilify the subjects nor does it deny the good they've done. This critique focuses on limitations that belie the comfortable message that we can fix everything using market forces. Also there is the issue that these pro-capital liberal movements might bolster the very strhctures that create the problems these figures hope to solve.
It is quite possible this book may actually boost your respect for these figures while simultaneously pointing out how clawed their worldviews are.
And of course,they aren't all the same.
Sandberg for one seems reasonable for the most part,even aware of the limitations of "Lean In" and the Gateses are certainly not crazy. Mackey seems like an admirable nutcase, like many libertarians: certainly has noble goals, but a strange religious zeal about entrepreneurial that undermines the things be cares about. Oprah... Well, in spite of the good she has done, she is a lunatic and has unleashed a legion of charlatans upon us with a toxic mythology that undermines all collective effort.
Aschoff ties it all together pretty well. (less)
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Mar 23, 2017Anders K. rated it really liked it
Shelves: critical-theory, development, nonfiction
A brilliant critique of how the near-mythical status of today's "prophets of capital" is created while ignoring their underlying hypocrisy. Although Aschoff's book is often polemical, her adept condensation of contemporaneous critiques against advanced capitalism into an easily digestible read made me give the book four stars instead of three. Can be read in a day or two.
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Feb 08, 2017Danae rated it it was ok
Shelves: scans
Está bien pero es muy corto.
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Apr 01, 2017Wendy Liu rated it it was amazing
Shelves: owned-ebooks, capitalism-etc
I'm baffled by the one-star review that is currently the most upvoted review for this book. It feels like a review of a different book from the one I read, which I personally thought was excellent. If the book's description intrigues you, I'd recommend you take the criticisms with a grain of salt and see for yourself how they hold up.
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Jun 29, 2017Maureen Forys rated it really liked it
Really interesting and accessible book about a difficult topic.
Essentially, anyone trying to sell you self-actualization and a new utopia through capitalism are ignoring the massive inequalities and barriers to mobility that exist. Our country really values the idea that hard work and frugality are the ways to achieve success, but that's not actually how things play out in real life. Unfortunately, our culture hasn't caught up and we tend to idolize extremely wealthy people with messages that reinforce those beliefs.
Lots of shocking-ish statistics through this book:
-Whole Foods, while constantly being celebrated as a champion of fair wages and workers, has the majority of its employees on Medicaid.
-one third of American households haven negative wealth or no assets
-one in three Americans wouldn't be able to pay that months rent or mortgage if they lost their job
-the United States ranks lowest out of first world countries in terms of intergenerational wealth mobility
All this being said, the author said some pretty outrageous things were going on in KIPP schools that 100% are not. As a former teacher there, I was pretty horrified that said said students were regularly publicly shamed and wore signs that said MISCREANT as a punishment. The school I taught in had its fair share of issues, but that was not something that ever happened there.
Overall, I think her message was strong and I'm glad there are people out there who are starting to identify that wealthy people aren't smarter and harder working even though our culture reinforces that idea. (less)
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Dec 21, 2017Augusto Delgado rated it liked it
Recommends it for: Anybody, comrades new and old
Couldn't help but think of Tommy the movie based on The Who's opera while I was reading this interesting book about this new prophets of capitalism; in a way it's like the successful Tommy when he preaches to the faithful that all you got to do is be deaf, dumb and blind and play pinball to be like him.
Now, this Ophras, Gateses, Mackey and Sandbergs shift to their successes the way of improve neoliberal capitalism through self help, commodification of education and healthcare, invented Ecologism and women in corporate and powerful places. Have this Sandberg lady noticed that a certain woman with power and an ex Potus husband is a war criminal?
Anyway, interesting analysis of these failed proposals by Nicole Aschoff while at the same time falls way short of proposing anti capitalist alternatives.
Good read. (less)
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Aug 19, 2017Thom Kaife rated it liked it
This book is a great primer on the perverted nature of neoliberal capitalism and how it has infiltrated progressive discourses. it can at times read as though the author is praising the "new prophets" but its purely to build the context and rationale to then provide the counter argument. Unfortunately for me, the anticapitalist response seemed to dwindle in size against the building of these "stories". However I think it would be a great read for someone who is quite early on in their development into socialism/marxism/anticapitalist thought etc. (less)
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Aug 26, 2018Jun rated it really liked it
I recommend this book very strongly. I learned a lot about these 'new prophets.' I always wanted to criticize certain celebs who eulogize market economy, not to mention neo-liberalism, but lacked lots and lots of information. Nicole supplied that.
Her suggestion is not detailed enough, but I believe the direction is right. At least she pointed out clearly what is wrong with those market-loving celebs' prescription about world problems. Kudos big time, Nicole.
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Oct 21, 2017J.D. Forslin rated it liked it
A good primer on the subject. Something to get your mind working in a direction. It is somewhat incomplete in that it is heavy on criticism, and light on solutions. This book should only be the beginning of one's readings.
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Dec 08, 2017Bevan rated it really liked it
A sharp critique of neoliberalism. However, only two pages are devoted to possible solutions to inequality and redistribution of wealth. So, then what?
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May 11, 2018Sean Estelle rated it it was amazing
Shelves: nonfiction
Great primer on storytelling & ideology! Would love to see an update on whole foods post Amazon merger, though.
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Feb 03, 2018Joanna Norton rated it it was amazing
Great to read a critique of the capitalist narrative as presented by some of its most ardent supporters and storytellers.
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Jul 18, 2015A rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
It's not too often that most people will read anything about the flaws of capitalism anymore. It's a shame. While free-market capitalism has brought prosperity to some of the world, it is not the solution for every single problem on earth. Countries with universal healthcare, for example, tend to have overall superior health and cost outcomes. Free-market approaches towards healthcare have been problematic because it is quite difficult for an individual to put a market value on avoiding their own death. Alas.
In the same vein, Nicole Aschoff looks at four free-market luminaries who have identified some problems with modern society and are determined to solve it using the free market. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, wants more women in the boardroom. John Mackey, Whole Foods CEO, believes that environmentally-conscious consumers and companies can save the planet and make a lot of money in the meantime. Oprah's goals are a little less clear and seem to boil down to "self-belief", while Bill Gates contents himself with both ending global poverty and reforming the American education system. Simple stuff.
This is a decent book to read if you are genuinely interested in reading about some of these problems which Aschoff believes the free market cannot solve. She is at her most persuasive when arguing that the free market cannot "save the planet." The book is well-written, clear, and mercifully free of jargon.
That being said, if you're hostile to her central thesis and believe that the free market can solve any problem, keep browsing. This certainly won't be the book to change your mind. (less)
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Aug 15, 2017Nathan rated it it was ok
Shelves: figuring-out-the-world
Feels like the author lost their conviction halfway through, perhaps realising there wasn't as much mileage in their subject matter as they thought when submitting their proposal to the publisher.
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Feb 07, 2015Gaspar rated it it was ok
Shelves: eco-fin-business, non-fiction
Although the premise of the book is laudable, I think the author didn't do a good job giving good evidence.
She restrictively assumes that the things that Gates et al are doing are just plain wrong, evil minded and that there is some kind of conspiracy behind all these Trust, Foundations and NGOs to exploit us all.
It seems to me that she is building this strawman making the wrong assumptions and without taking into account 4 important things: (i) they are doing good things that nobody else is doing. (ii) what is the counterfactual, ie, how would we be without those imperfect Foundations and NGOs. (iii)Nothing in this world is for free, everything has a trade off, and what we need to analyze is if the cost or price is good enough. (iv)The world isn't perfect nor 100% fair, so it's better to have some imperfect institutions and some negative externalities to having nothing.
I totally agree that we must express our discontent and fight for improvements and dream of Utopia. But there is a huge difference between criticizing failures and flaws, and completely discard everything. The author is doing the latter, and the worst thing is she doesn't even propose alternatives nor valid and plausible solutions.
(less)
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Oct 10, 2015Conor rated it did not like it
I'm very sympathetic to the argument but it's poorly written and organized, spends way too much time explaining the point of views of the prophets as if trying to lend them credence before the demolition, and falls into dumb New Left traps like declaring that social and cultural capital are real and productive rather than ideological mystifications of the inequalities created by the social relations of production, ie capital. Despite citing Harry Braverman (I will always love everything that cites Braverman), this just isn't a good book at all. In article form, it may have been better, if aimed specifically at willing liberals. The already indoctrinated are unlikely to find anything interesting in here. (less)
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Dec 23, 2016Ben rated it really liked it
Shelves: to-read-education
A fast read, and pretty fascinating at times. Aschoff breaks down the personal philosophies of five celebrity capitalists (Sheryl Sandberg, John Mackey, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill & Melinda Gates), explaining why their visions or versions of feminism through corporate promotion, "green" capitalism, self-motivated individual liberation and identity politics, and market-driven conscious capitalist social change will only perpetuate inequality and injustice in the long run. She manages to do this without personally attacking her subjects or rendering them caricatures or arch-villains, and even proposes solutions and an annotated Further Reading list at the end. Well worth your time. (less)
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