The essays in this volume were published across the 1984-2011 period, and range across a variety of topics and approaches to investigate the changing nature of global capitalism as a social order. As such, they are a valuable and instructive account of the evolution of global capitalism and of the debates which sought to make sense of this; moreover, they enable us to understand more clearly how capitalism may change and evolve in the coming years and decades.
The introduction provides a brief historical account of how global capitalism has changed since the 1960s, before summarising each of the essays, situating them more immediately in the context in which they were written. After sketching the evolution of his views over the period, the author concludes by discussing some important dimensions of global capitalism that need further study. The twelve essays are presented in four sections, dealing with the overarching theme of globalisation; the case of Britain; the developing regions of the global South and the former Soviet bloc; and the crisis that has gripped global capitalism since 2008.
Presenting an interdisciplinary approach that corresponds with the emergence of international political economy as a distinct field of scholarship, this book will prove to be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of international political economy, politics, economics, international relations, development studies, human geography, critical sociology and business studies.
1. Introduction Part 1. Globalisation 2. The national economy - a Keynesian myth? 3. Capital, labour and the state in the world economy 4. Responses to globalisation: a critique of progressive nationalism Part 2. Britain and the world economy 5. Keynes and the policy of practical protectionism 6. Britain in the world economy: national decline, capitalist success? 7. Britain and Europe: class, state and the politics of integration Part 3. Global capitalism and development 8. Capitalism restored: East-Central Europe in the light of globalisation 9. Halfway to paradise? Making sense of the semiperiphery 10. The developmental state under global neoliberalism Part 4. The recent crisis 11. Confronting the crisis: a class analysis 12. Cutting government deficits: economic science or class war? 13. The crisis and the global South: from development to capitalism
Biography
Hugo Radice is a Life Fellow and former Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at the University of Leeds, UK.
Global Capitalism is a valuable collection of Hugo Radice’s writings, providing necessary critiques of finance and productive capital as they have become ever more global and transnational. Radice, co-founder of the Conference of Socialist Economists and subsequently the journal Capital & Class, has been in the vanguard of left political economy since the 1970s, and his ideas are of increasing relevance in the context of repeated global crises and the rise of an authoritarian right. As a historically grounded intervention into International Relations, Political Theory and Global Political Economy, Radice’s work will inform current debates on development, neoliberalism, labour process, alternatives to capitalism, and multinational corporate dominance. -- Dr Phoebe Moore, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Middlesex, UK.Over four decades Hugo Radice has been one of the most incisive socialist critics of political and economic orthodoxies. This collection of essays brings together his major contributions to the understanding of capitalism as a global rather than a national system of political economy, and shows how his thinking has evolved in response to new problems and changing circumstances. The essays display an interdisciplinary engagement and an intellectual depth and consistency which make them essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the economic and political challenges of our times. -- Andrew Gamble, Professor of Politics, University of Cambridge, UK.
This collection is very welcome both because it brings together pieces scattered over many different journals and edited collections and hopefully because it will find new readers for some old articles which have retained their relevance for current debates. -- Pete Green, Historical Materialism.
The essays in this collection retain their power due to their combination of historical specificity, theoretical consistency, and the solidity of critique. Significantly more than in the work of other political economists the centrality of class contradictions is the touchstone revealing emergent contingent characteristics around which there was, when the essays were written and continue to be, much debate. His ability to apply Marx’s methodology to a solid grounding in globalization-related literatures and a capacity to distinguish the crucial elements in the extended present are a major achievement. -- William K. Tabb, Professor Emeritus, Economics, Queens College and of Economics
