Historical Structualism Flashcards
(26 cards)
Focus of h.s?
Classes
Exploiting non-producer class Vs. Exploited producers class
Classes are only absent in primitive-communal community’s and communism
Role of the state in h.s.?
Agent for bourgeoisere class
Economic relations in h.s?
Zero-sum and conflictual
Imperialism
Lenin: reason why capitalism won’t break together
Colonies supplied “metropol” with cheap agri- cultural and raw material, also outlet and market for “metropol” surplus.
Neocolonialism?
Imperial powers lost direct political control over south, but continues to control them economically
Dependency theory?
Hierachial ordered world.
Core dominating periphery.
Only core states can make autonomous choices about politics.
Development of the third world is possible but just with close association between elites of the core.
Goal of dependency theorists
The underprivileged should break linkage with capitalist states/ overthrow capitalism
Politics and economics in h.s?
Politics are just the surplus of production modes.
Instrumental Marxism?
Formal government institutions react in a passive way to socio-economic pressures.
Who is able to make pressure: capitalist class
Point out: linkage between the workers of the state and in buisness
Structural Marxism?
Reaction of welfare changes after ww2
State is relatively autonomous from capitalist class. Is able of policys that benefits working class. This gains support for capitalism
State knows better what capitalism needs to thrive than private owners
Marx and IPÖ
Europe:
Feudalism (private property of landholdings) —> capitalism
India & China:
“Asiatic” production. Importance of centralized irrigation. Strong central government : provides water for bad times.
Oriental society’s on local level:
Small self-sufficient villages. Communal property over individual ownership.
There is not much space for private ownership, thus capitalism. —> imperialistic pressure leads to capitalism and later socialism.
Criticism for British imperialism, still necessary to move foreward global socialism
John A. Hobson
Non-Marxist economic theoriest with influential imperialism theory.
3 major problems of capitalist economy:
- low wages and underconsumption
- oversaving capitalist
- overproduction
Limited purchase power by core worker —> imperialism
Lenin and imperialism
Highest stage of capitalism
Can only disappear when replaced with global socialism
Imperialism is the reason why revolution is missing. —-> capitalists delay crisis es in home country and bribe domestic working class with some fruits of colonialism
Once the earth is separated between different imperialists, wars acure and so the downfall of capitalism.
Ambivalent: exploitation and modernization
Modernization will give power to underdeveloped to compete in prices with core.
Otto Kuusinen
Finnish member of communist international
1928: imperialism is regressive not progressive
After independence of Latin country’s from Spain and Portugal, still they stayed dependende
——> dependency’s theory
Origins of Dependency theory
1960s Latin American Marxist therorist, criticizes modernization theory and inevitable socialism.
Focus on north-south conflict. Don’t believe that north brought capitalism as a gift.
Baran:
- major difference between capitalism in north and south, no modernization but living as “source country” for south.
- capitalists from the west make aliances with elite of south to keep them down
Raul prebisch?
Latin American Strukturalist
Peek in the late 40s
Focus on structural obstecals, to third world development
Third world is disadvantaged: raw materials, and developed world can develop substitutes
Third world needs to industrialize and decrease dependency’s from north.
- Import substituting industrialization
- domestic production over exports
Desillusion in the 60s : uncompetitive industry and growing balance-of-payments
Dependency theory on:
Source of third world problems
Structural factors related to global
Capitalist economy
Development is constrained by core.
Compradores: Elite of periphery which acts as linkage between core and periphery. Reinforce pattern of decency
LDC possibility’s of development
Early dependency’s :
Deterministic, cannot escape as long as they maintain linkage to core
But what about China, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico…? They newly industrialized and have massive growth rates
Dependent development theory
2 main goals: autonomy and socialism
Dependent development
Development of the LDC when:
Alliance between foreign capital, domestic capital and third world state.
—-> some profit for 3. World country —> industrialization
More heterodox picture of LDCs Situation BUT
Still everyone is dependent : workers get low wages
Kritik an dependency theory
Dichotom vague categories
Is only capitalism imperialistic? (Soviet dependency linkage)
To focused on external factors for dependency
Incorrect prospects (China )
Marxist: to nationalistic
World-system-theory
Similar to dependency theory
More historic and flexible
Came up with semi-periphery
Wallerstein:
World-system: Single division of Labour and multiple cultural Systems
1) world empires: economic&political system
2) world economies: economic system
Today capitalist world economy
That’s why UDSSR broke apart, they lived in a capitalistic world system
Gramscian Analysis
Bigger Focus on non-economic factors to exploitation.
Hegemonial power: power of the ruling class in values/ideology and stuff. The bourgeoise provides with concessions to stabilize moral support.
—>historic bloc: hegemonial and political power
Need of counterhegemony to challenge old historic bloc
Neoliberal Transnational historic bloc: threatening interventionist historical bloc
Business conflict model?
Historical structuralism and liberalism
Business groups as most influential social group,affecting policymaking
—> divisions lead to conflicts
State is not autonomous
There is division between capitalists
(F.e. Nationalist firms and international firms)
International firms: support from USA
National firms: rather do local/regional personal relationships
Labour intense buisness: prefere disciplined third world and military action
Not Labour intense: more skeptical on military action
Realism and north-south relations?
Realists tend to focus only on the most powerful states.
List: protectionism strategy only good for north „specially fitted by nature“ for industrialization
- 70s interest in OPEC (bargaining power oil crisis)
- 80s/90s east Asia (challenge to power position of west)
LCDs are weak because they are weak
