Pluto Journals THE ABSENT GEOPOLITICS OF PURE CAPITALISM Author(s): Radhika Desai Source: World Review of Political Economy, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Fall 2010), pp. 463-484 Published by: Pluto Journals Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41931883 Accessed: 26-02-2015 19:11 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Pluto Journals is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to World Review of Political Economy. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE ABSENT OF PURE GEOPOLITICS CAPITALISM RadhikaDesai ofManitoba. ofPolitical Radhika Studies, Desai,Professor University Pluto Press. Future of World Author, series, Co-editor, Capitalism inIndian toHindutva FromCongress Towards Ayodhya: Slouching : "Social andSocialism Politics(2ndrev.ed.,2004);Intellectuals " ofDevelopmental DemocratsandtheLabourParty( 1994),editor and CulturalNationalisms(2009). Forthcoming: Capitalist " " anditsCosmopolitan Myths: DispellingGlobalization Geopolitics and "Empire" (2011).Email:desair@cc.umanitoba.ca as intheearly 20thcentury ofcapitalist Marxist theories Abstract: Thefirst emerged geopolitics first theories were also the andcombined ofimperialism anduneven theories They development. new ofimperialism theintensification ofcapitalist While through theyexplained geopolitics. Marxist the revival of and in national states of and economics economies, politics interpénétrations suffers from inrecent decades world intheEnglish-speaking aboutcapitalist geopolitics thinking nation-states. uncontaminated of a pure, economic, by by politics, capitalism, conception purely Initthevery ofstudy ofcapitalism. alsoa cosmopolitan Itis,asa consequence, object conception the havecometoshare so many Marxists thatitdoesso because Thisarticle disappears. argues and of the discourses biases of mainstream "globalization" byaccepting thinking cosmopolitan revival ofMarxist oftherecent andshowshowthisisso inthecaseoftwopioneers "empire" Teschke. andBenno Justin thinking, Rosenberg geopolitical international relations Marxism; nation-states; geopolitics; capitalism; Keywords: inrecent decades aboutcapitalist MuchoftherevivalofMarxist geopolitics thinking (keyworksincludeRosenberg1994,Teschke2003,Callinicos2009,CRIA 2007) uncontaminated ofcapitalism, froma "pure,"purelyeconomic,conception suffers Itis,as a consequencealso a cosmopolitan conception bypolitics,bynation-states. world-wide ofcapitalism as a system ofnecessarily logicsinwhichtheveryobjectof interventions Thisarticleshowshowinthecase oftwopioneering studydisappears. byJustin Rosenberg(1994) andBennoTeschke(2003). anddistributed WRPE 1.3 Produced Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 464 RADHIKA DESAI effectsof purecapitalism,Rosenberg Makingstatesand politicssubordinate is a farcryfromthatwhichanimatedthefirstMarxist and Teschke'sthinking theoriesofcapitalistgeopolitics.Thoughwe knowthemas theearly20thcentury classical theoriesof imperialism (Bukharin1917/2003,Hilferding1910/1981, Hobson1902/1968, Lenin1916/1978, andLuxemburg thesetheories 1913/2003), ofimperialism bygivingaccountsofinterpénétration explainedtheintensification ofpoliticsandeconomicsinnationalstatesandeconomies.AlongwithBolshevik ideasaboutunevenandcombined constituted the (UCD), theyarguably development relations. first theoriesofcapitalist geopoliticsorinternational Bourgeoistheories in to them: Wilsonian idealism and its famousFourteen first, onlyemerged response as a counter to Bolshevik were demandsforthe anti-imperialist points proposed andfornationalself-determination publicconductofdiplomacy (Mayer1964,Van derPiji 2009) and,almosttwodecadeslater,an avowedlymoremature"realism" claimedtoreallyfoundthediscipline(Carr1939). In contrast to theaccountsthesetheoriesgave of thecomplexinteraction of sharesmuchwith politicsand economics,recentMarxistgeopoliticalthinking Inthe1990s,itexaggerated market discourse. oreconomic "globalization" integration of theworldeconomy,and saw politicsas derivative, that claimingin particular rendered nation-states irrelevant (themostthorough "globalization" exposéremains and Marxistswere Hirstand Thompson1996/Hirst, 2009). Thompson Bromley also takenwiththesucceedingdiscourseof "empire"whichfurther discounted thepowerofa "hegemonic" nation-states' UnitedStates. agencybyexaggerating Whiletherelationship betweenMarxismand thesediscoursescannotbe treated here,onemaynotethatinRosenberg'slatercritiqueofglobalization satisfactorily 2000 and 2005), Marxismemergesas merelya better, (Rosenberg theoretically versionofglobalization sounderandconceptually discourse,indeedas weightier, theoriginalglobalization discourse,tobe defendedagainsttheclaimsoflate20th anti-Marxist nonand even parvenus. century A briefoverviewof thecosmopolitanbiases of mainstream which thinking havecometosharecomesnext.Itis followedbya consideration ofwhatis Marxists atstakeinputting incapitalist inthe2 1stcentury. nation-states centrally geopolitics A briefthirdsectionoutlinestheelementsof an alternative to purecapitalism, a moreaccurateconceptionofActuallyExistingCapitalism.Finally, historically of critiquesof Rosenbergand Teschkeshowtheinadequacyofpureconceptions for capitalism theorizing capitalistgeopolitics. From National to Pure Capitalism BraudelianWorldSystemsAnalysis(such as Wallerstein1974 and 1980 and recentMarxistwritingon capitalistgeopolitics Arrighi1994) notwithstanding, WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions CAPITALISM THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE 465 The latterexplainedthegeopoliticsoftheir is thefirst sincetheclassicaltheories. of capitalismin whichthe timeas theresultof a newphase in thedevelopment in particular and the state took new as new between forms, relationship capital and financial Bukharin national between capitaldeveloped. relationships productive ofcapital"andnation-states were hadlabeledtheseprocessesthe"nationalization central.Not onlydo thenew Marxistaccountsof thelate 20thand early21st centuries makeno reference to theseclassicaltheories, theyalso ignorethemore itinhisTheHistory outlined ofthe byUCD. As Trotsky generalframework provided RussianRevolution ofnationalcapitalist , ontheonehand,itaccountedforpatterns in a worldwherecapitalismhadalreadydevelopedelsewhere: development a backward does to follow after theadvanced countries, country Although compelled ofhistorically backward nations inthesameorder. ... Thedevelopment nottakethings leadsnecessarily toa peculiar combination ofdifferent process. stagesinthehistoric On theother,itexploredsomeoftheirgeopoliticalimplications: Stateshavenoweconomically ThefactthatGermany andtheUnited outstripped England On the wasmadepossible the backwardness of their by very capitalist development. other forthepast in the British coal isa paying-up the conservative hand, industry... anarchy 1919/1934: whenEngland toolongtherôleofcapitalist 26) (Trotsky played pathfinder. inMarxandEngels'thinking UCD was foreshadowed 1978),inthe (Mehringer aforementioned accountsof imperialism (e.g. see Bukharin1917/2003:148), in theSecondInternational's on the "nationalities thinking question"overprevious in in explainingtheRussianRevolution, a revolution decadesand,morebroadly, inhistorical materialist a "backward" rather thanan "advanced"capitalist country, of to makeUCD thebasis ofa Marxistunderstanding terms.Thoughan ambition realize was announced on his to geopolitics by Rosenbergearly (1996) attempts it wentin trans-historical directionswhichhad littleimmediaterelevanceto understanding geopoliticsina specifically capitalistera.RecentMarxistaccounts, ifonlyto arecertainly of the unevenness of worldcapitalist cognizant development, underline thepowerandcentrality oftheWestandtheUS init.However, theyfailto forms ofcombined intotheirunderstanding incorporate development systematically it onlyto confineits of capitalistgeopolitics.If theydo, theyeitherincorporate to the from as Teschke does as we see it, significance history, protecting theory toderiveitscoremechanisms froma below,orthey(e.g. Callinicos2009) attempt versionofpurecapitalism(Desai forthcoming 2011 fora critique). In Marx's Conceptionsof purecapitalismhave no warrantin Marx'swriting. vision states,bothcolonial and national,were insertedinto,butwere neither norsubject,to eithertheworldmarketor a singleimperiallogic(fora reducible, fullerdiscussionsee Desai 2009a). Thoughlivingin an imperialage,hiswritings WRPE 1.3 Produced anddistributed Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RADHIKA DESAI 466 on coloniesorsemi-colonies were,inmost clearlyshowthatforhimnation-states to colonization.Finally,in Marx's instances, possibleand desirablealternatives withother how thesenationalstatesand theircoloniesinteracted understanding the of class and state statesandtheworldeconomywas determined by processes betweendomesticand foreign whicharosefromcomplexinteractions formation forces(Bagchi2004). Givenall this,it is simplyimplausiblethatMarxwas any ofglobalization. Norwas he,as somehaveattempted to argue, sortofwr-theorist in andtherefore which he a creature oftheimperial, inherently cosmopolitan, age to thehistory and ideas ofhistime lived(Stedman-Jones 2007). His relationship anddialectical. was,to saytheleast,oppositional Marxists'conceptionof pure capitalismis, ironically,not Contemporary different fromcapitalism'sspontaneous the ideologywhichseparates significantly economicormarket this sphere.Domestically politicalspherefroma self-regulating withincapitalism, contradictendstoeraseanynotionofcontradiction conception toovercome(FreemanandCarchedi1996,Kliman tionswhichstateactionattempts ithas necessarily 2007,Desai 2010). Internationally, cosmopolitan implications since themarketor economicsphereis takento have no bordersand politics ratherthanglobal- and historically it has remainsnational,and inter-national, inimperial British beendeeplyimplicated projects.How 19thcentury imperialism andfreetradewas cleartoFriedrich Listeventhen usedideologiesoffreemarkets Britishimperialism (List 1856,see also Semmel1993).Fewjustified19thcentury 1 Acton 862/1 996 and most themorally as cosmopolitan did) (as preferred politically easiereconomicvisionof a single,unifiedworldmarketor economybespeaking whosecosmopolitanism was just an added progressand bereftof contradictions, inAngeli1909). bonus(exemplified remainedcentralto imperialprojects This sortof economiccosmopolitanism betweenBritain's19thcentury in the20thcentury too thoughduringtheinterval dominanceand theUS's attemptsto imitateit in the20th,it became at once a becauseduringthatinterval moredifficult and moreurgent.It becamedifficult transition albeitlongandcomplex,froman imperialto an international occurred, world(Chandler2003, Desai 2009d). It beganwitha phaseduringwhichon the - theUS, ofthefirst one handthestate-led "combined"development challengers andJapan to Britain'sindustrial supremacy emerged.Theirarrivalon Germany industrial thegeopoliticalstagereplacedtheeasyascendancyofthefirst capitalist the other this interwith inter -national On hand, however, country competition. were means of national was also colonies national imperial competition: competition intheFirstWorldWarmeantthat ofthiscompetition Theculmination development. obscuredinter-national competition. Duringthe"Thirty inter-imperial competition forces socialistandnationalist Years'Crisis"(1914-45)(Mayer1981)thatfollowed, and colonialism combinedto radicallyde-legitimize imperialism (Mayer1964) WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 467 thebirthofan international worldhadtoawaittheendoftheSecondWorld though Warwhentheinterests oftheonecapitalist itspowermagnified powerleftstanding, werealso alignedwithdecolonization. elsewhere, bydestruction ideasbecamemoreurgent tothistransition, unlike because,thanks Cosmopolitan 19thcentury Britishdominance, US imperialambitions weremorevulnerable to fromthenowindependent nation-states ofthethird world developmental challenges as wellas from thestrongest formofdevelopmentalism Communism, (Lewin2005). to it another in maintaining the US's theexisting Or, put way, imperialinterest unevennessof capitalistdevelopmentcould be contestedmoreeasilythanthe - whether UK's inthe19thcentury socialistor byformsofcombineddevelopment because unlike the the US did not exercise formal colonial control. latter, capitalist or deleUrgentthoughcosmopolitanism mayhave become,de-emphasizing nationalismamidthegreatestwave of nation-state creation,a wave gitimizing whichforcedeven themightof theUS aftertheSecond WorldWarto go with theflow,could hardlybe easy.Nationalism'scentrality to Fascismofferedone - "thattrivial of thefewopenings.ArnoldToynbee'srevulsionfornationalism whichwas...thegreatheresyof moderntimes"(quotedin McNeill self-worship 1988: 14)- forexample,meantthathe vestedhishopein "civilizations" instead. Suchsupra-national views,especiallywhentheyincludedtheidea ofa transition froma UK-centered world"civilization" to a US-centered one,as Toynbee'sdid, servedUS purposeswell.HenryLuce, theeditorof TimeandLife,whofamously articulated in a visionof theUS post-war US imperialaspirations long-standing rolewhentheUS entered theSecondWorldWarin 1941(Luce 1941/1999, Desai later views to his vision "intellectual 2007a) employed Toynbee's give respectability, (McNeill 1988:23) ina majorLifecoverstoryin 1947. depthandpersuasiveness" Moregenerally, US-sponsoredcosmopolitanisms one-sidedlyemphasizedthe of the of the world undoing thirty-year-long fracturing economythroughtwo worldwarsand a GreatDepressionunderUS worldleadershipat theexpenseof theequally,ifnotmore,momentous realitythatan economicallyand politically international worldhademerged. Evenintherealiststudyofinternational relations, whichostensiblyconsideredpower-aggrandizing nation-states thefundamental blocksoftheworldorder, building powerwas conceivedinwaysthatleftlittleroom forpoliticaleconomyanddevelopmentalism. in itsideologicalfunctions Moreover, theCold Warmeantthatitremainedmoreconcerned withasserting andjustifying US powerthanwithunderstanding thereal or potentialrole of nation-states in capitalist geopoliticswithanydispassion. in theimmediate and particularly Nevertheless, post-warperiodnation-states, their economicroleinundertaking forms ofcombined wasnotentirely development, obscured.Afterall, scoresofnewindependent stateswerecomingintobeingand theirdevelopmental nationalisms at the placed nationaleconomicdevelopment WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals byPluto WRPE.plutojournals.org This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RADHIKA DESAI 468 coreoftheirvisions(e.g. Barker2009,Bunton2009,Sarkar2009 andWu2009 all hadprovedthesuperiority ofstateintervention and inDesai 2009d).Communism and War to an extent as the to force the the Great ruling Depression during planning classesofthecapitalistWestto borrowa fewtoolsfromthe"socialists'tool-kit" offormsofnationaleconomicmanagement. (Hobsbawm1994:96-7) in a variety 1 the national until Moreover, 970s, development projectsandrelateddevelopments theNon-Alignedmovement anditsdemandfora suchas theBandungconference, theeconomicroleofnation-states. EconomicOrderunderlined As NewInternational of the within the literature on a consequence, nation-building earlypost-war years thebroader modernization (Deutsch1953,Kedourie1960)didnotneglect paradigm theworkof Gellner(1964 and 1983) theorizedthe politicaleconomyentirely, andTomNairn'spioneering betweenindustrial societyandnationalism, relationship ofthemateriality ofnationsintermsof a Marxistunderstanding workarticulated first edition unevenandcombineddevelopment (Nairn1981, 1977). neoliberal However,as the1980sopened,as newAnglo-American governments in the and loss of centrality vowedto undotheircountries'economicstagnation was announced as theycutformerly worlddevelopment world,andthecrisisofthird and to size by imposingStructural assertivethirdworldgovernments Adjustment trendscombinedto pushnation-states, "lostdecades"on them,threeintellectual theireconomicandgeopoliticalrole,intothebackground. First,an unspokenand insidiousscholarlydivisionof laborbecamewidelyacceptedbetweenthosewho As studiednationsandnationalisms perse andthosewhostudiedpoliticaleconomy. considered nation-states turn"(Jameson1998),theformer partofa larger"cultural a Anderson for cultural artefacts 1983/2006; (e.g. critiquesee Desai primarily toit(Nimni1991),neglecting anyconsideration 2009b).Marxistsalso contributed oftheeconomicroleofnation-states. Secondly,thestudyof nationalpoliticaleconomy,of whatcame to be called non-Marxist the"developmental state,"becametheobjectofstudyofprogressive includeAmsden1989, scholars(majorearlyworksin thisnow vast literature Hamilton1986,Johnson1982,Wade 1990,White1988,Woo-Cumings1999). Ironically,theytracedtheirintellectualrootsto none otherthantheRussian ideas about (1962) whoseallegedlypioneering émigréAlexanderGerschenkron able to UCD forthe countries "latedeveloping" skipstagesmerelyadapted being inpure whoseinvestment bycontrast, palate.MostMarxists, bourgeoisintellectual to and discourses tended neoliberal was reinforced globalization by capitalism national of economiclogicsoverthe intertwiningpolitical privilegecosmopolitan andeconomiclogicsandavoidedthefield(Bagchi2004 is an important exception). in far as continued to attract the attention of so UCD Marxists,itwas Finally, forsocialistrevolution inthethird world(e.g. confined toexamining theprospects WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 469 Löwy 1981).Nairn(1981) was an exceptionwhowas sidelinedamidthe"cultural turn"in thestudyof nationalism whichMarxistsseemedto takeas well (Desai This that meant Marxists did notask whatformscombineddevelopment 2009b). in take countries where the class forcesforsocialismdidnotexistbutthose might forcapitalism Thatquestioncouldhavebeen,but did,ingreatly varying strengths. did notbecome,thelinkbetweenMarxismand thedevelopment experiencesof thevastbulkofthethirdworldwheresocialismwas noton thehistorical agenda. Itwouldhaveexpandeda materialist to class to includenations analysisconfined as equallymaterialresultsof unevenand combinedcapitalistdevelopment. For, as Tom Nairn the unevenness of is "the if, capitalistdevelopment pointedout, mostgrosslymaterialfactaboutmodernhistory" and thatnationalism "themost is in facta by-product of notoriously subjectiveandidealofhistorical phenomena themostbrutally andhopelessly material sideofthehistory ofthelasttwocenturies" within class nations, (Nairn1981: 335-6),ifas othershavepointedout,inequalities are dwarfedby inequalitiesbetweenthem,international inequalities, inequalities and theirattempts, more (Freeman2004, Milanovič2005), surely,nation-states andlesssuccessful, atcombineddevelopment hadtobe criticalcomponents ofany Marxistunderstanding ofthecapitalist world,and itsworldorder. What's at Stake? Pureandcosmopolitan of capitalismareparticularly conceptions disablingin the 2 1stcentury. orexercise WhileUS attempts toreconstitute a liberalworldeconomy, if were never it not was successful, hegemony, exactlyaccurate,to see possible post-warinstancesof combinednationaldevelopment therecoveryof Western of thefirst-tier New Industrializing Europeand Japanand theindustrialization Countries(NICs) such as SouthKorea and Taiwan- as occurring,and made possibleby,theexerciseofUS power(on thelattersee Cumings1987).In thelast intheemerging increasedgrowth andindustrialization coupleofdecades,however, can no be that seen The economies,pre-eminently China, longer way. geopolitical shiftstheyrepresent, whichhave been starklyrevealedand acceleratedby the financial and economiccrisisandwhichneither theUS northeWestcan control, cannotbe comprehended ofcapitalism. bythosewhoholdtopureconceptions Nor are theseshiftsunexpected.Well-known financier, GeorgeSoros,could in January foretell 2008, whenthefinancialcrisiswas onlybrewingin theform of a creditcrunch,thatnotonlywas "a recessionin thedevelopedworld...now moreor less inevitable, countries are China,Indiaand someoftheoil-producing ina verystrongcountertrend. the current financial is crisis less to cause So, likely a globalrecessionthana radicalrealignment witha relative oftheglobaleconomy, declineoftheUS andtheriseofChinaandothercountries inthedeveloping world" WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RADHIKA DESAI 470 (Soros2008). Thecrisiswas notglobal:notinthesensethatall economiessuffered Norwas itimperialinthe and inter-dependent. becausetheywereall inter-linked was magnified in the sense thattheleadingor hegemoniceconomy'ssuffering restoftheworld. Othershadseenthiscomingevenearlier.In 2007 theUS economyhadonlyjust enteredtheeconomicslowdownthatwouldlead to thedefaultson "sub-prime" mortgagesthattriggeredthe creditcrunchand eventuallythefinancialcrisis therestof theworld buta groupof IMF economistswerealreadypronouncing "decoupled"fromtheUS. (Helblinget al. 2007). Indeed,theirfiguresshowed thattheadage that"if theUnitedStatessneezestherestof theworldcatchesa WhileUS recessionswereindeedaccompanied cold"was alwaysexaggerated. by rateselsewhereinthepast,theywerenotonlyless severethan declinesin growth halfas severeinEurope, intheUS butalso highlyvariable,rangingfromroughly a littleless thanthatin LatinAmerica,and a quarteras severein Asia. Effects Africa. of US recessionswereevensmallerin theMiddleEast and Sub-Saharan inmost effect on growth Andthedownturn of2007 was having"littlediscernable othercountries" (Helblingetal. 2007),notleastbecause"[t]radelinkageswiththe less important formanycountries" and UnitedStateshavebecomeprogressively in domestic demand both advanced momentum of becauseof "thestrengthening Markets" economies otherthantheUnitedStatesandemerging (Helblingetal. 2007: financial crisis was In weeks after the the 121). triggered bythecollapseof early around as theinitialshockofthecrisisprovokedadverseeffects LehmanBrothers, theworld,therewerelouddenialsofthedecouplingthesis.However,as thecrisis The US seemedto be developinga bad woreon,itsveracity onlybecamestarker. on its andEuropeatleasta bad 'flu,butJapanmerelycontinued case ofpneumonia while the economies seemed recent decades of indifferent emerging performance Whiletheircontinuing is anything but tohavegotawaywitha fewsniffles. growth comeupagainstaremorelikelytobe domestic theobstaclestheymight guaranteed, andnotglobalorofUS origin(forthecase ofIndia,see Desai 2007b). ofChinaandotheremerging On theone hand,itis clearthatthedevelopment economies,forso longwronglyclaimedas evidenceof globalization(Freeman andrancounterto thecentralclaimsofthatdiscourse.More 2004), was state-led liberalworldeconomythathad theidea thattheUK-dominated fundamentally, brokendownin the"ThirtyYears' Crisis"had been recreatedaftertheSecond - imperial, WorldWarunderUS hegemonywas dubious.Capitalisteconomies nationalorcolonial hadalwaysbeendirected bythestateand,as thenation-state that formbecamegeneralized, remaining theybecameevenmoredeeplynational, and the decades of even neoliberalism, "globalization" "empire."On way during theotherhand,whileUS hegemonyis now morewidelyquestioned,themore WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 471 Itis notjust interesting questionis whyitwas so widelyaccepteduntilso recently. thatthedeclineofUS hegemony was announcedinthe1970s(Kindleberger 1973, some that decline reversed a decade later Wallerstein 1974),though pronounced 1988is theleadingexponent ofthisview,butforinteresting (Huntington latter-day see PanitchandGindin2004 and2005). In realityideasofUS Marxistvariations, hegemonyand of capitalismas a successionof hegemonieswereretrospective constructs, havingbeenerectedso as to legitimizeUS actionsin an increasingly volatileand recalcitrant to recreatethesupposedlygoldenage worldas attempts it had presidedover (Kindleberger1973. This intellectualhistoryis tracedin Desai forthcoming 2011). Indeed,thestatisticso oftencitedto contestideas of - thattheUS's shareof realworldGDP mayhave declinedfromits US decline post-war peak of halfof worldGDP to about25 percentof worldGDP by about - is likelyto be morefullychallenged.On 1970 buthad notbudgedfromthere theonehand,thetwoperiodswhenthedeclineintheUS's sharewas dramatically - theearly1980sandthelate1990s- wereperiodswhenUS government reversed actionsboostedtheexchangerateof thedollar,statistically itsnational inflating On the there are reasons to believe the of other, product. importance theUS in theworldeconomyhas been statistically overrecentdecadesmore exaggerated "Hedonic" or to the calculationofUS GDP systematically. "quality"adjustments - have since 1985 to takeaccountof improvements in thequalityof products increasedthevalueofcertaintypesofactivitiesandproductsin theUS economy (e.g. Islam 2002, Wasshausenand Moulton2006). Whethertheseadjustments haveanything torecommend themintermsofmakingGDP figures moreaccurate reflections oflevelsofproduction maybe debated.Butone does nothaveto settle in the thatissue in orderto recognizethatas longas theUS is theonlycountry in worldtomaketheseadjustments, andbarring sometentative forays thatdirection it its relative size in the world is, by UK statistical agencies, economyis being There is the of how the current crisis willaffect the exaggerated. separatequestion sizeableportionof US GDP whichis due to financialand businessservicesand intellectual property rights. unabletobreakthecosmopolitan that Thoughmanycommentators, assumption worldcapitalism neededa hegemon, tooktheabsenceofa clearsuccessorhegemon tomeanUS hegemony a remained thepresent intact, conjuncture actuallypresents not to theories of US but to the idea of the evolution challenge only hegemony, very of capitalismthrough a successionof hegemonies(Desai 2009c, Desai 2011 and and Walter1993).However, thealternative worldofcompeting nationalcapitalisms is what has been written out of the new possiblycompeting imperialisms precisely Marxist theories ofcapitalist basedonpureandcosmopolitan capitalism. geopolitics WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 472 RADHIKA DESAI Actually ExistingCapitalisms Marxistswho conceiveof capitalismas a pureeconomicsystem Contemporary that Marx's of purecapitalismin Capital was a heuristic forget representation with not to be to adapta phrase device, equated anyActuallyExistingCapitalism, ofRudolphBahro's(1978). Not onlydidthecapitalismof Capitalneverreferto existednowhere, as Engelspointedout,confidently anyrealsystem, purecapitalism that it also would not be allowed since revolutionaries wouldnot"let to, predicting itcometo that"(Mandel 1978:68). Notwithstanding Marx'sstrictures to German - itespecially comradesintheprefacetoCapital- de tefabulanarratur andall that didnotexistin England(Anderson1987). BroadlyspeakingActuallyExistingCapitalismsmaybe seen to departfrom ofpurecapitalismalongat leastthreebroadlines.First,capitalism is conceptions it born amidst relations which everywhere non-capitalist productive onlyslowly, transforms. Theselegaciesofthepreand,untiltodayat least,nevercompletely, modifiesand capitalistpast- patriarchy, slavery,caste- capitalismeverywhere to use. Even the most modern forms of remain structured capitalism puts good them. and institutions are not Second,developmental by policies just characterin theriseof all national isticof "latedevelopment" buthavebeenindispensable theearliest(Chang2002,Reinert 2007,andAmsden2007). capitalisms, including and welfaresystemsmodifycapitalisms' Last,butnotleast,modernregulatory in waysthat,Polanyi(1944/1985)insisted, wereunavoidable.Contrary workings thatthemostadvancedcapitalisms to theassumption are,orat leastapproximate, not do first and third world bothfeature inherited purecapitalisms, only capitalisms social forms with the that Marx mechanisms identified non-capitalist interacting in Capital, first worldcountries feature modernmodifying welfareandregulatory formsthatare considerablymorepowerfulthantheircounterparts in thethird world.Economichistorian RobertBrenner these forms more places specifically demandmanagement andthe"automatic stabilizers" ofthewelfare statewhicheased andeventually the"LongDownturn" whichbeganin postwarrecessions prolonged the1970s- atthecoreofhisaccountofcapitalism sincethe1970s(Brenner 2006). Each nationalcapitalismis a distinct historical formation withdistinct historical inheritances and modernregulatory and welfarestructures as theliteratures on "varietiesofcapitalism"and"worldsofwelfare"andtherangeofdevelopmental states(e.g. Coates2000,EspingAndersen1990,Haggard1990)testify. few Marxists focusedtheseformsofpoliticalregulation and However, post-war direction of capitalismand theMarxistscholarship on capitalistgeopoliticsthat to revivetheclassicaltradition finallyemergedin the 1990s was notan attempt whichplacednationsand nationalcapitalismsat itscore.Ratherittooktheform of a critiqueof conventional realistinternational relations'emphasison thestate WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 473 as thecentralcategory froma viewpoint incontrast, theexistenceof emphasizing, a pureandcosmopolitan capitalisteconomy. Rosenberg's Empireof Civil Society Justin relationsstartedfromthe Rosenberg'scritiqueof realismin international that claim are not constituted laudably"simple geopoliticalsystems independently of the of, and cannotbe understoodin isolationfrom,the wider structures andreproduction ofsociallife"(1994: 6). He soundlyarguedthat"the production consolidationof sovereignty and its generalization intoa global states-system mustimplya concretehistorical of social process upheavaland transformation." The realoriginandhistory ofthemoderninternational systemof stateshadto be - of theorigin in the historical economic as as well sought processes political andworld-wide of of relations not as realiststended spread capitalist production, todo,ina purely"politicaltheory" basedon "thediplomatic between interchange states"(Rosenberg1994: 135). ButhowwelldidRosenbergfulfill pre-constituted theseself-imposed requirements? - itstheory theoretical aimedatrealism'sheart ofsovereignty. Rosenberg's critique realistdefinition, as HedleyBull's standard followingBodin,definedsovereignty theassertion of"supremacy overall otherauthorities within[a given]territory and and"independence ofoutsideauthorities" population" (quotedinRosenberg1994: betweenthepoliticaland economicspheres 136). It brushedaside theseparation as liberalnaïveté.Butwhatwas putinitsplace,Rosenberg was archaic contended, and anachronistic. It was an absolutist nota capitalistconceptionof sovereignty. The specificity ofthelatterrestedon theseparation oftheeconomicandpolitical, theprivateandthepublic,in thecapitaliststate.To putclearblue waterbetween himandliberalfictions, drewon EllenWood'sMarxistpoliticaltheory Rosenberg to arguethattheseparation ofthepoliticaland theeconomicin capitalismwas a divisionwithinthepoliticalfunction itself: thedifferentiation incapitalism oftheeconomic andthepolitical a difis,moreprecisely, ferentiation ofpolitical functions themselves andtheir allocation to the separate private economic andthepublic ofthestate.Thisallocation reflects theseparation sphere sphere ofpolitical functions concerned withtheextraction andappropriation of immediately labour from thosewitha moregeneral communal thedifferentiation surplus purpose... oftheeconomic isinfacta differentiation within thepolitical (Wood1981:82, sphere. emphasis added) Whileabsolutist overall otherpolitical sovereignty merelyassertedsuperiority authoritiesin a territory, capitalistsovereigntyrequired,Rosenbergargued, "a 'purelypolitical'state."Sucha statecontained no other, subordinate, articulating WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals byPluto WRPE.plutojournals.org This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions RADHIKA DESAI 474 (or,to putit in Wood's terms,theyhad becomeeconomicor politicalauthorities private).Rather,it containedonly"legallyequal individuals"(Rosenberg1994: of such a "purelypolitical" 138). Ellen Wood had arguedthatthesovereignty thanabsolutist anduncompromising" statewas "evenmoreunlimited sovereignty stands between the mediation individualandthesovereign "becauseno corporate which state"(quotedin Rosenberg1994: 138). This moreabsolutesovereignty involved"restricting muchmorecloselywhatis to countas the was notabsolutist domainofpolitics"(Rosenberg1994: 138-139). legitimate anduncompromising" this"unlimited understood capitalist sovereignty Rosenberg of over"legallyequal individuals" byanalogywithMarx'sidea oftheabstraction in labors under Just as labor different capitalism. general,previously concretely as an abstraction "achievespracticaltruth onlyas a onlya conceptualabstraction, ofthemostmodernsociety"(quotedin Rosenberg1994: 146),so category ...whatdistinguishes the modernformof geopolitical poweris not[as in realist a of that it is exercised units(anarchy international relations] by pluralityindependent ingeneral), embodies relations of domination butthatitnolonger (which personalized ofthedominated), mediated canceltheformal being impersonal, bythings. independence 1994:146) (Rosenberg of thestate This does notmean,as naïve liberalsimagine,thatthesovereignty itsveryformis a dimensionof class powerbecause is neutral."On thecontrary, it entailstheparallel consolidationof privatepoliticalpowerin production" (Rosenberg1994: 128). Therewere at least threeproblemswithRosenberg'scritique.First,while of theeconomicandthepoliticalwas Woodinsistedthattheapparentseparation withinthepoliticalrealmin orderto pointto reallyan internaldifferentiation in capitalism'sspecificity havingsuchan economicrealm,she did notprovide betweenthetwowhichRosenbergneededto makehiscase thecleardemarcation classwas never,and theruleofthecapitalist againstrealism.Giventhatinreality, ofpoliticaland economic,giventhat couldnotbe, based on anystrictseparation neatdistinction didnotobtaininanyActuallyExisting theconceptually Capitalism, she wenton in herown laterwork,to blurthedistinctions (Wood 1999).At best sucha separation betweenpoliticalandeconomichadbeenideologically powerful whichendedintheFirstWorldWar. inthe19thcentury age of"liberalcapitalism" statesaftertheSecondWorldWar,it But,giventheriseofwelfareandregulatory Whereoncemany was writing. was evenideologically datedbythetimeRosenberg fromtheidea oftheseparation actionsofcapitaliststatescouldderivelegitimacy ofthepoliticalfromtheeconomic,fewcouldanylonger. theliberalconception oftheseparation couldonlyresorttobringing Rosenberg in the and the economic the back door. of political through Bourgeoisruleworked WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 475 to"consolidate merely private politicalpowerinproduction" (Rosenberg1994:128) to sortouttherest,he argued. leavingeconomicor "pure"capitalistcompetition But,in fact,italwaysdid muchmore,including usingpoliticalandpublicmeans to secure economic or actorsand privateends- ofparticular routinely particular atworstandofactorsandinterests thecapitalist interests whoseclaimtorepresent at best.ButRosenbergarguedthat class or societyas a wholewas leastcontested thecapitaliststate"is notinvolvedin regulating civilsociety"(Rosenberg1994: raisestaxesandimplements 127),whilethestate"frameslaws,upholdscontracts, ofthesphereofproduction": policiesdesignedtopromotethedevelopment intothatother realm ofpolitical Noneofthese...needinvolve thestatemoving command, over the of the of process surplus namely privatised sphere production, bytaking itsdirect extraction itself. Whereitdoesdo this,forexamplebyextending ownership It thatthesovereign character ofitsrulediminishes. itcanfind nationalization, through are nolonger standsoveragainst civilsociety. Industrial disputes immediately political Theappropriation ofthesurplus becomes anobjectofpublic struggle "political" disputes. theproductive thanprivate within within thestaterather corporations political struggle thepublic of oftheworkplace becomes ofcivilsociety. Theprivate despotism despotism thestate.(Rosenberg 1994:127-128) todemarcate thepurely ofhisattempt ThatRosenberg isdiscomfited bythedubiety Is thecapitalist is clearfromhis ambiguities. politicalsphereof statesovereignty oralso statetorefrain merelyfrom"takingovertheprocessofsurplusextraction" ofhisviewis towardsa "light-touch" from"regulating civilsociety"?Butthethrust state."Inthisview,anystatedoing state,ifnotexactlya "night-watchman regulation ofitssovereignty. As an example,Rosenberg morefacesa diminution pointedtothe in 1978-79.Itwas anunsustainable British statedidduring theWinter ofDiscontent oftheprivatepolitical situation andhadto end,anddid endwiththe"restoration (Rosenberg sphereandoftheclass powerofcapitalin thissphereofproduction" of Margaret 1994: 128) thatcamewiththeelectionof theneoliberalgovernment Thatcher. The implication thatneoliberalism restored to capitalismwas normalcy it both and treated thelong-term Historically problematic historically conceptually. whichdevelopmental, andwelfarestatesincreasingly regulatory processesthrough incapitalist national intervened as old as eachactuallyexisting economies, processes as normal. as anomalies and the briefer neoliberal period Conceptually, capitalism, to all therhetoric of ittookneoliberalism fartoo muchat itsownword.Contrary freemarkets and smallstates,therealityofneoliberalpolicyrarelyapproximated theseideas (Hay 2008; on thelimitsof neoliberalsuccessin thecase of Britain, see MarshandRhodes1989). ContraRosenberg, the no clearlinerunsbetween"policiesdesignedtopromote ofthesphereofproduction" and "theprocessof surplusextraction development anddistributed WRPE1.3Produced Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 476 RADHIKA DESAI itself."Notonlynationalization buta wholerangeofactivities thatcapitalist states have historically undertaken betweenpolicingand centralbanking imperial macro-economicmanagement, infrastructure expansion,protection, building, of of selected industrial industries, provision utilities, encouragement regulation, andthecultivation ofparticular theregulation skills,nottomention publiceducation - are difficult and suppression of tradeunions to containon anyone side of the dividepostulated ofthe And,torepeat,norwas thisinterpénétration byRosenberg. and a the economic feature of "late as somewouldhaveit: political development" it.Theorists lateandearlydevelopers featured ofdevelopmental stateshaveamassed evidenceon thisthatis simplytoovastto be ignored. A secondproblemconcernstheanalogybetweenthepoliticalrelationship ofthe statetotheindividual andMarx'sideaofabstract labor.Thelatter capitalist maybe a usefulheuristic devicetolaybarethedirection inwhicha capitalist tends;it economy is notanaccuratedescription ofanyparticular laborforce.Inreality laborforcesare structured formsofdomination invariably alongconcreteandfarfromimpersonal skilllevelsetc.whichare legallyvalidatedand includinggender,race,ethnicity, and regulatedby thestateand implicatedin processesof capitalistproduction in that cannot be reduced to residues.Thisimplies reproductionways pre-capitalist thatthesovereignty ofno actuallyexisting statecanresidesolelyinlegal capitalist citizensfreefromrelations ofpersonaldependence. A variety poweroverindividual of stateand social institutions sustainformsof personaldependence, qualifying thefreedomof freelabor.Whilein underdeveloped capitalistcountriesgroups formsof insufficiently separatedfrompre-capitalist mooringsor non-capitalist extraction be more at in least the forms of and numerous, surplus may patriarchy racialdiscrimination, either. And in theyare notabsentfromadvancedcountries thelatter, modernformsofwelfare, educationandregulation, including regulation ofmigrants, createandmaintain formsofprivilegeandsubordination inthelabor forcewhichrenderita farcryfroma freelabormarket in abstract labor. relations'assumption Finally,Rosenbergalso challengedrealistinternational of plurality, of the international anarchyand contestation system.To thishe a and of the counterposedputativeunity singularity capitalistworldeconomy.In thisview,notonlywas Cold War-induced never settledor accepted (and entirely eventhen)harmony statesnaturalized, was amongadvancedcapitalist imperialism assumedtooperateeconomically, andwithlittlepossibility ofstate-led challenges to it. A singleworldcapitalisteconomymightco-existwitha multiplicity of nation-states butit also drainsthemof significance or agency.WhentheThird Worlddemandfora New International EconomicOrder(NIEO) threatened to "the of from the which enabled economics, challenge separation politics separation theprivate dimension oftherelationship betweenWestern andThirdWorldsocieties to countas non-political" (Rosenberg1994: 132),itwas defeatedby IMF policy WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 477 a fuller thaneversubordination which"registered Adjustment) packages(Structural to privateeconomicmechanismsthroughtheIMF" (1994: 133). This, like the was treatedby Rosenbergas a returnto normalcy.For onsetof neoliberalism, the him, specifically capitalist"idiomof geopoliticalpower"was "theempireof of [politicalandeconomic]spheres theresultof"thedifferentiation civilsociety," for enhancement of the structural [which]provided precondition a simultaneous of social territorial definition ofpolitiesandyetdeepeningofmaterialintegration acrossborders"(1994: 134-135). It leftlittleroomon theone hand reproduction forthevariety ofnon-economic waysinwhichprojectsandpoliciescouldandwere foractionsof Westernstateswhichcontravened theseparation stillprosecuted, ofpoliticsand economics.On theotherhand,itfailedto recognizethecentrality of to challengegivendistributions of state-led,politicallyorganized,attempts in the world. NIEO have and failed, economic, may relatedlypolitical,power thatBritishindustrial, economicand butit was preciselythrough suchattempts inthelate19thcentury cametobe challenged bydevelopmental politicalsupremacy statesof thenewlyindustrializing countries(NICs) of thetime- pre-eminently suchformsof combined theUS, Germanyand Japan.Laterin the20thcentury, wereseentohaveemergedonlyundertheshadowsoftheCold War, development andtherefore without (butsee VanderPiji 2006) but,by geopoliticalsignificance theemerging and three decades ofneoliberalism, the21stcentury, despite against of a shiftinthecenterofgravity China,hadengineered economies,pre-eminently ofdevelopmental states ofthisnewgeneration theworldeconomy. Theemergence is something Rosenberg'sgeopoliticsofpurecapitalismcannotcognize,letalone ofcapitalism leaveslittleroom explain.Indeed,ironically, Rosenberg's conception foranygeopolitics, and forthatmatter, politics,undercapitalism. Teschke's Own Myths in thepureand cosmopolitan The depthof contemporary Marxists'investment of can be from Benno Teschke's critiqueand conception capitalism gauged elaboration of Rosenberg'swork.Thoughhe lightedon preciselythethemesthat couldhavecontested themtoanall-too-limited it,heemployed purpose.Rosenberg's that the realist tradition was unconcerned with argument distinguishing capitalism fromabsolutism, failedtoaccountfortheseparation ofthepoliticalandeconomic betweenpre-capitalist and capitalistformsof spheresand assumedcontinuity hada criticalimplication whichTeschkesoughtto elaborate.Realists sovereignty datedtherise of moderninternational relationsfromthe 1648 conventionally of Teschke However, treaty Westphalia. pointedout,Westphaliaonly"expressed with and codifiedthesocial and geopoliticalrelationsof absolutistsovereignty," absolutist Franceas itsmostpowerful i.e. capitalist, modern, signatory. Specifically WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals WRPE.plutojournals.org byPluto This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 478 RADHIKA DESAI relations couldonlyemergewithEngland's1688GloriousRevolution. international Onlyoncethisfirst fullycapitaliststatewas created,whenitadopted"a newpostandparliamentary foreign policy- the"bluewater"policy- [which] revolutionary ofeconomicandpoliticalpowerinBritain, was linkedtothereorganization and.. . ofgeo-political brokewithpre-capitalist couldmodern accumulation," imperatives international relations be said to have 2003: (Teschke 11). begun capitalist Teschkeinsisted that"Modernity And1688wasonlya beginning. isnota structure buta process"(Teschke2003: 41). As we haveseen,Rosenberg setouttore-think in relations but international ended historically capitalism's up thetheoretical his of schematism Teschke requiredby pureconception capitalism.In contrast notonlysoughtto give"a dynamicaccountoftheco-development ofcapitalism, themodernstateand themodernstates-system" (Teschke2003: 40) butcame a theall-too-neat lotcloserto achievingit.Andhe didso byabandoning separation betweenthepoliticalandtheeconomicwhichRosenberg's purecapitalism required himtopostulate. Teschkepositeda prolonged betweencapitalist modernity periodofcoexistence worldfromwhichitnecessarily Thisalreadymeant andthepre-capitalist emerged. an intermeshing of thepoliticaland theeconomicin societiesthathad become toTeschke,thepersistence ofpre-capMoreover, tendentially capitalist. according He conceptualized the italistresidueswas nottheonlyreasonfortheintermeshing. in one modernization of Britain, country, putting pressures development capitalism on thepre-capitalist stateswithinitsambit.Placed at an economicand political fromabove" disadvantage theyrespondedbyengagingin a seriesof"revolutions and its Such to introduce capitalism, speedup development. "counter-strategies" to latedevelopers. mixedthepoliticalandtheeconomicbutthatwas notconfined backonBritain, so as to"soil"theassumption thatitscapitalistTheiractionsreacted fromthislogic liberalculture(Teschke2003: 41) enjoyeda "pristine" immunity as somesuchas Woodhadargued(Wood 1992) andotherssuchas Gerschenkron had longimplied.RatherBritainwas "fromthefirst draggedintoan international The thatinflected herdomesticpoliticsand long-term environment development. distortions weremutual"(Teschke2003: 266). hadthemerit ofgivinga central Teschke 's argument placetonational development in capitalistgeopolitics. i.e. formsofcombineddevelopment, strategies, inTheCommunist theexpansion ofcapitalism was MarxandEngels Contra Manifesto, in or civil which the forces of the market notaneconomic transnationalising process states,driven bythelogicofcheap pre-capitalist societysurreptitiously penetrated a universal worldmarket. Itwasa political commodities thateventually and, perfected in which state classes had to countera fortiori, pre-capitalist design process geopolitical todefend their inaninternational environment which ofreproduction position strategies WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS OFPURE CAPITALISM 479 andcoercive Moreoften thannot,itwasheavy putthemataneconomic disadvantage. and the that battered down construction andreconstrucwalls, artillery pre-capitalist tionofthesewallsrequired newstatestrategies ofmodernisation. 2003:265) (Teschke ofnationalandstate-led However,forTeschke,thecentrality capitalist geopolitical to a long dynamicdidnotextendto moderncapitalistgeopolitics.Itwas confined a three centuries of modernization of states and (forEurope long)process capitalist theirinternational relations. relations were"notmodern but Duringit,international accumulation (Teschke2003: 12) andtheriseandspreadofcapitalist modernizing" was "geopolitically mediated"(2003: 264), thatis,boundup withthespecifically absolutist accumulation. Thustheintermeshing ofpoliticsand logicof territorial economicshadan end- lastingfrom"1688 totheFirstWorldWarforEurope,and beyondfortherestoftheworld"(Teschke2003: 12) and ithadno partin mature moderncapitalismand itsgeopolitics.Therewas no indication thatthecontours ofthismodernity, onceachieved,wereanydifferent fromRosenberg'sviewofthe neatdivisionbetweenprivateandpublicin capitalism. For Teschke,therefore,modern, as opposed to modernizingcapitalism, was sulliedneitherby politicalinterference norby its nation-state form.The latterwas as irrelevant to theformeras it was relianton it. Indeed,thereis a "structural interrelation andfunctional betweena territorially divided compatibility anda private, transnational worldmarket" states-system (Teschke2003: 40) butno theoretically necessarylink: neither causedtheterritorially dividedstates-system norrequired a Capitalism foritsreproductionasjustin states-system though, Rosenberg argues 1994), (Rosenberg itiseminently with it. as a of differentia compatible Capitalism's specifica system surplus inthehistorically consists factthatthecapitalcircuits of appropriation unprecedented theworld market caninprinciple function Asa without onpolitical infringing sovereignty. can leave territories intact. Contracts are in rule, concluded, capitalism political principle, between actorsinthepre-political ofglobalcivilsociety. then, private sphere Capitalism, isthecondition ofpossibility fortheuniversalization oftheprinciple ofnational selfdetermination. 2003:266-267,emphasis (Teschke added) Teschkeopenedthedoortounderstanding theroleofdevelopmental Thus,though stateshistorically, he negatedtheirsignificance forcapitalismtheoretically, just as Rosenberghad. The pluralityof nation-states existedbecause theywerethe outofwhichcapitalism geopolitical integument emergedandtheycouldexist(and therefore did exist- therewas a certainelisionhere)becausetheywereinconseof capital.Politics,nation-states and geopoliticswere quentialfortheoperations subordinate effects of a pureand cosmopolitan capitalisteconomy.Whilemessy historical ordomestic ofpurecapitalism's reality mayfeature imperial infringements WRPE1.3Produced anddistributed Journals byPluto WRPE.plutojournals.org This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 480 RADHIKA DESAI and mayplaya role in theconclusionof contracts, purelypoliticalsovereignty, sincecapitalism remained , i.e. "theoretically," theywerenotnecessaryinprinciple and unsullied. pure of thecapitalism'sdominant How close Teschkecame to theself-conception worldorder.Since"thekey powersis clearfromhisaccountofthepost-communist idea ofmoderninternational relationsis no longerthewar-assisted accumulation of globalcapital'scrisis of territories, butthemultilateral politicalmanagement the of the the and states," regulation world-economy by leadingcapitalist potential runbetweenstatesthatare lockedoutofthe "themajorlinesof military conflict worldmarketand thosethatreproducethepoliticalconditionof theopenworld ofcollective backedupbytheprinciple market, (Teschke2003:266-267). security." andthe"newimperialism" hadalreadybegun, aftertheWaron Terrorism Writing one freeof itspre-capitalist Teschkeendorsedoftheidea thatmaturecapitalism, wouldfeature a plurality ofstatesdrainedofthe residuesmodern/zwg imperatives, theyhad duringthecenturies-long politicaland geopoliticalsignificance process wouldoccurwithstates"lockedoutof ofmodernization andthattheonlyconflicts theworldmarket" (Iran?NorthKorea?Syria?).Thiscouldhavebeenuttered bya thegeopolitical moresophisticated Bush Jr.ideologueand cannotaccommodate Theserunbetweenadvancedindustrial tensions whichthepresent crisisis revealing. betweenthemandtheemerging economiesandon otherlines,andthey countries, ofglobalcapital's concernnothing lessthan"themultilateral politicalmanagement oftheworld-economy." Itshowsthattheseareno crisispotential andtheregulation states"alone.Andtheydwarfanyconflicts for"theleadingcapitalist longermatters andthosethatreproduce the between"statesthatarelockedoutoftheworldmarket oftheopenworldmarket, backedupbytheprinciple ofcollective politicalcondition the of the countries to the"open commitment Indeed, leadingcapitalist security." - whether in goodsor money(it had neverbeenparticularly worldmarket" open forlabor)- has also cometobe questioned. Conclusion Attheendofthe2 1stcentury's first decade,theworldstandspoisedatthecuspofa with theworldfacedintheearly shift majorgeopolitical comparable theconjuncture ofefforts atcombined 20thcentury. Now as thenitis poweredbyan intensification in when contrast to those times Marxists brilliant However, produced development. the of their time to of the historical of comprehend analyses development capitalism theories thegeopoliticalshiftsof theirtime,and in doingthis,producedthefirst of capitalistinternational relations,contemporary Marxists,captiveas theyare of conceptions of purecapitalism, are ill-equippedto comprehend contemporary WorldReview ofPolitical Economy This content downloaded from 130.179.164.41 on Thu, 26 Feb 2015 19:11:57 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions OFPURE CAPITALISM THEABSENT GEOPOLITICS 481 inthisveinremainfocusedonderiving shifts. Evenlaterinterventions geopolitical ofcapitalism froma moreorlesspureconception (e.g.Callinicos2009). geopolitics worldthatis heraldedby the shiftfromthe G7 (or G3 or The multi-polar worldfinancialand economiccrisesis certainly Gl) to theG20 in thecurrent Afterall, thereare largegainsand one whichcontainsthepotentialforconflict. than morenumerous which lossesbeingmadebypowerful are, moreover, agents also the in 20th were the However, contemporary conjuncture early century. they whichmake armedconflictless rational.On theone represents developments thantheyusedtobe when anditsrewardsless attractive hand,itscostsaregreater faced warfare of industrialized poorlyarmednativepopulations powerscapable whether lands.On theother,greater indistant popularparticipation, pre-capitalist conflict include that the costs of or also means informally democratic not, society the Neither losses of domestic negates possibility development legitimacy. potential willnot butone maysafelysay thatthedriversofconflict ofgeopoliticalconflict onthe i.e. purecapitalism, ofcapitalist orotherwise be theachievement modernity, and benefits of with the costs factors to do as other of its expected part protagonists also suchconflict to individual powers.At thesametime,thepresentconjuncture thanks tothegreater forinternational contains thepotential dispersalof cooperation andheralds.Thesepotentials andfinancial economic,military poweritrepresents, need to be assessed and exploitedto the fullestby Marxists,and progressive forces.Thatcannotbe done on thebasis of a pureconceptionof capitalismand its"requirements." 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