Apuntes de STRUCTURALISM- Topic 4 (Profesor Robert Robinson)

 

TOPIC 4

 

ECONOMIC DETERMINISM AND EXPLOITATION: THE STRUCTURALIST PERSPECTIVE

 

 

Overview

 

Structuralism has its roots in the ideas of Karl Marx but today encompasses a much broader group of scholars and activists. While most structuralists do not share the commitment to a socialist system as envisioned by some Marxists, they do believe that the current global capitalist system is exploitative and can be changed into something that distributes rewards in a more just manner.

 

Marx remains one of the most imposing figures in the history of political economy. With the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, it is tempting to conclude that “Marx is dead.” However, theories that incorporate notions of class struggle, exploitation, imperialism, and technical change, to name just a few, remain important tools of IPE analysis.

 

This chapter explores a number of theories, ideas, and concepts whose roots are located in Marxist and Leninist thought. The “structure” in structuralism is the global capitalist system, which acts as an underlying order that is the driving force in society. It shapes society’s economic, political, and social institutions and imposes constraints on what is possible. We emphasize ideas of class conflict, exploitation, state control, and ideological manipulation that tend to be found in the works of many contemporary structuralists.

 

Lenin expanded Marx’s study to account explicitly for imperialism, manifest in the dominant and exploitative relationship of industrial countries with their colonial possessions. Analysis continues with the work in dependency theory, modern world systems theory, and theories of imperialism. We also survey some ideas of Antonio Gramsci. For many structuralists, globalization and globalism are synonymous with neoimperialism.

 

After discussing the work of sociologists who write about the transnational capitalist class, the chapter gives considerable attention to inequality, which we argue has become a major focus of attention in recent scholarship.

 

 

Key Terms

 

•  economic liberalism: An economic philosophy that advocates for minimal government intervention, emphasizing free markets, individual choice, and trade liberalization to maximize efficiency and wealth.

•  Structuralism: An approach in international political economy that focuses on how economic structures, particularly capitalism, create and perpetuate inequalities, often highlighting the divide between wealthy and poorer nations.

•  historical materialism: A theory developed by Karl Marx which suggests that the material (economic) conditions of society shape social structures, culture, and politics, driving historical change through class struggles.

•  dialectical process: A concept in Marxist theory where social change occurs through a conflict of opposing forces (thesis vs. antithesis), leading to a synthesis, or new social condition.

•  Bourgeoisie: In Marxist theory, the capitalist class that owns the means of production (factories, land, capital) and holds economic and political power.

•  Proletariat: The working class, who do not own the means of production and sell their labor to survive, often exploited by the bourgeoisie for profit.

•  false consciousness: A term in Marxism describing the misguided beliefs of the working class, who are unaware of their exploitation and do not recognize their collective interests.

•  dependency theory: A structuralist theory that suggests developing countries are dependent on and exploited by developed countries, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and inequality.

•  modern world system (MWS): Immanuel Wallerstein's framework describing the world economy as a single unit divided into core, semi-periphery, and periphery regions, with economic exploitation from core to periphery.

•  Core: Wealthier, industrialized countries in the Modern World System that dominate global trade and economic relationships, exploiting less developed regions for resources and labor.

•  Periphery: Less developed countries in the Modern World System that supply raw materials and labor to core countries, often trapped in dependency and exploitation.

•  Semiperiphery: Countries that are industrialized but less economically powerful than core countries, acting as intermediaries in the global economy, often exploiting the periphery while being exploited by the core.

•  Neoimperialism: A modern form of imperialism where powerful nations control weaker nations economically and politically without formal colonization, often through corporations and international institutions.

•  transnational capitalist class (TCC): A global class of corporate executives, financial elites, and political leaders who advocate for neoliberal policies and benefit from transnational economic integration.

•  interlocking directorates: A situation where members of the board of one corporation also serve on the boards of other corporations, creating a network that can influence economic and political power across industries.

•  accumulation by dispossession: A term by David Harvey describing how capital is accumulated through the privatization or seizure of public resources and wealth, often displacing or exploiting vulnerable populations.

•  Responsibilization: The process of shifting responsibility for social and economic well-being from the state to individuals, who are expected to manage their own risks and welfare.

•  Precariat: A social class characterized by insecure employment, lack of stable work, and limited rights, often facing economic and social vulnerability.

 

 

Class discussion questions

Structuralists argue that capitalists use what kinds of mechanisms to control the subordinate classes and get them to believe in the legitimacy of the capitalist system?

 

 

 

CLASS NOTES

 

MARX THINKING (He was a polymath)

-       World view: the capitalist system promotes: 1. Exploitation 2. Unfairness and 3. Inequality. He thinks this could change.

-       Moral critique: amorality in capitalism, he is not happy with it.

But the solution of the Marxist is their weakness (because their solution is very idealistic, not possible to do it).   

-       Structuralism its much broader than Marxism.

-       The structure of politics determines the behavior of classes.

1.     Not everybody can understand= Not everybody like the capitalist thought.

2.     Permanent conflict and crisis.

Eran unos buenos metemierda y no dieron una buena solución tampoco.

NUNCA HA OCURRIDO ----- NO HA SOBREVIVIDO

 

-       Welfare systems take out the nasty things about capitalism. Providing SOCIAL COVERAGE: EDUCATION, HOUSING, HEALTH.[1] HOWEVER, the extreme Marxists DO NOT DEFENT THE WELFARE SYSTEM BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SOLVE THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.

 

DIFFERENT SOCIAL CLASSES

FEUDALISM: Slavery- feudal lord. It was the exploitation of peasants.

19^th cent. Russia had a REVOLUTION. Was a feudal society (so it wasn’t as Marx predicted). Serves was the characterization of Russia.

 

Marx was a technological determinist. Technological sense was important for society.

History passed from: Feudal lord (peasants) to Bourgeoisie (proletariat) with technology and machines.

 

The clash of classes- this is how he describes evolution. All history could be interpreted as the conflict of classes. It’s one force against the other.

1.      CLASH         2. REVOLUTION      3. SOCIALIST SOCIETY            4. COMMUNIST SOCIETY

 

BUT, the truth is that societies don’t advance necessarily with conflict.

 

THREE LAWS OF CAPITALISM

1.     Law of the failing rate of profit : always looking for profits. Refers to the replacement of workers with machines. Profit only comes from human labor, because it creates surplus value (that only can be created by humans). This is because he measured human work hours.

The meaning of this is that surplus value can measure what humans do, so exploitation stops.

2.     Law of disproportionality: surplus value is not well distributed among classes. Even inside the classes, there is destabilization.

3.     Law of the concentration: As the elite gets richer, the proletariat gets poorer. (Esto hace referencia al reparto del pastel).

DEFINITIONS

-       CLASS: your relationship with capital (even if you have it or not).

1.     Capitalist: you own capital. 2. Worker: you need to sell labor to survive.

Capitalism has a reserve army of the unemployed. Capitalists maintain people unemployed to keep wages low (si no quieres trabajar por ese salario, no te preocupes, cojo a otra persona).

-       Capitalist control over the State: Capitalist influence governments. For example, CEOE in Spain.

-       Ideological manipulation: In UK, when the working class vote for the conservative party. Whenever a worker class votes for a capitalist party, he thinks is manipulated- they develop false consciousness.

 

IMPERIALISM

Global phenomenon when Lenin was living. The IMPERIALISM of the British and German Empire, among others.

 

Lenin went one step further from Marx, the top of capitalism is imperialism.

-       Factor to colonize: markets of one single country weren’t big enough, so was the search for bigger and better markets. “The monopoly phase of Capitalism”

THEORIES:

1.     DEPENDENCY THEORY:

Peripheral countries are dependent and vulnerable to core countries. Core constraint (exploits) the periphery to their own benefit.

This is based in Latin America.

1.     Colonial dependency 2. Industrial-financial dependency 2. Actual dependency: saw in transnational cooperations “untad”.

1^st transnational company was Singer (sewing machines), was from USA, and FDI in Glasgow by installing there the factory. A Spanish company compete with it (Alfa). In Peripheral countries (systematically underdeveloped) the sort of dependency is multinational cooperation.

 

2.     MODERN WORLD SYSTEM THEORY.

World is divided into three areas:

1.     Core

2.     Periphery

3.     Semi periphery: traditionally as a colony but they had their own structural change.

Developed by Immanuel Wallerstein, this theory categorizes the global economy into the Core, Periphery, and Semi-Periphery, each with distinct roles in global exploitation .

 

NEOIMPERALISM

Are new forms of Imperialism. Now there is no need to occupy territory.

There are more settled ways to do it.

For example: The Americans were in the Golf to exploit oil, to protect oil interests reserves in USA.

 

Fall of the Soviet Union means a New Age of Imperialism

 

GLOBALIZATION PROCESS: when the World Bank proposed Neoliberal policies (like privatization) this reinforced capitalism and core countries.

 

 

Political economists identify globalization and neo imperialism after 9/11, when Francis Fukuyama wrote “The End of the World”.

 

Structuralists say that the 2007 crisis happened due to exploitation

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[1] John Stuart Mill defended these policies.