Theories of Late Capitalism - Essay Example

Theories of Late Capitalism Introduction This write-up would examine, in brief, the economic and political analysis of the four renowned economistsof the contemporary times – Jeffrey Frieden, David Harvey, Jeremy Rifkin and Naomi Klein. These analyses, all of which pertain to the last three decades of previous century, adopt diverse approaches in interpreting the trends of modern capitalism. The write-up would then attempt to understand the manner in which the transitions described by Frieden and Rifkin are related to the circumstances elaborated by Harvey and Klein. Jeffery Frieden and Global Capitalism In his book “Modern Capitalism”, Jeffrey Frieden vividly elaborates the various vital political and economic developments of about the preceding one hundred years exercising a tremendous impact on the worldwide economic scenario. Frieden states that globalization began during as early as the 1870s, when commercial interactions among people residing in diverse parts of the globe started. He focuses on the manner in which this globalization was adversely impacted by the First World War, as well as on the way various economies attempted to recover from its effects even amidst the economic depression. After that, he dwells on the duration immediately succeeding the Second World War, and extending up to the 1970s. Here, Frieden describes about the growth of the US as a dominant force in the political and economic scenario of the World. Lastly, he focuses on the resurgence of globalization with renewed vigor in the last thirty years of previous century, along with highlighting the rapid industrial growth attained by many East Asian Countries. (1) Post Fordism of Jeremy Rifkin “The End of Work”, written by Jeremy Rifkin is an excellent account of the powerful grip that automation is holding on the industry, even to the extent of eliminating the need of workmen. This scenario is diametrically opposite to “Fordism”, which as suggested by its name, was propounded by Henry Ford. Fordism emphasizes on importance of both presence of workers and also of adequate leisure for them. But in this modern era, technology is rapidly replacing the workforce and thus leading to severe unemployment adversely impacting millions of people. Rifkin argues that to combat this burning issue of unemployment, governments should initiate measures for developing sectors such as community service, where people would find both quality work and also their livelihood. (2) David Harvey on Postmodernism In his work “The Condition of Postmodernity”, David Harvey argues that the swift transitions in various cultural, economic and political aspects began in about 1972. He adds that, all these changes led to advent of the scenario where a postmodern perspective encompassed various spheres. As stated by David Harvey, the Postmodern period is marked by rapid technological growth that makes the aspects of time and geographical distance almost irrelevant. This very phenomenon can be considered as the dominant form of culture in the contemporary world. He states that postmodernism resulted from the initiatives taken by capitalists during the last five decades of previous century. Harvey also emphasizes that numerous aspects related to the period of modernism are having their presence in postmodernism, and holding even more relevance. He made a note of another vital aspect as being a highly relevant feature of the era (postmodernism). Owing to all technological advances, various organizations are now adhering to many innovative practices in their everyday operations, and thereby, contributing not just to their own prosperity, but also to the economic growth of the country. (3) The Shock Doctrine of Naomi Klein In the book “The Shock Doctrine”, the author Naomi Klein emphasizes on the strategy adopted by the US and other economically powerful nations, to further enhance their economic and political power. By concealing their real motive behind the veil of “Free Market” ideology, these economies went even to the extent of carrying out acts of mass destruction. As a matter of fact, Klein argues that most of the wars and conflicts of the past five decades are attributable to this very megalomania of the developed and powerful countries. Klein maintains that, unhindered capitalism has no second thoughts while bringing about devastation that assures it of enhanced might. (2) While elaborating on “The Shock Doctrine”, Klein refers to recent events such as the invasion of Iraq by the US, for focusing on the fact that the US and other economic powers, with craftiness, bring about the circumstances where the weaker economies are left with no other option but to follow the dictates of these global giants. She argues that all these powerful economies take undue advantage of adverse conditions such as occurrence of natural calamities and political instability, where the states are highly susceptible, and literally impose their agenda on the concerned governments. (2) Global Capitalism and Post Fordism – Relation to Postmodernism Global Capitalism, as elaborated by Jeffrey Frieden, states that globalization began more than a century ago and after passing through many phases – both pleasant and unpleasant – has reached the form being witnessed in the current era. That sophisticated technologies, which were hitherto unheard of, have now become an indispensable and a vital part of the present-day globalization warrants no special mention. Post Fordism of Jeremy Rifkin, from the perspective of technology, can be treated as a part of globalization being emphasized by Frieden. It is only because of the phenomenal technological growth that there is now a scenario of automation replacing workers. Both the above-mentioned aspects, undoubtedly, led to the circumstances enumerated by Harvey in Postmodernism. Harvey speaks of the contemporary state of affairs where technology has reached the position of a cultural force with almost all the denizens of the planet being its staunch adherents. And events pertinent to this very vital issue of Science & Technology have been effectively presented by Jeffrey Frieden and Jeremy Rifkin. In fact, it is only an outcome of all these events that David Harvey was enabled to make note of the scenario where geographical distance and time are no longer barriers for interactions across diverse regions of the World. Global Capitalism and Post Fordism Lead to “The Shock Doctrine” The durations included in the study of Global Capitalism and Post Fordism are same as those, during which the United States started emerging as the most potent political and economic force in the World. As a matter of fact, this very aspect is emphasized by Frieden while enumerating on globalization of past century. From the angle of Post Fordism, the US was amongst the pioneers to have opted for automation, with the same being a vivid reflection of a key aspect of the country’s (the US) strength – technology. Owing to this incessant growth in their power, the United States and other economic giants of the globe were enabled to deliver shocks to various weak nations, for furthering their interests. These very circumstances propelled Naomi Klein to come out with her work “The Shock Doctrine.” The US and other advanced countries started accumulating power during phases described by Frieden and Rifkin, and are now in a position to dictate terms to rest of the World. There is another strong phenomenon of fairly recent origin, and which has further enhanced the power being wielded by all the developed economies. Owing to the advent of all the latest technologies, these mighty economies are outsourcing thousands of job assignments to the developing and economically weaker countries. In light of that, any attempt from the smaller nations in rejecting or disobeying the agenda of the economic giants, in all probability, would lead to a scenario of stoppage of the outsourcing. This would severely impact the economy of smaller nations, not to mention the resultant issue of minimized employment opportunities. Owing to all this, the unpleasant fact has to be accepted that the might of countries such as the US, in enforcing their “Shock Doctrine” is just displaying a consistent rise. Relevance of Post Fordism Amongst all the four descriptions dwelled upon in this short write-up, Post Fordism is the one that is of utmost relevance. The constantly growing problem of unemployment, globally, strongly suggests that a balance needs to be arrived between Fordism and Post Fordism. Otherwise, in all likelihood, there would be an adverse circumstance where people deprived of employment resort to unscrupulous and anti-social activities jeopardizing the balance of civilized society. Worldwide, leading players of various sectors need to initiate concrete measures for achieving the aforesaid balance between workers and automation. At this juncture, another key point is worth to be noted. There are certain important job profiles where it is just not possible to totally replace people with machines, as they involve situations that entail arriving at quick and apt decisions. It needs no special mention that for these jobs, there can be no substitute for the human mind! All these relevant points further emphasize on the need for arriving at the equilibrium mentioned in the previous paragraph. Conclusion Based on the contents discussed in this write-up, it can conveniently be inferred that all the four works are interrelated. Any apparent variations are attributable to adopting of different approaches by writers, towards the subject. All the four analyses are highly comprehensive, and it is just not possible to cover all the important points in a brief essay such as this one. Yet, a sincere attempt has been made to highlight the most relevant of all the points. SOURCES 1) “Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century: By Jeffry Frieden”, lsb.scu.edu/~kmitchener/research/Mitchener%20on%20Frieden_Global%20Capitalism.pdf, Internet, Kris James Mitchener, ND. 2) “Tagmash: economics, globalization”, librarything.com/tag/economics,+globalization, Internet, LibraryThing, ND. 3) “Book Review: The Condition of Postmodernity, David Harvey”, uta.edu/huma/illuminations/best2.htm, Internet, Steve Best, ND (Please note that wherever information has been taken from sources, I rephrased the contents in my own words, so as to avoid plagiarism) Read More