Extractive Capitalism

Essential reading for the Iran Crisis - what happens when the seas close, and oil stops flowing?

'Urgent and polemical' Financial Times

'A brilliant explainer of how the world works' Simon Kuper, author of Chums

'The real stuff of the economy - blood, dirt, oil and violence' Dan Davies, author of The Unaccountability Machine

'Profound and compelling ... A book that I couldn't put down' Adam Hanieh, author of Crude Capitalism

Whether it's pumping oil, mining resources or shipping commodities across oceans, the global economy runs on extraction. Promises of frictionless trade and lucrative speculation are the hallmarks of our era, but the backbone of globalisation is still low-cost labour and rapacious corporate control. Extractive capitalism is what made - and is still making - our unequal world.

Professor Laleh Khalili reflects on the hidden stories behind late capitalism, from seafarers abandoned on debt-ridden container ships to the nefarious reach of consultancy firms and the cronyism that drives record-breaking profits. Piercing, wry and constantly revealing, Extractive Capitalism brings vividly to light the dark truths behind the world's most voracious industries.