Epochal Crisis

By: William I. Robinson, PhD

In a groundbreaking new study, acclaimed scholar of global capitalism William I. Robinson presents a bold, original, and timely ‘big picture’ analysis of the unprecedented global crisis. Robinson synthesizes the different economic, social, political, military, and ecological dimensions of the crisis, applying his theory of global capitalism to elucidate these multidimensional and interconnected aspects. Addressing urgent issues such as economic stagnation, runaway financial speculation, unprecedented social inequalities, political conflict, expanding wars, and the threat to the biosphere, he illustrates how these different dimensions relate to one another and stem from the underlying contradictions of a global system spiralling out of control. This is a significant theoretical contribution to the study of globalization and capitalist crisis, in which Robinson concludes that the conditions for global capitalist renewal are becoming exhausted.

Description obtained from Cambridge University Press website.

Robinson, William I. Epochal Crisis: The Exhaustion of Global Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025. Print. Epochal Crisis: The Exhaustion of Global Capitalism
William I. Robinson is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara

Michael Roberts (economist) interviews Professor William I Robinson on his latest book, Epochal Crisis: The Exhaustion of Global Capitalism. February 9, 2026.

We are joined by William I. Robinson for a a conversation on the global implications of the recent US attack on Venezuela. The discussion will place this and other acts of US aggression within the broader crisis of world capitalism, the breakdown of the post-WWII international world order, and the emergence of a global police state. Prof. Robinson’s area of study is in macro and comparative sociology, globalization and transnationalism, political economy, political sociology, development and social change, immigration, Latin America and the Third World, class and capitalism. He attempts to link his academic work to struggles in the United States and around the world for social justice. Among the undergraduate classes he teaches are: Globalization and Resistance, Sociology of Globalization, Global Inequalities, Development and Social Change in Latin America, and Twentieth-Century Revolutions in Theory and Practice. His publications and professional activities are discussed on his web page: http://robinson.faculty.soc.ucsb.edu/

An example syllabus for the Global Political Economy class taught by Professor William I Robinson at the University of California Santa Barbara is below.

The above course syllabus is republished here. The original content is at: SYLLABUS: GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY SOCIOLOGY 265GS
For educational use only. Unauthorized reproduction or retransmission is prohibited.