Maëlle Salmon

Scott Chamberlain

More and more R packages access resources on the web, and play crucial
roles in workflows.Examples from the [rOpenSci suite of
packages](/packages/all/) include
[rromeo](https://docs.ropensci.org/rromeo/),
[GSODR](https://docs.ropensci.org/GSODR/),
[qualtRics](https://docs.ropensci.org/qualtRics/),
[rnassqs](https://docs.ropensci.org/rnassqs/), and many, many
others.Like for all other packages, appropriate unit testing can make
them more robust.However, unit testing of these packages can bring
special challenges: dependence of tests on a good internet connection,
testing in the absence of authentication secrets, etc.Having tests fail
due to resources being down or slow, during development or on CRAN,
means a time loss for everyone involved (slower development, messages
from CRAN).Although many packages accessing remote resources are well
tested, there used to be a lack of resources around best practices...But
now there is one great information source, our [HTTP testing in
R](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/) online book! 🎉

## Motivation and support for the book

The best guidance about HTTP testing for R packages used to be an
[rOpenSci forum
entry](https://discuss.ropensci.org/t/best-practices-for-testing-api-packages/460)
by [Noam Ross](/author/noam-ross/) that pre-dated the development of
relatively new packages for HTTP testing that have now been released on
CRAN: [`vcr`](https://docs.ropensci.org/vcr/) and
[`webmockr`](https://docs.ropensci.org/webmockr/) by Scott Chamberlain,
[`httptest`](https://enpiar.com/r/httptest/) by Neal Richardson,
[webfakes](http://webfakes.r-lib.org/) by Gábor Csárdi.These packages
help make HTTP testing smooth to set up and resilient to internet
connection failures, which means faster tests, tests running well even
when on a spotty internet connection, and less burden on the remote
resources.

We have updated the HTTP testing in R online book to make it a free,
central reference for developers of R packages accessing web resources,
to help them have a faster and more robust development.Scott created the
book a while back, as central documentation for his packages
[crul](https://docs.ropensci.org/crul),
[vcr](https://docs.ropensci.org/) and
[webmockr](https://docs.ropensci.org/).Maëlle got [funding from the R
Consortium](https://www.r-consortium.org/projects/awarded-projects/2020-group-1#HTTP+testing+in+R+Book)
to expand the scope of the book.Thank you, R Consortium!Thanks also to
Scott, [Adam Sparks](/author/adam-sparks/), [Matthias
Grenié](/author/matthias-greni%C3%A9/) and [Neal
Richardson](https://enpiar.com/) for contributing to the project
proposal. Thanks also to [Gábor Csárdi](https://github.com/gaborcsardi)
who was also consulted... even before he created webfakes!Last but not
least, thanks to recent readers of the book like [Dave
Parr](https://www.daveparr.info/), [Lluís Revilla
Sancho](/author/llu%C3%ADs-revilla-sancho/) and [Hugo
Gruson](https://www.normalesup.org/~hgruson/) for useful feedback.

## What's between the covers?

The book still has advanced content about webmockr and vcr, but now this
comes after new content.

- An introduction (how original), giving some basic information and
  resource suggestions around [HTTP in
  R](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/http-in-r-101.html) and
  [graceful HTTP R
  packages](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/graceful.html) as
  well as the reason why we need [special packages for HTTP
  testing](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/pkgs-testing-chapter.html).

- A Whole Games section inspired by the [Whole Game chapter of the R
  packages book by Hadley Wickham and Jenny
  Bryan](https://r-pkgs.org/whole-game.html). We [created a minimal R
  package](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/introduction.html)
  interacting with two web APIs and added tests to it (of normal
  behavior, of behavior when there is an API error) *three times*

  - Using [vcr and
    webmockr](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/vcr.html);
  - Using
    [httptest](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/httptest.html);
  - Using
    [webfakes](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/webfakes.html).

The section also features a [comparison of the two packages using mock
files /
cassettes](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/mocking-pkgs-comparison.html)
for storing API responses or interactions (vcr and httptest), and a
[comparison of all
packages](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/pkgs-comparison.html).

- An Advanced Topics section about topics transverse to all packages.

  - Making [real
    requests](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/real-requests-chapter.html);
  - [CRAN- (and Bioconductor) preparedness for your
    tests](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/cran-preparedness.html);
  - [Security](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/security-chapter.html);
  - [Faking HTTP
    errors](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/errors-chapter.html);
  - [Contributor
    friendliness](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/contributor-friendliness.html).

- A
  [conclusion](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/conclusion-4.html)
  (again, how original) underlining what the next steps are. In
  particular, we encourage you to read the docs of the HTTP package(s)
  you end up using. For
  [webmockr](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/mocking.html) and
  [vcr](https://books.ropensci.org/http-testing/vcr-intro.html), these
  docs also live in the same book so you don't have far to go.

## Other technical details

Whilst writing chapters Maëlle filed several docs and feature requests
to vcr, httptest, webfakes.All three maintainers were very kind and
receptive.

- There was a recent [tech note about vcr
  release](/technotes/2020/12/18/vcr-release/), part of which is a
  consequence of the book update.
- In httptest the new `httptest::with_mock_dir()` function was
  contributed as a result of Maëlle's work.
- In webfakes Maëlle suggested and helped develop the [OAuth2.0
  apps](http://webfakes.r-lib.org/articles/oauth.html).

Besides, the book itself is an early adopter of a brand-new bookdown
template by Hadley Wickham, `bookdown::bs4_book()`, which you might want
to check out for your own bookish endeavors!It's only available in the
[development version of bookdown](https://github.com/rstudio/bookdown/)
at the moment of writing, and there quite a [few features still in the
work](https://github.com/rstudio/bookdown/issues?q=is%3Aopen+sort%3Aupdated-desc+label%3A%22bs4_book+%3Ahiking_boot%3A%22+).As
for deployment, we'd recommend looking at the [GitHub Actions workflow
for the R packages
book](https://github.com/hadley/r-pkgs/blob/master/.github/workflows/build-book.yaml)
that we drew inspiration from.

## Further work and feedback request!

While we are happy with our "HTTP testing in R" book, we are committed
to updating and improving it!Have a look at the [book issue
tracker](https://github.com/ropensci-books/http-testing/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+sort%3Aupdated-desc),
and feel free to give us feedback there or on [rOpenSci
forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org/).Comments by experts and newbies
and any expertise level in-between are most welcome!Happy HTTP testing!


More and more R packages access resources on the web, and play crucial roles in workflows.Examples from the rOpenSci suite of packages include rromeo, GSODR, qualtRics, rnassqs, and many, many others.Like for all other packages, appropriate unit testing can make them more robust.However, unit testing of these packages can bring special challenges: dependence of tests on a good internet connection, testing in the absence of authentication

Learn All About HTTP Testing: Book Update

rOpenSci

Stefanie Butland

Steffi LaZerte

Many people in our community actively contribute to rOpenSci projects.
Many others would like to contribute but aren't sure how to go about
it.Wanting to get involved in rOpenSci or "give back to open source"
means different things to different people.Ideally, a person should be
able to find a way to contribute that meets their needs and fits our
mission.We created the [rOpenSci Community Contributing
Guide](https://contributing.ropensci.org/)^[1](#fn:1){.footnote-ref
role="doc-noteref"}^ to make finding paths to contributing more
transparent and sustainable.

<figure class="center">
<img src="contrib_guide_cover_sm.png" width="350"
alt="Contributing Guide book cover. Cartoon of six hypothetical rOpenSci community members" />
<figcaption>Cover illustration by <a
href="https://www.lydiakahill.com/">Lydia Hill</a></figcaption>
</figure>

We welcome contributors from a continuum of experience: from those who
consider themselves newcomers exploring the landscape and trying to see
where they fit, all the way to more experienced folks who know exactly
what they have to offer. We welcome code and non-code contributions from
people at any career stage, and in any sector.

> . . . users pursuing their own "selfish" interests build collective
> value as an automatic byproduct. (Tim O'Reilly on The Architecture of
> Participation^[2](#fn:2){.footnote-ref role="doc-noteref"}^)

Maybe you want to spend **30 minutes** sharing your package use case in
our public forum or reporting a bug, **1 hour** learning by attending a
Community Call, **5 hours** reviewing an R package submitted for open
peer review, or maybe you want to make an **ongoing commitment** to help
maintain a package. Our guide will walk you through the many avenues
available.

## Overview

The guide has three chapters.

1. [rOpenSci & Our
 Community](https://contributing.ropensci.org/intro.html) shares our
 mission, what it means to be part of our community, and introduces
 you to some Humans of rOpenSci.

2. [What brings you
 here?](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html) is framed
 around different motivations. To help you recognize yourself, we
 categorized what we think contributors want into:
 [Discover](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html#discover);
 [Connect](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html#connect);
 [Learn](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html#learn);
 [Build](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html#build);
 [Help](https://contributing.ropensci.org/motivations.html#help).
 Each has a set of "I want to" statements like "I want to discover
 packages I can use to facilitate my research and access open data".
 Clicking on any action under a statement takes you to Chapter 3 for
 a description of the relevant rOpenSci resource with details on how
 to contribute.

<figure class="center">
<img src="guide_build.png" width="600"
alt="screenshot of Chapter 2: Build" />
</figure>

3. [rOpenSci
 Resources](https://contributing.ropensci.org/resources.html) brings
 pointers to all of our resources together in one place. Each has a
 brief description and "How to contribute" with a set of specific
 actions that link out to the primary resources needed.

<figure class="center">
<img src="guide_contribute.png" width="600"
alt="screenshot of Chapter 3: Dev Guide, How to contribute" />
</figure>

## A model for other communities?

In our dreams, the rOpenSci Community Contributing Guide can be a model
for other open source communities to enable more transparent and
sustainable participation.

We're always standing on the shoulders of giants, some of whom might not
think of themselves that way.The motivation, approach, design, tone, and
content of this guide was influenced by many who are cited in our
[bibliography](https://contributing.ropensci.org/bibliography.html).

## Thank you's

Thank you to [Julia Stewart Lowndes](/author/julia-stewart-lowndes/),
[Toby Hodges](https://github.com/tobyhodges) and the [rOpenSci
team](/about/#team) for their input. This work was supported in part by
a [NumFOCUS Small Development
Grant](https://numfocus.org/programs/sustainability) to rOpenSci.

::: {.footnotes role="doc-endnotes"}

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. ::: {#fn:1}
 Stefanie Butland, & Steffi LaZerte. (2020). rOpenSci Community
 Contributing Guide (Version v0.1.0). Zenodo.
 <http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4000532>; [Source available on
 GitHub](https://github.com/ropensci-org/contributing-guidance) [↩︎](#fnref:1){.footnote-backref
 role="doc-backlink"}
 :::

2. ::: {#fn:2}
 Tim O'Reilly (2004). Open Source Paradigm Shift.
 <https://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/tim/articles/paradigmshift_0504.html> [↩︎](#fnref:2){.footnote-backref
 role="doc-backlink"}
 :::
:::

Many people in our community actively contribute to rOpenSci projects.

Introducing the rOpenSci Community Contributing Guide

Blair Fix

Exciting news! *Capital as Power* --- the seminal text written by
Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler --- is now available for free as
both an [epub and online
book](http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/){target="_blank" rel="noopener"}.
Full disclosure: the typesetter was yours truly.

What's *Capital as Power*? And why did I make a free ebook version? Read
on to find out.

### You must unlearn what you have learned[^1^](#fn1){#fnref1 .footnoteRef} {#you-must-unlearn-what-you-have-learnedyoda}

I don't talk much on this blog about my personal journey. That's mostly
because I'm not interested in telling it. I find it annoying when
scientists weave personal stories into the exposition of their ideas. In
this regard, I'm probably odd. Scientists that tell good stories tend to
win Pulitzer Prizes. So apparently many people (or at least literary
critics) like their science in story form. With that in mind, here's the
story of why I typeset *Capital as Power* as an ebook.

The story starts about a decade ago. At the time, I was an amateur
political economist looking for good ideas. I was interested in peak oil
and climate change, but also in income inequality. I knew neoclassical
economics was bullshit (I'd read Steve Keen's [Debunking
Economics](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10303367-debunking-economics—revised-and-expanded-edition){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}). But what about the other big canon of political
economy --- Marxism? I'd read Marx's *Capital* and was impressed by his
historical accounts. But his theory seemed tenuous. He simply assumed
(without evidence) that labor created all value.

These problems, however, didn't keep me up at night. My main job at the
time was learning physics. (I was trying to become a physics teacher.)
But that would eventually change. A few years later, I found myself in
grad school studying political economy. It was then that I discovered
*Capital as Power*.

My route of discovery is worth telling, because it highlights the
importance of peer feedback. In the spring of 2012, I wrote a paper
called [The Thermodynamics of
Neoliberalism](https://www.academia.edu/1538128/The_Thermodynamics_of_Neoliberalism){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. In it, I tried to connect trends in energy use to the
emergence of neoliberal politics. In hindsight, there isn't much in this
paper worth keeping. The title is pretentious, and the ideas are vague.
But that's actually why the paper is important.

I sent the paper to biophysical economist [Charlie
Hall](https://www.esf.edu/EFB/hall/){target="_blank" rel="noopener"},
hoping he'd give me feedback. And he did. In fact, he tore the paper to
shreds. Importantly, he pointed out that I was using the phrase 'capital
accumulation' constantly. But I'd never bothered to define 'capital'.

At first, I was annoyed by Charlie's feedback. But after a few days, I
realized that he had a good point. I'd adopted a habit that's rife in
political economy --- especially among leftists. I spoke ubiquitously
about 'capital accumulation'. But I had no idea what was being
accumulated.

And so I turned to the internet. Into the search bar I put something
like 'critical theories of capital'. In the results a title caught my
eye: *Capital as Power*. Interesting name, I thought. So I read the
book. With that fateful click, my scientific journey was forever
changed. The book upended almost everything I thought I knew about
economics.

The thesis in *Capital as Power* is simple: economists don't understand
'capital'. Here's the problem. In both neoclassical and Marxist theory,
capital is supposed to have two sides. On the one side is money. On the
other side is so-called 'capital goods'. The two sides are suppose to be
connected. In neoclassical economics, the value of capital goods is
supposed to be proportional to their ability to create 'utility'. In
Marxist theory, the value of capital goods is supposed to be
proportional to the embodied labor time.

If you read political economy, you'll find that this capital duality is
everywhere. Almost everyone accepts it, at least implicitly. But in
*Capital as Power*, Nitzan and Bichler show that this duality is
untenable. The reason is simple: there's no way to connect the quantity
of capital goods to financial capital. Why? Because the units of the
conversion --- utility in neoclassical theory and socially-necessary
abstract labor time in Marxist theory --- *don't exist*!

To me, this realization was jaw dropping. But there was more. That's
because *Capital as Power* is really two books. The first half is a
devastating takedown of existing theories of capital. This criticism
alone would make the book standout. But the second half makes the book a
classic. After tearing neoclassical and Marxist theory to shreds, Nitzan
and Bichler build their own theory of capital. *Capital as power*.

Here's their theory in a nutshell. Capital, they argue, isn't a thing.
It's a *ritual* --- the ritual of *capitalization*. Start with property
rights. In capitalist societies, property owners are entitled to earn
income from their property. They then take this income stream and
*capitalize* it --- meaning give it a present value. So 'capital' is the
ritual conversion between an income stream and a stock of wealth.

The key, though, is what lies under this conversion. *Property rights*.
For centuries, political economists have tried to connect the value of
capital to *what* is owned. But Nitzan and Bichler think this is a
mistake. The value of capital, they argue, stems from the *act* of
ownership --- the exclusionary act of power. So capital is a
quantification of owners' power. Capital *is* power.

### What are the chances?

Reading *Capital as Power* blew my mind. But here's the crazy thing.
When I finished the book, I realized that one of the authors ---
Jonathan Nitzan --- taught at York University. Not only was that in
Toronto, where I lived. York University was where I was doing my masters
degree. Nitzan's office was literally steps from where I studied.

So in the fall of 2012, I took Jonathan's course called [Global
Capital](http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/407/1/nitzan_y6285_00_syllabus_2014_15.pdf){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. I loved it for two reasons. First, the content was
fascinating. Second, Jonathan's research philosophy struck a chord. He
was adamant that science had to be *empirical*. Yes, in physics there
could be a separation of labor between theory and experiment. But in
political economy, there was no such luxury. If you wanted to understand
the world (as a political economist), you had to roll up your sleeves
and find the evidence yourself.

So not only did *Capital as Power* shape how I view the world, studying
with Jonathan Nitzan made me the researcher that I am.

### A foray into publishing

Fast forward to a few months ago. My foray into publishing began with a
tweet from fellow economic heretic [D.T.
Cochrane](https://twitter.com/DTCochrane){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}:

::: {align="center"}
[![](https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cochrane-1.png?w=600&ssl=1){decoding="async"
recalc-dims="1"}](https://twitter.com/DTCochrane/status/1272925362390011904){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}
:::

In the ensuing Twitter thread, the [Cambridge capital
controversy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_capital_controversy){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} came up. The Cambridge controversy was a debate in the
1950s and 1960s about the nature of capital. Economists Joan Robinson
and Piero Sraffa (of Cambridge, UK) showed that the stock of capital
goods couldn't be measured objectively. This threw a wrench in the
neoclassical theory of capital (defended by Paul Samuelson and Robert
Solow of Cambridge, Massachusetts).

Back to Twitter. [Evonomics](https://evonomics.com/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} publisher [Steve
Roth](https://twitter.com/asymptosis){target="_blank" rel="noopener"}
entered the thread. On the Cambridge controversy, Roth observed:

::: {align="center"}
[![](https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/roth_1.png?w=600&ssl=1){decoding="async"
recalc-dims="1"}](https://twitter.com/asymptosis/status/1272942048321007617){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}
:::

*What's the relationship between real capital and monetary wealth?* Such
a great question --- one that I had struggled to answer. I responded:

::: {align="center"}
[![](https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fix.png?w=600&ssl=1){decoding="async"
recalc-dims="1"}](https://twitter.com/blair_fix/status/1272949220761374722){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}
:::

That would have been the end of it, except later that day Steve asked:

::: {align="center"}
[![](https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/roth_2.png?w=600&ssl=1){decoding="async"
recalc-dims="1"}](https://twitter.com/asymptosis/status/1272970226854793216){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}
:::

Unfortunately, there wasn't a free ebook version of *Capital as Power*.
Some back story. When Nitzan and Bichler wrote the book, they negotiated
(with Routledge) to have the PDF version become [Creative
Commons](https://creativecommons.org/){target="_blank" rel="noopener"}
after a year. So in the spirit of open science, the PDF of *Capital as
Power* has been free for a decade. But not so the epub version. It
remained under the publisher's paywall.

That's where I come in. *Capital as Power* fundamentally changed how I
see the world. I wanted other people to have the same experience. Added
to this fact is that, for some time, I've wanted to learn how to make an
ebook. So here was the chance to do two things at once: learn a new
skill and make a great book freely available in a new format. And so
over the last few months, I worked to convert *Capital as Power* into a
free epub and html version. The results are now up at the [Bichler &
Nitzan Archives](http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/259/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.

(Full disclosure: Jonathan Nitzan was generous enough to pay me for my
time.)

### The tools

I'm an ardent supporter of open source software. Regular readers will
know that I use
[R](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_(programming_language)){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} for most of my empirical analysis. Well, it turns out
that you can now use R for publishing. Software engineer [Yihui
Xie](https://yihui.org/en/){target="_blank" rel="noopener"} has created
a package called
[*bookdown*](https://bookdown.org/yihui/bookdown/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} that is a major leap forward in open source publishing.

*Bookdown* lets you write in a simple markup language called
[Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. What's important is that from one source document,
*bookdown* lets you export multiple formats. You can create an online
book, an epub and a PDF all in one go. The results out of the box are
beautiful. But if you're fussy (like me), everything is easy to tweak.

What this means is that authors essentially have no need of publishers.
You can easily make electronic books that are as good (if not better)
than what a publisher would create. This is especially important in
academic publishing, where publishers charge exorbitant prices for
pay-walled material. I firmly believe that all scientific knowledge
should be open access. *Bookdown* makes this easy to accomplish.

Once you've created an ebook, you can host it for free on GitHub. That's
where I've hosted the [html
version](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} of *Capital as Power* (below). And GitHub is where I
plan to host [future books](https://blairfix.github.io/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} when I write them.

[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}

[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}

[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}

[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}

::: {align="center"}
![](https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/casp_html.png?w=600&ssl=1){decoding="async"
&quot;\"="" recalc-dims="1"}
:::

[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}[](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}

\[If you're interested, the source code for the *Capital as Power* ebook
lives
[here](https://github.com/blairfix/blairfix.github.io/tree/master/capital_as_power){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.\]

### Read *Capital as Power*

Back to *Capital as Power*. Some books make a splash when they're
published but are soon forgotten. Other books land with little fanfare,
but become more important with time. *Capital as Power* is the second
kind of book.

Although written eloquently, *Capital as Power* was never designed to be
a bestseller. It's far too thorough for that. In taking down existing
theories of capital, Nitzan and Bichler leave no stone unturned. They
mount a 150-page assault on ideas that most political economists hold
dear. This devastating critique is absolutely necessary, but it comes
with a cost. It means that readers who are primarly interested in Nitzan
and Bichler's *own* ideas about capital have to wait until the middle of
the book.

With that in mind, here's my recommendation. If you're interested in
what's wrong with neoclassical and Marxist theory, read *Capital as
Power* from the beginning. But if you're already skeptical of these
theories, and just want Nitzan and Bichler's new approach, start with
Chapter 9, [Capitalization: a brief
anthropology](https://blairfix.github.io/capital_as_power/capitalization-a-brief-anthropology.html){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. It's from here onward that Nitzan and Bichler lay out
the ritual of capitalization and build their theory of capital as power.

Today, as wages stagnate and stock markets sore, it's more important
than ever to understand the nature of capital. On that front, *Capital
as Power* is destined to become a classic. It questions the foundations
of political economy, and dares to take the field in a new direction. It
surely belongs with Marx's *Capital* in its breathtaking scope. The
difference, however, is that Nitzan and Bichler are scientists to the
core --- adamant that they neither need nor want an army of admirers.
Unlike Marx, Nitzan and Bichler don't connect their research to any
particular political goal. In these hyper-partisan times, that makes
their theory less palatable . But it does one big thing. It keeps things
scientific.

*Capital as Power* contains no easy solutions for how to make the world
a better place. Instead, it lays out a framework for how to *understand*
capitalism. Like everything in science, that framework is unfinished. So
read *Capital as Power* and have your worldview turned upside down. Then
get on with the project of building a better theory of capitalism.

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### Notes

::: {.footnotes}
1.  [Yes I'm quoting
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:::


Exciting news!

 Capital as Power

— the seminal text written by Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler — is now available for free as both an epub and online book. Full disclosure: the typesetter was yours truly. What’s

 Capital as Power

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 1

I don’t talk much on this blog about my personal journey.

Free Capital as Power Ebook

After soliciting, reviewing, and publishing over 100 blog posts and tech notes by rOpenSci community members, we have created the rOpenSci Blog Guide for Authors and Editors to address many frequently asked questions and frequently given suggestions. Technically, we structured the content as a bookdown gitbook.

Rogue Scholar Beiträge

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Introducing the rOpenSci Community Contributing Guide

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