Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market

Synopsis

Oil is often treated as a commodity, a geopolitical prize, or an environmental problem. In Crude Capitalism, Adam Hanieh argues that it is something even more fundamental: one of the central forces shaping modern capitalism itself. Tracing the history of oil from the late nineteenth century to today's climate crisis, he examines how fossil fuels became deeply embedded in global finance, imperial power, industrial production, food systems, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and everyday life.

Rather than focusing solely on extraction or energy, Hanieh reveals how oil underpins the structures of the modern world economy. Drawing on decades of historical and political-economic research, he explores the rise of OPEC, the Middle East's changing role in global capitalism, corporate power, debt, militarism, and the enduring dominance of the US dollar. Ambitious, deeply researched, and highly accessible, Crude Capitalism is an essential work for anyone seeking to understand the intertwined histories of fossil fuels, empire, and the global economy.

About the Author

Adam Hanieh is Professor of Political Economy and Global Development at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter and a Research Fellow at the Transnational Institute. His research focuses on capitalism, imperialism, energy, and the political economy of the Middle East. He is also the author of Money, Markets, and Monarchies and Lineages of Revolt, and is widely recognized as one of the leading scholars of the global oil economy.

Publisher

Verso Books

Publication Date

September 16, 2025 (Paperback)

Format

Paperback

Pages

336

Subjects

Political Economy · Climate Politics · Environmental Studies · Capitalism · Energy History · Middle East Studies

ISBN

9781839763434