Globalization and the Capitalist State Redundant - Essay Example

Globalization and the Capitalist State Redundant Introduction Few of us can cease to proclaim the effect that has crept to the world in view of what has been happening. Capitalism in the world has been a classical explanation of what Marxism tried to postulate. It shows the inherent nature in which capitalism has been rooting itself in the world and the resulting effects. The September 11 attack in the US and the palliative insurgence of the US Empire, the neoclassical economics and others are some factors that can tell us that globalization is proving the opponents of Marxism wrong. Critiques of Marxism therefore have been rendered redundant by what has been happening. (Elson 1998, p. 53) Globalization and Marxism In view of the Marxist globalization has been seen as an expansion or development of capitalism in the world. Like other traditional works that were seen to fit in a loose framework of anti-globalization, Marxism may not be described as a single movement nor can it be described as following a unitary intellectual practice from a theoretical perspective. In this case we should understand that Marxism as whole has been engaging with contemporary phenomena in a way that the manner and the mindsets that it has been postulating in the past has been evidence in class, political economy, labor, capitalism and in many other socialism concepts and revolution described as the central axis of globalization. (Ollman 1998, p.87) With the end of communism in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and the consequent embrace of the capitalism like in the Peoples Republic of China, has been expressed as the end of the Marxism’s period. Regardless of the fact that the world has embraced the capitalism economies, Marxism still present a poignant and painful way of accounting for globalization. This has been witnessed in what is happening in the aftermath of the wave that took the world from 1990s. Marxism has been expressed in many areas like the free-markets, oppressed and exploited labor, modernization, and many other reforms that have been carried out in the political, social and economic systems of the world. Globalization has been described as increased interaction of the world or the opening up the world. In the last few decades there has been increased movement of people and goods. There has been emergence of new market. Therefore globalization has been a tendency to create a unipolar world though it has been expressed mostly in economic terms. It is increased integration of the political, social and economic factors. (Beams, 19980 Marxism and globalization in view of capitalism Capitalism which was so much argued about by Marxism has been one of the most important pivots that have led to the wave of globalization. There have been increased movements of capital across borders leading to immense change in the way we do things and the way we produce things. Globalization therefore can be seen as a cosmopolitan character which signifies production and consumption in all countries. Globalization places the local and the national conditions in terms of self sufficiency and the creation of the universal system of interdependences. As capitalism takes over the world under the nose of globalization, it has led to smash the border of feudalism and mercantilism. Capitalism is therefore ever moving and ever-changing. It forces human being to change their reality and their own role in the world. (Fredrick 1975, p. 4) According to Marxism socialist revolution was described to occur out of development of the product forces which run into conflict with the social relations of capital. In this case Marx explains the negative effect that can be brought about by the forces of capitalism. Marx tried to show the creative-destructive forces of capitalism which is very well tied together with reason of economic advancement of the world. Therefore Marxism expressed that these creative destructive forces goes beyond history of establishment of the socialism society. One of his great postulation was the need to create a free trade. During his days Marx called for the improvement of laws that were likely to protect both the producers and other participants in the production chain. In a speech he delivered in Brussels in 1848, Marx had scathing attacks at those who were against the implementation of free trade and called for favorable condition for the work in the growth of the nations. Therefore we can say that Marxism opposed destructiveness of capitalism and not in away that could lead to maintenance of feudalism or non-market forms of production in the world. Marxism did not completely oppose the notion that capitalism was a stage in the life of a nation and all nations had to go through it before it developed a good market. (Baylis and Smith 2000, p. 43) Effects of globalization and opponent of Marxism Opponents of Marxism argued the ideals would not work in the market. They upheld capitalism as the best form of market that would lead to advancement of all nations. They failed to look at the possible effects that would come along with capitalism and the effect that it would be having. They looked down what Marx in his work had looked on closely. According to Marx, capitalism was just exploitation and which led to more evils in the world as oppose to the socialism. But he acknowledged that it lead to increased forces of production unlike the then old classical economic production and at the same time lead to increased integration of the world. Therefore Marx did not look at capitalism in the way his opponents looked at his criticism on capitalism. (Omvedt, 2001; Domhoff 2005, p. 62) According to what has been taking place in the world, it is just a reflection of what had been given by Marxism. It shows how Marx had viewed the effect of the capitalist the world. Marx saw capitalism as leading to a close integration for the world where the world would become more interdependent. This has been one of the effects of capitalism as it has led to increased wave of globalization. There has been increased interdependence of the world as countries continue to specialize on production of one commodity or the other. In the view of Marxism, this was seen as to come with increased problems. Increased integration of the world has taken shape in the economic, social and political life of the people. (Klein 2008, p. 7) According to Marxism, capitalism would lead to increased production of goods and services. This has been witnessed by the growing number of multinationals in the world. In this case there has been adoption of the post-fordism production in which there has been production that has been dictated by the demand of the market. The just in time production has been one of the best example that can be used to illustrate the ideas of modern production. This means that the wave of globalization has been a reflection of what had been postulated by Marx in his work. (Harman1996, p. 65) There have been emerging classes of neoclassical Marxism who have taken a different look at what is happening in the world. This is a new movement that provides a shift in emphasis if not in the direction of Marxism movement. They have come up with new topic arising from globalization like dialectical methods, commodity fetishism, and others. They have been expressing issues regarding to distributive justice, exploitations, and economic theories in the new world. In this regard there is a similarity between the neoclassic economics and Marxism. (Bonefied 2003; Marsh and Stoker 2002, p. 29) There have been other social and economic changes that have resulted from globalization. In the recent past there have been increased illegal migrations of people in search of economic green pastures. This has been seen as a change in social order that was postulated by Marx. In all parts of the world many strikes by the worker who are demanding to be given good salaries shows an exploitation face of capitalism. (Wener, 2005) Conclusion Marx provided a clear picture of what could result from embracing a capitalism economy. In his work, Marx showed how the world would change with the embracement of the capitalism. This has been very well reflected in the current wave of globalization that has been taking place all over the world. There has been increased production of goods and service, increase exploitation of labor, class for the need to have a free trade market, and others which show what had been shown by Marx as possible result of Marxism. This means that globalization has given evidence to what Marx had said about and thereof it is rendering his critiques redundant. References Beams, N 1998. The significance and implication of globalization: A Marxist Assessment, Retrieved from http://www.wsws.org/exhibits/global/nblect.htm on 23rd May 2008 Bonefied, W 2003, Globalization: Crisis of regulation or crisis of capital? Retrieved from http://www.rcci.net/globalizacion/2002/fg255.htm on 23rd May 2008 Domhoff, W 2005, A critique of Marxism, University of Kansas Elson, D 1998, Socializing markets, not market socialism, Merlin, London Fredrick, E 1975, manifesto of communist part, Progress Publishers, Moscow Harman, C 1996, Globalism: A critique of a new orthodoxy, International Socialism 73 Klein, N 2008, Disaster capitalism, Harvard Business School Review Ollman, B 1998, Market socialism: The debate among socialists, Routledge, New York Omvedt, G 2001, Marx and globalization, Retrieved from http://www.ambedkar.org/gail/Marxand.htm on 23rd May 2008 Wener, W2005, The politics of globalism: ideology and critique, Retrieved from http://libcom.org/library/politics-globalisation-werner-bonefeldon 23rd May 2008 Marsh, D. & Stoker, G 2002, Theory and Methods in political science, Palgrave Macmillan Baylis, J. & Smith, S 2000, Globalization of world politics, Oxford University Press Read More