City Boy Warns of End of Capitalism

Sociology Makes the City Pages OK, my title is a bending it a bit, but still, its good to see a bit of sociology appearing in the financial pages, even if you argue that you might expect that in The Independent. The first seven paragraphs or so of Stephen King’s article in yesterday’s Independent provide a useful piece of stimulus material which can help sociology students evaluate Marxist theory. It does nicely illustrate the point that the theories of society prevalent at any particular time tend to reflect the dominant assumptions and conditions. Can we expect Marxism, after a lull since the heady days of the late 70s and early 80s, to suddenly become more fashionable? And if the Chief Economist of HSBC thinks its worth knowing a bit of sociology, its worth taking a note. Mind you, the reader comment/s underneath King’s article show that not everyone is so impressed. Indeed, critics of HSBC might say this explains everything - see elsewhere in the business pages and todays’ Independent for more on HSBC’s troubles.