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Far from marking the inevitable and benign end state of modern capitalism, contemporary globalisation is driven by tectonic (a) tensions within the countries and regions that act as main players as well as (b) strains between them. The outcomes are indeterminate.
Presently, the decisive players are the US and China, the former striving for world dominance, the latter insisting on unassailable regional supremacy, which pits both against each other.
Europe is a confused mess, isolating itself from the US without commanding any serious geopolitical clout of its own. The EU's faulty design makes for weak economic performance which in turn exacerbates the political tensions that drive the member states apart. "Europe" may opt to partner with Russia, which only underlines the weakness and disorientation of the EU, with Russia being a retarded economic dwarf and an authoritarian polity but a military giant.
Presently, the decisive players are the US and China, the former striving for world dominance, the latter insisting on unassailable regional supremacy, which pits both against each other.
Europe is a confused mess, isolating itself from the US without commanding any serious geopolitical clout of its own. The EU's faulty design makes for weak economic performance which in turn exacerbates the political tensions that drive the member states apart. "Europe" may opt to partner with Russia, which only underlines the weakness and disorientation of the EU, with Russia being a retarded economic dwarf and an authoritarian polity but a military giant.
It will be interesting to witness a time when the need or the populist verve to massively rearm Europe coincides with serious intra-European animosities bred during the era of the Euro.
The below excerpt is from Thomas Palley's paper on Globalization Checkmated? Political and Geopolitical Contradictions Coming Home to Roost:
Figure 1 shows how globalization is a system of many moving parts. At its center is the process and arrangements constituting economic globalization. Each country or bloc is impacted by globalization, giving rise to economic, political, and geopolitical implications. For the system to work, politics within each bloc and geopolitics across blocs must be supportive of the system.
Mainstream economists present globalization as the inevitable end of economic history. They assume globalization is a positive sum economic development for countries; any adverse country income distribution issues can readily be solved by transfers; and geopolitical issues are a non-issue. Given that, the system’s parts can be smoothly synchronized, both within and across blocs so that globalization becomes irresistible.
The reality is quite different. Barge economics means globalization can be negative sum because production relocation is motivated by search for a higher profit share rather than higher productivity. At the same time, globalization triggers political and geopolitical contradictions within and between blocs, which can derail or even reverse the process.
Globalization is an elite project for the benefit of capital in developed countries. The more that is understood, the deeper will be the popular political opposition in developed countries.
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