Immanuel Wallerstein's piece on the rise of the World Capitalist system uses the trajectory of History to trace the different economic world systems and the array of complexities that have shaped the foundation of states. He traces four different stages, and sheds light on the evolution of economy from predominantly agricultural to more mechanized capitalism. His argument was well thought out and the concepts put forward easy to gauge, however what would have augmented his argument would have been was if he talked about how the genesis of this world capitalism system was from the Silk Road, and this was the start of globalization as there was a spread of cultures, languages, ideas and goods. What really stood out in his discourse was his discussion of Michels 'anti-capitalism mass spirit.' It was this spirit that gained momentum and was so deeply inculcated within the citizens of states such as Russia, and can be said to have caused the infamous ideological Cold War.
Esteemed personalities such as Stalin were staunchly against capitalism and saw it's exploitative values as the root cause of all conflict. The marxist critique of such a system claims that people have a sense of false consciousness and they believe that this cut throat and competitive ideological system is the best for them. Images of attaining the 'American Dream' by using this system as a tool was sensationalized and the aggrandized image was seen as a bench mark globally. However, this same image was seen as a form of grotesque exploitation in Western Europe, with Stalin famously claiming in the 1946 reelection speech that 'the war broke out as the inevitable result of the development of world economic and political forces on the basis of present-day monopolistic capitalism.' This statement is analogous to Wallerstein's claim that the rise of manufacturing added a complexity to the global arena by adding a 'new factor to threaten the stability of the states and of the capitalist forces now so securely in control of them.'
How far is this claim true? Yes, there is a large degree of exploitation involved in the capitalist system as seen by the Marshall Plan. On face value the content of the aid was such that it was seen as a way to develop Europe that was completely destroyed as a a result of the Great war. However, the aid had more deep rooted intentions. It was seen as a way to counter the spread of communism and the poor conditions that were present in Europe was seen as a breeding ground of such an ideology. Even though America was giving a large amount of aid, the strings attached to it meant that the war ravaged countries were actually buying goods from America, and so the American economy was actually greatly benefiting from this aid. Instances such as these are present throughout history where the capitalist ideology is seen as a way to actually enter war so that a rival ideology did not overtake and dominate. The Korean War, the Vietnam War are all instances where America provided military and economic support so that communism did not spread in countries such as Laos, Malaysia and Burma.
Even though such exploitation does exist, we need to see the benefits that also come from the capitalist system- the most predominant feature is also mentioned in Wallerstein's article which states that a country cannot develop and sustain itself with the resources present in it's geographical boundaries. This stands true for almost all countries where trade with other countries is needed in order to ensure survival. So, even though there is talk about the end of the capitalist system, this is not fully possible because it is this system which has been present for hundreds of years and survived it's tests- it has caused many wars and conflicts, but these conflicts have paradoxically also been fought and won because of the presence of the same system.
Esteemed personalities such as Stalin were staunchly against capitalism and saw it's exploitative values as the root cause of all conflict. The marxist critique of such a system claims that people have a sense of false consciousness and they believe that this cut throat and competitive ideological system is the best for them. Images of attaining the 'American Dream' by using this system as a tool was sensationalized and the aggrandized image was seen as a bench mark globally. However, this same image was seen as a form of grotesque exploitation in Western Europe, with Stalin famously claiming in the 1946 reelection speech that 'the war broke out as the inevitable result of the development of world economic and political forces on the basis of present-day monopolistic capitalism.' This statement is analogous to Wallerstein's claim that the rise of manufacturing added a complexity to the global arena by adding a 'new factor to threaten the stability of the states and of the capitalist forces now so securely in control of them.'
How far is this claim true? Yes, there is a large degree of exploitation involved in the capitalist system as seen by the Marshall Plan. On face value the content of the aid was such that it was seen as a way to develop Europe that was completely destroyed as a a result of the Great war. However, the aid had more deep rooted intentions. It was seen as a way to counter the spread of communism and the poor conditions that were present in Europe was seen as a breeding ground of such an ideology. Even though America was giving a large amount of aid, the strings attached to it meant that the war ravaged countries were actually buying goods from America, and so the American economy was actually greatly benefiting from this aid. Instances such as these are present throughout history where the capitalist ideology is seen as a way to actually enter war so that a rival ideology did not overtake and dominate. The Korean War, the Vietnam War are all instances where America provided military and economic support so that communism did not spread in countries such as Laos, Malaysia and Burma.
Even though such exploitation does exist, we need to see the benefits that also come from the capitalist system- the most predominant feature is also mentioned in Wallerstein's article which states that a country cannot develop and sustain itself with the resources present in it's geographical boundaries. This stands true for almost all countries where trade with other countries is needed in order to ensure survival. So, even though there is talk about the end of the capitalist system, this is not fully possible because it is this system which has been present for hundreds of years and survived it's tests- it has caused many wars and conflicts, but these conflicts have paradoxically also been fought and won because of the presence of the same system.
The fact that you have drawn parallels to the Silk Road and the idea of communicative expansion ties in very well with the idea of the transportation of capitalism throughout the world. One of the most interesting aspects of this article can be seen in the fact that Capitalist nations have been able to sell capitalism and transport; the marshall plan being one of the many manifestations of capitalism. Overall your analysis of the costs and benefits of capitalism as a world system is extremely interesting because we usually tend to either disregard capitalism completely or overstate its importance completely.
ReplyDeleteGood post.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned the used of the "American Dream" as a benchmark for global aspirations, it reminded me of two things. First, there is a great play from the 1950s called "Death of a Salesman" which really challenges and subverts the notion of the American dream. The protagonist, Willy Loman, is at the end of his life and vacillates between visions of what he thinks he has accomplished versus what he actually has accomplished. He's worked his whole life to achieve the "American Dream", but in the end, he dies with little to show for his work, no respect, and a lot of twasted time/effort. The pursuit of the illusory American dream came at far too high of a cost.
The second thing it reminded me of was Chinese President Xi Jinping's notion of creating the "Chinese Dream". It's essentially the American dream for the Chinese, but will it not prove to be just as illusory as the American dream. What can the hundreds of millions of Chinese who aspire to it actually hope to achieve?
Death of a Salesman <3. As Linda Loman said, "Attention must be paid'' to how crippling and hollow the American capitalist dream is.
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