Read This Book…

The overarching metaphor in this book is of capitalism as a toxic romantic partner who constantly puts you down, gaslights you, and is just using you. The author is unmasking this toxic person and making it clear that they’re just not that into you. The author also teaches us there is a healthier and supportive option available. While this metaphor isn’t necessarily everyone’s vibe, it does serve to make the content so much more accessible and relatable. This book is written in a way that clarifies how capitalism is at play right now in our own lives and not just some nebulous thing that we have nothing to do with.

This book introduces readers to so many people fighting against capitalism. There are dozens of quotes from anti-capitalists, past and present, like W. E. B. DuBois, Ella Baker, Evo Morales, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Kathleen Cleaver. The book repeatedly makes it clear that class struggle cannot be separated from racial equity. It’s been so helpful to learn about it in more detail to better my understanding of all the interconnections.

The author teaches readers about how capitalism tells us that if we just work harder, hustle more, and sacrifice more, we will get ahead. That is actually rarely the case because the system is designed to keep people in the middle class and the lower class in those classes. Capitalism depends on folks’ inability to move upward. There might be anecdotes of this happening, some people here and there, but it doesn’t help the nation as a whole.

This book gives really clear definitions of capitalism and socialism and spends most of the pages giving examples of these frameworks in action. After reading this book, I can confidently say, “Yes, I know what these things are and some of the ways they affect me and my communities.” I also want to mention that this book is packed with illustrations and infographics and graphs and charts and quotes that help make this information very present and relatable to readers.