Review: Alliez, É. and Lazzarato, M. (2022). Wars and Capital. Buenos Aires: Traficantes de Sueños/Tinta Limón/La Cebra

Abstract

In a historical conjuncture in which military conflicts follow one another in rapid succession, war has ceased to be an interruption of the “normal” functioning of capitalism and has become the internal engine of the system itself. From the Middle East to Ukraine, from Africa to Haiti, the global geopolitical scene is increasingly marked by tensions and military wars, to the point that war seems to have become the decisive signature of our times. In the face of this conjuncture, a thesis such as the one Éric Alliez and Maurizio Lazzarato strive to demonstrate could not be more timely and insightful. But what is that thesis, and what does it consist of? The central thesis the authors propose is none other than that war and capital tend to merge today.