Book Review: Corporate Power, Class Conflict, and the Crisis of the New Globalization (original) (raw)
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Class, Race, Corporate Power, 2020
A review of Ronald W. Cox's "Corporate Power, Class Conflict, and the Crisis of the New Globalization" published by Lexington Books, 2019.
The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class
This book maps the changing field of power generated by elite relations among the world's largest corporations and related political organizations. It provides an in-depth analysis that spans the three decades of the late 20th and early 21st century, when capitalist globalization attained unprecedented momentum, propelled both by the transnationalization of accumulation and by the political paradigm of transnational neoliberalism. This has been an era in which national governments have deregulated capital, international institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum have gained prominence, and production and finance have become more fully transnational, increasing the structural power of capital over communities and workers. Within this context of transformation, this book charts the making of a transnational capitalist class, reaching beyond national forms of capitalist class organization into a global field, but facing spirited opposition from below in an ongoing struggle that is also a struggle over alternative global futures.
Capital, class and the state in the global political economy
Globalizations May 2005, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 47 –60, 2005
This paper is prepared for presentation at the plenary session of the Global Studies association, Brandeis University April 24, 2004 in which Leslie Sklair and Leo Panitch are the other speakers. Sklair is a sociologist whose work on the transnational capitalist class has been formative. Leo Panitch, a political scientist, along with his long time collaborator Sam Gindin has made major contributions to our understanding of the capitalist state. I am an economist. So while my focus is different it is made in the hope of contributing to a larger dialogue on ways of seeing the elephant that is capitalist globalization.
2023
The exceptional concentration of wealth in western democracies during the past five decades has by now become common knowledge in the study of social stratification. This brings to the spotlight families and individuals who possess extraordinarily high levels of wealth. One concern about wealth concentration is that its beneficiaries might be a thread for democracy and the principle of one person – one vote. More precisely, the concern surrounds the potential concentration of their structural and instrumental power. From the perspective of class analysis this would be individuals who concentrate control over capital in capitalist democracies: wealthy individuals and families, and powerful managers of the large corporations and financial institutions. This closely relates to an old question: to what extent can the rich be understood as part of a capitalist class in itself and for itself? This project draws on ideas from the sociology of elites, corporate governance, corporate political action as well as (neo-)Marxist class analysis to develop hypotheses on the existence of capitalist classes in the 21st century. To test these hypotheses empirically, a large sample of ca. 1 million of the largest corporations (ORBIS) is combined with data on super-rich individuals and families, as well as individual and firm political action in Germany and the US. In one methodological and three empirical cumulative articles, this dissertation examines the existence and political action capitalist classes in capitalist democracies and their political action.
2011
In the last 40 years, various authors have argued that a new transnational capitalist class (TCC) has emerged, which operates across the borders of national states. The approaches in question are debated widely in the social sciences, not only because of their theoretical assumptions and the empirical evidence provided, but also because international power relations are changing, not least in the context of the current crisis. The main claim of the authors in question appears to be validated by the advancing interna-tionalization of capital relations, and by the internationalization of the state. It appears that these processes have gained traction with the neoliberal transformation of capitalism. If this claim is true, it follows that there are far-reaching changes to state structures, the international state system, and the trajectory of social conflicts and struggles. Alterations in class relations are specifically important because they lead to new configurations of relations of forces 1 and power apparatuses, and, in a second step, to new arrangements of domination and regulation. The aim of this article is to review the approaches in question critically. We assume that existing theories of transnational class formation are characterized by significant weaknesses, both in terms of basic class and state theoretical assumptions, and in terms of accounting for the role of state apparatuses in class formation. For this reason, we have chosen Poulantzas's 6 Studies in Political Economy 88 FA L L 2 0 1 1 7
Redefining Elite Power in the Changing Context of the 21st Century
International Journal of Research and Review , 2020
The article questions the general attitude toward elites and elitism in India and abroad. The piece highlights the historiography of human evolution and governance structure where "rule by elites" is found to be a non-detachable character. The theory of elite-rule has been found in the writings of ancient political philosopher such as Aristotle. Proponents for elite-rule continue in the modern era and are reflected in the writings of political theorists such as C.W. Mills and M. Pareto. The article further highlights the practical continuity of the elite-rule in politics, economic and corporate organizations across the globe, and in our society. It examines and analyses high and low points of elite power in history. The piece explores the high points in history when a group of few dedicated and selfless patriots come together and form a consensus to write future Constitutions of the two largest democracies in the world based on secularism, equality, justice and sovereignty. The low points in history are marked by persecutions, massacres and other form of oppression carried out against ethnic and religious minorities in Africa, Europe and India-to cite a few examples. The article attempts to explore if there has been a change of attitude towards the usage of elitism and elite power in India in the 21 st society. The article seeks to find out an alternative route to elitist hegemony. It suggests that if the world is to live in peace and resolve some of the most pressing socioeconomic issues of the present century, it needs to reform or transform.