After having invested in Europe as a reference shareholder in many ports, China has a naval base in Djibouti. The Americans are not to be outdone. Pierre Razoux, academic director of the Mediterranean Foundation of Strategic Studies, recently stated in Les Echos: “Each of the protagonists places their stones as in a game of go.” He adds: “These pawns are sometimes very far from the national territory and their interest is not obvious in times of peace and free navigation without tolls, but if you do not understand right away, in the end you will understand.”
Arnaux Orain did not wait for the end of the game that takes place every day before our eyes, he understood: neoliberalism is over! However, this is nothing new; already in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and then between 1880 and 1945, the world was seen as finite. Finitude explains that the maritime powers were all driven by a desire for hoarding and predation (hence colonial expansion and warehouse trade). Since 2010, we have entered a new phase where it is not only states that act through a naval hegemony but also “company-states” like Elon Musk’s.
The book is dense, erudite and historical references spring up throughout the text. The reader may sometimes get lost in this profusion where historical figures and economic models alternate (the author also claims a methodological ambition which “consists in blurring the lines between intellectual history, economic history and contemporary economy”). In the end, everything becomes clear, capitalism of finitude is when we can state the slogan: There will not be enough for everyone!
This brilliant essay invites us not to underestimate behaviors that could cast doubt on the rationality of certain leaders. They are perfectly rational. It is under the pressure of Donald Trump that Panama announces its withdrawal from the new Silk Roads, and it is no coincidence that the Houthis attacked 134 ships in twelve months with an arsenal provided by Iran or China.
Arnaud Orain is a specialist in economic history and political economy. He is Director of Studies at the EHSS. His work focuses on economic dynamics and their historical implications.
Alain Brunet’note
