Suchergebnisse

Capitalism is the accepted, and so intellectually an almost invisible, way of life in Canada. Very little has been thought or published about Canada that uses a Marxist critique of capitalism and its dynamics, and this book aims to advance such thinking by analysing the reasons for the openness of the dominion to capitalist domination, first by Europeans and then by Americans, to labour domination from the United States, and to a sell-out policy in regard to its land and farms. The dependency of the Canadian ruling class on foreign capitalists is an important factor in Canada's continued colonial-mindedness, and the rise of nationalism in Quebec is based on the inevitabilities of the class antagonisms set up by capitalism. The authors believe that it is only through such Marxist theory and practice that a way can be found for Canada to escape at last from imperialist exploitation and that a way can be found to shape a socialist future for the whole country

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Introduction -- I. Social Reform and Capitalism -- II. The Socialism of Social Democracy -- III. The Impact of Social Democracy and the Welfare State on Social Inequality -- IV. The Global Economy and the Decline of Social Reform -- V. Neo-liberal Policies and Their Rationale -- VI. The Era of the "Triumph of Capitalism" -- VII. Globalization as the Second Bourgeois Revolution -- VIII. A Critique of the Sceptics -- IX. The Question of Resistance and Alternatives -- Notes -- Index

Rights define the prevailing relations that constitute a community. They are in turn defined by the character of a given mode of production, and as that changes so too the system of rights. The rights that comprise 'human rights' evolved in the transition from feudalism to capitalism and represent the principles of the emerging world order in the 18th and 19th centuries. Only in the aftermath of World War II with the exhaustion or defeat of the European states and Japan was it possible to declare these same principles as belonging to the whole world equally and as intrinsic to all humans - yet within national frameworks. The accumulation of capital on a global scale, however, soon began to undermine the national practice of these human rights. By the end of the 1980s the construction of regional or global 'enabling frameworks,' quasi-states for capital, detached from any formal or legitimate means of countervailing political leverage, made human rights appear increasingly like anachronisms. An increasingly violent usurpation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other forms of rights around the world followed. In the absence of a legitimizing set of principles for this new global economy, a growing need for a rationale to govern by fiat becomes the central problem of the day.

Rights define the prevailing relations that constitute a community. They are in turn defined by the character of a given mode of production, and as that changes so too the system of rights. The rights that comprise 'human rights' evolved in the transition from feudalism to capitalism and represent the principles of the emerging world order in the 18th and 19th centuries. Only in the aftermath of World War II with the exhaustion or defeat of the European states and Japan was it possible to declare these same principles as belonging to the whole world equally and as intrinsic to all humans - yet within national frameworks. The accumulation of capital on a global scale, however, soon began to undermine the national practice of these human rights. By the end of the 1980s the construction of regional or global 'enabling frameworks,' quasi-states for capital, detached from any formal or legitimate means of countervailing political leverage, made human rights appear increasingly like anachronisms. An increasingly violent usurpation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other forms of rights around the world followed. In the absence of a legitimizing set of principles for this new global economy, a growing need for a rationale to govern by fiat becomes the central problem of the day.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Global Crisis and Political Economy / Teeple, Gary / McBride, Stephen -- 1. Financialization and Neoliberalism / Kotz, David M. -- 2. The New Constitutionalism: International and Private Rule in the New Global Order / McBride, Stephen -- 3. The Privatization of Authority in the Global Political Economy / Cutler, A. Claire -- 4. Corporate Accountability: Is Self-Regulation the Answer? / Singh, Kavaljit -- 5. Globalization and the Labour Process / Russell, Bob -- 6. Regulating Labour Standards in the Global Economy: Emerging Approaches to Global Governance / Thomas, Mark -- 7. Global Health: A Political Economy of Historical Trends and Contemporary Inequalities / Coburn, David -- 8. Castles in the Air: "Universal" Human Rights in the Global Political Economy / Evans, Tony -- 9. Military Power, Hegemonic Power: A Neglected Issue of International Political Economy / Cypher, James M. -- 10. Resisting Neoliberal Capitalism: Insights from Marxist Political Economy / Coburn, Elaine -- 11. Notes on the Continuing Economic Crisis / Teeple, Gary -- Notes on Contributors -- Index

1. Financialization and Neo-Liberalism / David M. Kotz -- 2. The New Constitutionalism: International and Private Rule in the New Global Order / Stephen McBride -- 3. The Privatization of Authority in the Global Political Economy / Claire Cutler -- 4. Corporate Accountability: Is Self-Regulation the Answer? / Kavaljit Singh -- 5. Globalizing the Labour Process / Bob Russell -- 6. Regulating Labour Standards in the Global Economy: Emerging Approaches to Global Governance / Mark Thomas -- 7. Global Health: A Political Economy of Historical Trends and Contemporary Inequalities / David Coburn -- 8. Castles in the Air: "Universal" Human Rights in the Global Political Economy / Tony Evans -- 9. Military Power, Hegemonic Power: A Neglected Issue of International Political Economy / James Cypher -- 10. Resisting Neo-Liberal Capitalism: Insights From Political Economy / Elaine Coburn.