Globalization in the 21st Century

Labor, Capital, and the State on a World Scale

Edited by

Berch Berberoglu

"At a time of great turmoil in global financial markets and an impending worldwide economic depression, and as neoliberal capitalist globalization is being called into question, Berberoglu's latest book brings together some of the best minds in the field to sort out the crisis of global capitalism to provide the framework for the future course of globalization in the 21st century. An excellent compilation of articles that span the world, this book is bound to set the stage for a new round of discussion and debate on the prospects for the transformation of contemporary neoliberal globalization and the emergence of a multi-polar world order that is mass-based and democratic. I highly recommend this book for its pioneering role in providing us the tools for the critique of a failed system and the building of a new and just society."--Walda Katz-Fishman, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Howard University, Washington, D.C.

"While many scholars have grappled with the pitfalls of neoliberal globalization and the future course of the global economy in the twenty-first century, few have offered much that is new on the subject. Berberoglu's latest book, however, is unique in the clarity and power of the ideas he and his contributors bring to the table. Taking on the basic tenets of neoliberalism and its disastrous effects on working people around the world, the ten essays lay bare the crisis of capitalist globalization and its bankrupt policies that have enriched a small minority of wealthy capitalists, while devastating the great majority of the world's people. A must-read for all those interested in the future of our planet, Berberoglu's book goes a long way in explaining what's wrong with our crisis-ridden global economy and society and what it will take to make it right. I give this book my highest praise."--Judy Aulette, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

This book examines the development and transformation of global capitalism in the late 20th and early 21st century. It analyzes the dynamics and contradictions of the global political economy through a comparative-historical approach based on class analysis. After providing a critical overview of neoliberal capitalist globalization over the past three decades, the book examines the emergence of new forces on the global scene and discusses the prospects for change in the global economy in a multi-polar direction in the decades ahead. The book concludes by focusing on the mass movements that are playing a central role in bringing about the transformation of global capitalism.

The global economy is in crisis and globalization is in transition from its neoliberal form propagated by a single capitalist superpower, the United States, to a new regulated global economy with a multi-polar base when multiple centers of economic and military power will come to define the nature and dynamics of 21st century globalization.

Neoliberal globalization, which was the driving force of the capitalist expansionary process across the world during the past three decades, came to exemplify the most advanced stage of capitalist imperialism in the late twentieth century. Dominating the economies of less-developed capitalist states through this process, it facilitated the transformation of societies along capitalist lines and effected their integration into the global economy to further the process of capital accumulation on a worldwide scale.

The outcome of this process, however, was soon to overwhelm many countries around the globe, when more and more countries were forced to bear the cost of this impact through as they witnessed the denationalization of their economies through privatization, transnational corporate control, increasing foreign debt, deteriorating terms of trade, uneven distribution of income and wealth, and increasing class polarization. Thus, beginning in Latin America and spreading to Asia, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere, neoliberal globalization came to thoroughly dominate the global economy.

As the contradictions of neoliberal globalization began to surface and its devastating impact began to be felt by millions across the globe by century's end, neoliberalism came under serious criticism, with mounting opposition from broad segments of the population. Thus, movements across the world coalesced to challenge the foundations of the neoliberal capitalist order by mass protests against the pillars of global capitalism-the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the leading imperialist states-as tools of transnational corporations and global capital that had imposed its rule over the global capitalist system.

It is through the protracted struggles of people across the world and their determination to fight against the forces of neoliberal globalization imposed by global capitalism, coinciding with the global economic and financial crisis during the first decade of the twenty-first century, that brought the collapse of the neoliberal economic order and opened the way for a thorough transformation of capitalism on a global scale--one that will lead to the emergence of new forces on the world scene and bring about a new multi-polar reality that will shape the nature and future direction of globalization in the twenty-first century.

This book has been in the making over the past several years, and its publication at this critical juncture, when the global economic crisis is threatening to turn into a full-scale depression, is important and timely. The current global economic crisis has placed the problem squarely on the forces promoting the neoliberal capitalist agenda across the world. And as the new forces that are emerging transform the global economy from private accumulation to collective responsibilities and action to correct the deteriorating situation, one can begin to see the seeds of alternative possibilities being planted to replace neoliberal capitalism with a new system. Going beyond the limits imposed by capitalism over the course of the twentieth century, one can anticipate the demands of the masses the world over to move us toward a new global social order that is based on equality and social justice in the 21st century.

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction: Globalization in the 21st Century

Berch Berberoglu

2. The Dynamics of Twenty-first Century Globalization: New Trends in Global Political Economy

Jan Nederveen Pieterse

3. Neoliberal Globalization and Capitalist Crises in the Age of Imperialism

Alan J. Spector

4. Neoliberalism and the Dynamics of Capitalist Development in Latin America

James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer

5. Globalization and Marginalization of Labor: Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa

Johnson W. Makoba

6. Global Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization, Imperialism, and Class Struggle

Berch Berberoglu

7. Globalization and China: From Neoliberal Capitalism to State Developmentalism in East Asia

Alvin Y. So

8. Globalization and Gender: Women's Labor in the Global Economy

Lourdes Benería

9. The Failure of Neoliberal Globalization and the End of Empire

Martin Orr

10. Conclusion: Globalization for a New Century

Berch Berberoglu

Bibliography

Index

About the Contributors

* * *

Publication date: April 2010

Palgrave Macmillan

175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010


Phone: (888) 330-8477 Fax: (800) 672-2054

www.palgrave-usa.com