---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Nitzan & Bichler -- Imperialism and Financialism: A
Story of a Nexus
From: "Jonathan Nitzan"
<nitzan@yorku.ca>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan. 2009. "Imperialism
and
Financialism. A Story of a Nexus". Monograph, Jerusalem and
Montreal
(September), pp. 1-21.
ABSTRACT:
Over the past century, Marxism has been radically transformed in line
with circumstances and fashion. Theses that once looked solid have
depreciated and fallen by the sideline; concepts that once were
deemed
crucial have been abandoned; slogans that once sounded clear
and
meaningful have become fuzzy and ineffectual.
But
two key words seem to have survived the attrition and withstood the
test of time: imperialism and financialism.
Talk of
imperialism and financialism – and particularly of the nexus
between them – remains as catchy as ever. Marxists of different
colours
– from classical, to neo to post – find the two
terms expedient, if not
indispensable. Radical anarchists,
conservative Stalinists and
distinguished academics of various
denominations all continue to use and
debate them. The views of
course differ greatly, but there is a common
thread: for most
Marxists, imperialism and financialism are prime causes
of our
worldly ills. Their nexus is said to explain capitalist
development
and underdevelopment; it underlies capitalist power and
contradictions; and it drives capitalist globalization, its regional
realignment and local dynamics. It is a fit-all logo for street
demonstrators and a generic battle cry for armchair analysts.
The secret behind this staying power is flexibility. Over the years, the
concepts of imperialism and financialism have changed more or less
beyond recognition, as a result of which the link between them
nowadays
connotes something totally different from what it meant a
century ago.
The purpose of this article is to outline this
chameleon-like
transformation, to assess what is left of the nexus
and to ask whether
this nexus is still worth keeping.
FULL TEXT: http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/267/
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-- Jonathan Nitzan Political Science York University 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario, M3J-1P3 Canada Voice: (416) 736-2100, ext. 88822 Fax: (416) 736-5686 Email: nitzan at yorku.ca Website: http://bnarchives.net _______________________________________________ ope mailing list ope@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/opeReceived on Fri Sep 4 08:14:30 2009
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