Buy now, pay later: The great unravelling of the commodity-form

Abstract

Abstract In this article, I analyze theoretically Marx’s commodity-form in connection with the latest phase of capitalism, which I refer to as the “phase of consumerism.” I will use an approximation to Kozo Uno’s and Tom Sekine’s three levels of analysis, but will oppose their three phases of capitalism (mercantilism, liberalism, and imperialism) with a fourth—the phase of consumerism—which developed primarily in the United States after World War II and reached its golden age between 1947 and 1970. Since the 1970s, capitalism has been moving gradually toward a phase of transition, during which it is becoming less and less capitalist. Coming to conclusions about just how capitalist the global economy still is must remain arguable. For example, should we label the existing economic order “neoliberalism,” “capitalism,” or something that it is moving toward, such as “populism” or “socialism”? Is it clear at this moment which concept best fits the directions of the global economy? It is a rapidly deteriorating capitalism with some fascist tendencies, tendencies that I will not discuss in this article but may be clear to those familiar with fascism.