Back to the ‘30s?: Recurring Crises of Capitalism, Liberalism, and Democracy

The essays in this volume address the question: what does it mean to understand the contemporary moment in light of the 1930s?  In the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and facing a dramatic rise of right wing, authoritarian politics across the globe, the events of the 1930s have acquired a renewed relevance. Contributions from a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars address the relationship between these historical moments in various geographical contexts, from Asia-Pacific to Europe to the Americas, while probing an array of thematic questions―the meaning of populism and fascism, the contradictions of constitutional liberalism and “militant democracy,” long cycles and crisis tendencies in capitalism, the gendering and racialization of right wing movements, and the cultural and class politics of emancipatory struggles. Uncovering continuity as well as change and repetition in the midst of transition, Back to the 30s? enriches our ability to use the past to evaluate the challenges, dangers, and promises of the present.  

Jeremy Rayner is on the faculty of the Center for Public Economics and Strategic Sectors at the Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales, in Quito, Ecuador.

Susan Falls teaches at the Savannah College of Art and Design, USA, and is the author of Overshot: The Political Aesthetic of Textiles (with J. Smith, 2020) and White Gold: Stories of Breast Milk Sharing (2017).

George Souvlis is a teaching fellow in history and sociology at the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. He is theauthor of Voices on the Left (2019).

Taylor Nelms, Senior Director of Research at the Filene Research Institute, USA, is co-editor of Journal of Cultural Economy and A Cultural History of Money in the Modern Age (forthcoming).