Sometimes dismissed as mere fantasies, utopian capitalist experiments by the ultra-rich have in fact been tried in many places on earth, often with disastrous consequences for the local inhabitants, according to Ray Craib, Marie Underhill Noll Professor of American History. In a live, hybrid Chats in the Stacks book talk, Craib, who also holds affiliations with Romance Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Latino Studies, discusses this history as revealed in his new book "Adventure Capitalism: A History of Libertarian Exit, from the Era of Decolonization to the Digital Age" (PM Press/Spectre, 2022). Based on deep dives into FBI files as well as other archives in the US, the UK, and Vanuatu, "Adventure Capitalism" explores a global history that intersects figures from old guard coup leaders to techno-utopians, segregationists to socialists, and real estate speculators to international spies. Craib explores his work’s implications for understanding the history of contemporary capitalism, decolonization, and empire, as well as the direction of our global future.
