Historical Materialism And Globalisation

Now that Soviet style socialism has collapsed upon itself and liberal capitalism offers itself as the natural, necessary and absolute condition of human social life on a worldwide scale, this book insists that the potentially emancipatory resources of a renewed, and perhaps reconstructed, historical materialism are more relevant in today's world than ever before. Rather than viewing global capitalism as an eluctable natural force, these essays seek to show how a dialectic of power and resistance is at work in the contemporary global political economy, producing and contesting new realities and creating conditions in which new forms of collective self determination become thinkable and materially possible. It will be vital, topical reading for anyone interested in international relations, international political economy, sociology and political theory.

13 The politics of 'regulated liberalism': a historical materialist approach to European integration -- 14 Historical materialism, ideology, and the politics of globalizing capitalism -- Index

This book traces a dialectical ordering of positions in the globalisation debate, with later positions interpreted as responses to “immanent contradictions” implicit in earlier ones. The progression culminates in a Marxian framework addressing the contradictions implicit in all forms of capitalist globalisation.

Hannes Lacher presents a new critical social theory of international relations that integrates sociology, history and political geography to understand the formation and development of modern international relations. Far from implying a return to state-centrist Realism, this essential new volume leads us towards a critical social theory of international relations that questions the prevailing conceptions of the modern international political economy as a collection of nationally bounded spaces more fundamentally than ever before. It also shows us that capitalist modernity itself was, from the beginning, characterized by the dualism of global economic integration and the fragmentation of political space, which actually stems from the divergent origins of capitalism and territorial sovereignty. This book will be of great interest to al students of historical sociology, political geography, international relations and political science.

Nigel Harris’s Selected Essays: From National Liberation to Globalisation presents an encompassing overview of the work of one of the most prolific and insightful Marxist economists of the second half of the twentieth century.

This work takes a critical view of the debate on globalization and assesses revamped versions of structuralist thought, which underpin much of the globalization discourse. In contrast to conventional views of change, the book emphasizes change as a politics of emancipation.

This book provides a powerful critique of the case made for 'globalisation', with particular emphasis placed on neo-liberalism, the third way, and the hegemonic role of the US state. It then examines the rise of 'anti-globalisation' politics and the debate over progressive alternatives to 'actually existing globalisation'.

The still expanding human biomass and mindlessly pursued economic expansion are straining against the planet's physical limits. Oil! Energy! Ecology! Growing vulnerabilities in hyperlinked national economies! The transformation of the current global system, "mixed economy/weak multilateralism," into a radically new one, "two-level economy/strong multilateralism," looks like the only way to avoid drifting toward extinction. Charismatic leadership and rational arguments cannot see us through such a transformation. Remember 1914-1945? That was the price of going from the first global system, "laissez faire/metal money," which ruled the world during most of the 19th century, to the current one. Only another chaotic interlude, another Darwinian showdown among forcefully supported alternatives, can overcome the ominous macrohistoric hurdle on the horizon. The physical nature of history's unfolding supports this theory. The development and transformation of global systems is a thermodynamic evolution. Change in the network of billions of interconnected minds is its central process.