Jacobin Radio: Escaping Capitalism w/ Clara Mattei

Jacobin Radio: Escaping Capitalism w/ Clara Mattei

From Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

April 14, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

Clara Mattei discusses her book 'Escape from Capitalism' and the structural necessity of austerity within capitalism.

Suzi speaks with political economist Clara Mattei about her new book, Escape from Capitalism . The title is provocative: What does it mean to escape capitalism? Not reform it, regulate it, or make it kinder, but escape it altogether? Mattei argues that capitalism is not a system gone wrong but one working exactly as intended. Her core claim is that austerity is not a policy mistake or ideological excess, it is structurally necessary. It is how capitalism reproduces itself: maintaining unemployment, disciplining labor, and foreclosing challenges before they can take shape. Drawing on both historical analysis and present-day realities, Mattei shows how even hard-won social democratic gains are temporary — rolled back as soon as they threaten profits. From post–World War I Europe to today’s neoliberal order and the resurgence of right-wing authoritarianism, austerity remains the system’s core logic. As Mattei puts it: Unemployment isn’t a bug, it’s a feature. And anti-austerity politics already point beyond capitalism itself. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mattei and Weissman unpack the “capital order,” the role of the state in enforcing it, and what it would actually mean to…

People in this episode

Host: Suzi Weissman

Guest: Clara Mattei

Topics covered

  • capitalism
  • austerity
  • political economy
  • social democracy
  • neoliberalism
  • labor

Keywords

  • capitalism
  • austerity
  • political economy
  • social democracy
  • neoliberalism
  • unemployment
  • labor

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Jacobin Radio, Jacobin

Books & works: Escape from Capitalism

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