i In Business as Usual, Paul Mattick explains the global economic downturn in relation to the development of the world economy since the Second World War, but also, more fundamentally, as an example of the cycle of crisis and recovery that has characterised capitalism since the early nineteenth century. Today's recession, he explains, is the result not of a one-off financial event, but is a manifestation of fundamental, long-term processes within the world economy. Mattick places the downturn within the context of business cycles, which are unavoidable in a free market. He uses this explanation as a springboard for exploring the nature of our capitalist society and its prospects for the future.