12. Global Restructuring: Some Lines of Inquiry

This article draws on Marxist theories of crises, imperialism, and class formation to identify commonalities and differences between the stagnation of the 1930s and today. Its key argument is that the anti-systemic movements that existed in the 1930s and gained ground after the Second World War pushed capitalists to turn from imperialist expansion and rivalry to the deep penetration of domestic markets. By doing so they unleashed strong economic growth that allowed for social compromise without hurting profits. Yet, once labour and other social movements threatened to shift the balance of class power into their favor, capitalist counter-reform began. In its course, global restructuring, and notably the integration of Russia and China into the world market, created space for accumulation. The cause for the current stagnation is that this space has been used up. In the absence of systemic challenges capitalists have little reason to seek a major overhaul of their accumulation strategies that could help to overcome stagnation. Instead they prop up profits at the expense of the subaltern classes even if this prolongs stagnation and leads to sharper social divisions.

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Global Restructuring, Knowledge and Learning

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2004-8-66-76 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 66-76

Author(s):

E. Hershberg

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Political Institutions ◽

Lower Cost ◽

International Competitiveness ◽

Value Chains ◽

Global Competitiveness ◽

Global Restructuring ◽

Intensive Exploitation ◽

High Road

The influence of globalization on international competitiveness is considered in the article. Two strategies of economic growth are pointed out: the low road, that is producing more at lower cost and lower wages, with increasingly intensive exploitation of labor and environment, and the high road, that is upgrading capabilities in order to produce better basing on knowledge. Restrictions for developing countries trying to reach global competitiveness are formulated. Special attention is paid to the concept of upgrading and opportunities of joining transnational value chains. The importance of learning and forming social and political institutions for successful upgrading of the economy is stressed.

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Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198828211.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Louçã Francisco ◽

Ash Michael

Keyword(s):

Social Reproduction ◽

Capital Accumulation ◽

Social Consequences ◽

First Century ◽

Capitalist System ◽

Global Restructuring ◽

The Social ◽

And Diffusion ◽

Political Decision Making ◽

Mode Of Production

This book investigates two questions, how did finance become hegemonic in the capitalist system; and what are the social consequences of the rise of finance? We do not dwell on other topics, such as the evolution of the mode of production or the development of class conflict over the longer run. Our theme is not the genesis, history, dynamics, or contradictions of capitalism but, instead, we address the rise of financialization beginning in the last quarter of the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century. Therefore, we investigate the transnationalization of the circuits and processes of capital accumulation that originated the expansion and financialization of the mechanisms of production, social reproduction, and hegemony, including the ideology, the functioning of the states, and the political decision making. We do not discuss the prevailing neoliberalism as an ideology, although we pay attention to the creation and diffusion of ideas, since we sketch an overview of the process of global restructuring of production and finance leading to the prevalence of the shadow economy....

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