Transformation of Contemporary Capitalism and the Concept of a Transnational Capitalist Class

* Essay: THE TRANSFORMATION OF CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM AND THE CONCEPT OF A TRANSNATIONAL CAPITALIST CLASS: A CRITICAL REVIEW IN NEO-POULANTZIAN PERSPECTIVE. By Joachim Hirsch and Jens Wissel.

URL = http://spe.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/spe/article/download/16051/13089

Abstract

"In the last 40 years, various authors have argued that a new transnational capitalist class (TCC) has emerged, which operates across the borders of national states. The approaches in question are debated widely in the social sciences, not only because of their theoretical assumptions and the empir- ical evidence provided, but also because international power relations are changing, not least in the context of the current crisis. The main claim of the authors in question appears to be validated by the advancing interna- tionalization of capital relations and by the internationalization of the state. It appears that these processes have gained traction with the neoliberal trans- formation of capitalism.

If this claim is true, it follows that there are far-reaching changes to state structures, the international state system, and the trajectory of social conflicts and struggles. Alterations in class relations are specifically important because they lead to new configurations of relations of forces1 and power apparatuses, and, in a second step, to new arrangements of domination and regulation.

The aim of this article is to review the approaches in question critically. We assume that existing theories of transnational class formation are charac- terized by significant weaknesses, both in terms of basic class and state theoretical assumptions and in terms of accounting for the role of state apparatuses in class formation.... "