A Contribution to the Critique of Contemporary Capitalism: Theoretical and International Perspectives (Global Political Studies)

The book is a critique of the capitalist world, including both the injustices it inflicts and the acts of resistance it provokes, which end up reproducing it. It is also a critique of the ideas about this world, especially some of the ideas which are considered to be progressive. The book talks about why so-called critical thought as it exists is inadequate; why genuine critique is possible and necessary; what its different forms and attributes are; and who it is aimed toward: the masses or academia? It presents what it considers to be the most adequate form of critique: the Marxist critique. This is a critique which explains humanity's problems, mainly in terms of the conflict-ridden social relations that determine how society's resources are used. And this is a critique which seeks to transcend the current arrangements to establish popular democracy in all spheres of life, including economic, political and cultural. The book then employs the principles of the Marxist critique to shed light on specific issues in the world as they exist and on the so-called progressive ideas about these issues. The issues include: poverty and inequality in India; industrial disasters in the US; labour unfreedom in the capitalist North and South; the relation between economic and political power in modern society; social democracy; development of capitalism in rural areas and imperialism; pharmaceutical fraud and the consequent threat to human health in the US, and the Maoist movement, and protest politics (of the'anarchist type'), against dispossession and other forms of injustice. Anyone with an interest in a theoretical understanding of the notion of critique, in the nature of the Marxist critique, and in some of the fundamental issues facing the humanity will benefit from this book. Sociologists, political scientists, human geographers, anthropologists, and experts in development studies will also find some value in this book. Critical scholars in general, who have an interest in understanding power relations in economic and political arenas, will be the main audience. Finally, People involved in NGOs and grassroots movements will also find something useful in the critiques this book offers. Large parts of the book are actually written in a non-academic mode for the non-specialists. A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CRITIQUE OF CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM: THEORETICAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 3 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CRITIQUE OF CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM: THEORETICAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 6 CONTENTS 9 INTRODUCTION 13 PART 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS 21 Chapter 1: THINKING CRITICALLY: A CRITIQUE OF CRITICAL THINKING 23 SCARCITY OF GENUINE CRITIQUE 24 WHY IS IT POSSIBLE AND NECESSARY TO BE CRITICAL? 27 TYPOLOGY OF CRITIQUE 32 TARGETS OF CRITIQUE 38 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 42 Chapter 2: MAPPING THE MARXIST CRITIQUE OF SOCIETY: OR, WHAT REALLY IS MARXISM? 45 THE MARXIST WAY OF KNOWING 46 THE ECONOMIC, THE POLITICAL AND THE CULTURAL IN CLASS SOCIETIES 48 CLASS AND ACCUMULATION IN CAPITALISM AND IN CONTEMPORARY CAPITALIST SOCIETIES 53 FROM CLASS ANALYSIS TO CLASS ABOLITION, OR, FROM EXPLANATORY CRITIQUE TO RADICAL PRACTICE 64 CONCLUSION 69 PART 2: CRITIQUING EXISTING CRITICAL IDEAS 73 Chapter 3: UNPACKING POLITICISM AND IDEALISM IN STATE THEORY: A CRITIQUE OF POST-MARXIST CRITIQUE 75 BEYOND THE STATE 76 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CLASS CHARACTER OF THE STATE? 78 AGAINST HOFFMAN’S POST-MARXIST CRITIQUE OF MARXISM 79 Chapter 4: THE DISCOURSE ON THE POLITICAL AND THE ECONOMIC IN THE WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRACY: WHERE ARE THE FAULT (LINE)S? 85 BACKGROUND: ISSUES IN INDIA’S POLITICAL ECONOMY 85 CLASS CHARACTER OF THE INDIAN SOCIETY 87 THE NATURE OF THE INDIAN STATE AND ITS INTERVENTIONS 90 POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPTS AND EXPLANATIONS 94 CONCLUSION 97 Chapter 5: CAPITALISM AND FREE LABOR IN THE WORLD ECONOMY: A CRITIQUE OF MARXIST VIEWS 99 RELATION BETWEEN UNFREE LABOR AND CAPITALIST SOCIAL RELATIONS 101 UNFREE LABOR AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTIVE FORCES UNDER CAPITALISM 108 LABOR MADE UNFREE OR FORMALLY SUBSUMED? A COMRADELY CRITIQUE OF BRASS 109 CONCLUSION 113 Chapter 6: DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM AND CAPITALIST DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA’S RURAL AREAS: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF SOME ARGUMENTS 115 AGRARIAN CLASS, CLASS DIFFERENTIATION AND CLASS STRUGGLE 116 CLASS, THE STATE AND AGRARIAN TRANSITION 119 IMPERIALISM, AND CAPITALISM IN RURAL AREAS OF THE GLOBAL PERIPHERY 125 CONCLUSION 128 Chapter 7: WHY POVERTY AMID PLENTY? A MARXIST CRITIQUE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN THE PERIPHERY 131 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INEQUALITY 133 THE CHANGING SOCIAL CHARACTER OF THE STATE: A PRO-MARKET (NEOLIBERAL) STATE OR A PRO-BUSINESS STATE? 135 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY IN PRO-BUSINESS INDIA 138 PART 3: CRITIQUING CONTEMPORARY CAPITALIST SOCIETY AND ANTI-CAPITALIST POLITICS 143 Chapter 8: NEOLIBERALISM’S CLASS CHARACTER: CRITICAL VIEWS ON INDIA’S NEW ECONOMIC POLICY 145 WHAT IS NEP (NOT)? 146 WINNERS AND LOSERS 148 AGRARIAN NEOLIBERALISM 149 NEOLIBERALISM AS A SPATIAL PROJECT 150 NEOLIBERALISM AS AN IMPERIALIST PROJECT 151 NEOLIBERALISM AND CLASS STRUGGLE 152 NEOLIBERALISM AND THE LEFT 154 CONCLUDING COMMENTS 156 Chapter 9: SCIENCE FOR PROFIT OR PEOPLE? A CRITIQUE OF THE STATE AND ITS RELATION TO THE DRUG COMPANIES IN THE USA 159 THE PHARMACEUTICAL FRAUD CASE 159 PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND CAPITALIST SOCIETY 160 Chapter 10: THE STATE, THE BUSINESS WORLD AND DEATH OF ORDINARY WORKING PEOPLE IN THE US: WHERE DOES THE PROBLEM LIE? 165 THE TEXAS EXPLOSION: ITS BROADER HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHICALCONTEXT 166 WHY DID TEXAS HAPPEN? WHY, INDEED, DO INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS HAPPEN? 167 CONCLUSION: CORPORATE TERRORISM—WHAT IS TO BE DONE? 171 Chapter 11: WHY ARE SO-CALLED RADICAL MOVEMENTS NOT AS RADICAL AS THEY APPEAR? A CRITIQUE OF THE MAOIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA 175 THE MAOIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA 176 MAOISTS’/NAXALITES’ THEORY OF CLASS RELATIONS 177 AN ASSESSMENT 178 POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF FAULTY THEORY 180 CONCLUSION 183 Chapter 12: PROTEST POLITICS IN THE WORLD: A MARXIST CRITIQUE 185 WORLD-WIDE PROTEST POLITICS 186 NEED FOR RADICAL THEORY 188 WHAT IS NOT TO BE DONE? 191 SO, WHAT IS TO BE DONE? 193 WORKS CITED 197 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 205 AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION 207 INDEX 209