The New Prophets of Capital (Jacobin)

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 ethic as the antidote to gender inequality; John Mackey promising that free markets will heal the planet; Oprah Winfrey urging us to find solutions to poverty and alienation within ourselves; and Bill and Melinda Gates offering the generosity of the 1 percent as the answer to a persistent, systemic inequality. The new prophets of capital buttress an exploitative system, even as the cracks grow more visible.

• Four Futures: Life After Capitalism (Jacobin)
• Class War: The Privatization of Childhood (Jacobin)
• Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State (Jacobin)
• The People's Republic of Walmart: How the World's Biggest Corporations are Laying the Foundation for Socialism (Jacobin)
• Utopia or Bust: A Guide to the Present Crisis (Jacobin)
• Government Paternalism: Nanny State or Helpful Friend?
• The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality
• Capitalist Realism: Is there no alternative?
• Splinterlands (Dispatch Books)
• Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left