It's Not You, It's Capitalism

May 1, 2023

In these deeply income-unequal days, with work hours up and real wages down, capitalism has been coming in for some biting remarks; surveys show that more than half of millennials and Gen Z-ers are suspicious of its tenets. But they don't know much about socialism, something Jabali, a senior news and politics editor at Essence magazine, intends to correct. Here's a spirited and reader-friendly discussion from a longtime socialist adherent that also highlights unrecognized socialists of color and the contributions they've made. With a 40,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

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September 1, 2023
Jabali, an attorney and news and politics editor for Essence, takes on capitalism's failures and injustices with humor and moxie in this dynamic, illustrated primer. As the title indicates, she wryly uses the scenario of a break-up to explain why capitalism is "the toxic partner we can't seem to leave." Jabali presents a fresh definition of capitalism and explains how it "depends on inequality." By tracking the long-reaching impacts of colonialism, slavery, industrialization, white supremacy, and systemic racism, Jabali exposes capitalism's entrenched biases, lies, tricks, traps, and vicious cycles. Elucidating statistics and key facts are accompanied by quotes from such essential thinkers as W. E. B. Du Bois, Kathleen Cleaver, Bayard Rustin, Cedric C. Robinson, and Assata Shakur. As she addresses how capitalism has undermined education, health care, housing, and employment and played a leading role in the climate crisis and threats against democracy, Jabali argues that there is nothing inevitable about our entanglement with capitalism and offers a recalibrating view of the alternatives socialism offers. The clever, irreverent, and hip relationship allegory makes for a zesty, thought-provoking, and liberating guide.

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September 1, 2023
A cheeky introduction to anti-capitalist theory with a focus on race. This takedown of capitalism is equal parts explanation, rejoinder, and manifesto. Jabali, a senior news and politics editor at Essence, employs the overarching metaphor of a toxic romance to illustrate how capitalism works to keep its subjects from imagining a better, healthier world. Ultimately, capitalism is "your average gaslighter." The author's vibrant language works together with memes and emoji-esque graphics to make this book a breeze to read, but her brazen, sometimes cringey tone draws on a deep well of theory and historical analysis. The book's most compelling feature is Jabali's focus on nonwhite and non-Western socialist theorists and leaders, which makes it a valuable resource for a wide audience. Entry-level readers will learn the basics of capitalism, socialism, and colonialism. Regarding the latter, the author writes, "today, capitalism compels the ownership class to continually amass more capital with less input and cheaper labor in order to remain com-petitive, just as the colonial powers of the past competed internation-ally for resources and workers to plunder. So what if it meant millions of people would come to be considered an inferior race, with lasting, devastating effects for a few centuries?" Readers who may have never connected with socialism may find satisfaction in encountering a diverse set of socialists who have built on Marxist orthodoxy. Such scholars, writes Jabali, "realized the OG communist theories weren't one-size-fits-all, especially given how integral racism was in creating and maintaining capitalism in other parts of the world." Full-page, bright infographics and abundant sidebars demonstrate historical events and deploy statistics to argue how capitalism is inextricable from racism and that "rare case[s] of racial solidarity" are invaluable building blocks of working-class power. Other chapters examine current affairs such as health care, housing, debt, the climate crisis, and campaign finance. A radical textbook for budding socialists, uncompromising in its attention to race in the story of global capitalism.

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