{"product_id":"the-alibi-of-capital-how-we-broke-the-earth-to-steal-the-future-on-the-promise-of-a-better-tomorrow-9781836742272","title":"The Alibi of Capital: How We Broke the Earth to Steal the Future on the Promise of a Better Tomorrow","description":"\u003cb\u003eStealing the future and concealing the theft - capitalism's method, as examined by the author of the acclaimed \u003ci\u003eCarbon Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToday, extraordinary wealth seems to arrive from nowhere. The trick of conjuring this unearned wealth is, in fact, the key to understanding capital­ism's origins and a clue to why the catastrophe of climate collapse is upon us: value is created by consuming the future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Alibi of Capital \u003c\/i\u003eexplains how this came about through the imperial expansion of the West, en­cumbering today's generations with repayments on earlier extractions. Timothy Mitchell identifies the forms of capitalisation, credit, and coercion that turn prospective assets into present income. Rejecting the common idea that claims on the future create only financial or fictitious capital, he traces the terraforming projects - the destruction of rivers, the colonising of territory, the expan­sion of infrastructure, and the burning of carbon - through which the future has been squandered. Terms such as finance, technology, the economy, and growth function as alibis that conceal this devastating form of extraction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Timothy Mitchell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Verso\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.23lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.44h x 6.36w x 1.25d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781836742272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/16\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTimothy Mitchell \u003c\/b\u003eis a political theorist and historian who has written about colonialism, Middle East politics, economics, expert knowledge in the government of collective life, and the history and politics of energy. His previous books include \u003ci\u003eCarbon Democracy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRule of Experts\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eQuestions of Modernity\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eColonising Egypt\u003c\/i\u003e. His writings have been translated into many languages. He is the William B. Ransford Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University in New York.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"Timothy Mitchell \/ Hardcover \/ English","offer_id":47792937271453,"sku":"9781836742272","price":55.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_ec7385c5-8c84-4198-b5e9-4a6bcdefb423.jpg?v=1774985045","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-alibi-of-capital-how-we-broke-the-earth-to-steal-the-future-on-the-promise-of-a-better-tomorrow-9781836742272","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}