How is a monopoly organised? What does ‘the economy’ really mean? Is the conception of growth misleading?
To answer these big questions, Timothy Mitchell sits down with Alasdair to discuss his latest book, The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow.
The political theorist and historian, whose previous book analysed the political power of Big Oil, now seeks to re-examine modern understandings of the economy. He moves away from the idea of growth as owning or consuming more, and instead explains it as burdening future generations with the cost of resources consumed today.
Providing concrete examples, from Uber to billionaires, the housing market to AI, Timothy comments on the ‘Great Acceleration’ of human activity since 1950, and how all of this contributes to the current climate breakdown.
“We are continuously selling the future to those who can access the funds to purchase it, and the rest of us are living with the burden of having to pay it back at an increased price”.
Further reading:
- The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow by Timothy Mitchell, 2026
- ‘The Great EconoCon: Climate Crisis and the Misconception of Growth‘, Critical Times, 2026
- ‘Destroying nature will aways be profitable‘, Land and Climate Review, 2024
- Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil by Timothy Mitchell, 2023
- ‘Economy shall (no longer) mean economisation‘, Journal of Cultural Economy, 2022
Related episodes:
- ‘Are financial markets destroying climate ambition?‘ with Ann Pettifor
- ‘Why is wellbeing ignored in climate modelling?‘ with Inge Schrijver
- ‘Is climate crisis really an economic threat?‘ with Ståle Holgersen
- ‘Can renewables ever be profitable enough?‘ with Brett Christophers