STRUCTURALISM/MARXISM
Lecture Outline
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Structuralism
The Marxist Perspective
The Marxist IPE Theories
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Imperialism
Modern World Systems Theory
Dependency Theory
Intellectual Hegemony
States and Markets
Strong
State
Role
Limited
State
Role
Classical
Liberalism
Quesnay
Smith
Keynesianism
Keynes
Neoliberalism/
Neoconservatism
Hayek
Friedman
Neomercantilism
Mercantilism
Socialism
Communism
Why Structuralism?
Economic
Structure
Political,
Societal, and
Ethical Outcomes
Marx: History, Class, and Capitalism
Economic Structure
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The mode of production
 Primitive
Communism
 Slavery
 Feudalism
 Capitalism
 Socialism
 Communism
Political, Societal,
and Ethical Outcomes
Conflict or Cooperation
Marx: History, Class, and Capitalism
Economic Structure

The mode of production
 Primitive
Political, Societal,
and Ethical Outcomes
Conflict or Cooperation
Communism
 Slavery
 Feudalism
Capitalism
 Socialism
 Communism
Conflict between social
classes: bourgeoisie and
proletariat
Why does Capitalism Produce Conflict?
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Competition (“Capitalism contains the seeds of its own demise”)
 The
law of falling rate of profit: As individual capitalists seek greater market
share, they will invest in laborsaving production techniques. This reduces the rate of profit because
surplus value can only be created by human labor
 The
law of disproportionality: Supply and demand change unevenly, causing
periodic overproduction (underconsumption).
 The
law of concentration: Over time, wealth becomes increasingly concentrated,
further diminishing the purchasing power of the proletariat.
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Class Conflict and Crisis of Capitalism
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Revolution and Transition to Socialism
IPE Theories within the Marxist Tradition
Marxism
Imperialism
Modern World
System Theory
Dependency
Theory
Intellectual
Hegemony
Vladimir Lenin
Immanuel Wallerstein
Andre Gunder Frank
Antonio Gramsci
The focus:
Colonialism and its
impact on the crisis of
capitalism
The focus: The
historical development
of global economic
system since midfifteenth century
The focus: Structures
of dependency
between industrial and
least developed
countries
The focus: The
maintenance of
hegemony through
consent
Imperialism
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/video/wmp/mini_p01_02_d_220.html
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/video/wmp/mini_p01_03_c_220.html
Vladimir Lenin, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, 1917
Imperialism (through colonialism) delayed the capitalist crisis (since
it brings new markets, cheaper raw materials and cheaper labor)
A reflection of Marx’s analysis of domestic power relations at the
international realm.
Imperialism is another stage between capitalism and socialism
Capitalism  Imperialism
Competition  Monopoly
Production
(+emergence of exploitative finance relations)
BASIS FOR MODERN WORLD SYSTEMS THEORY AND DEPENDENCY THEORY
Modern World Systems Theory
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Immanuel Wallerstein, The Modern World System
(three volume book, 1974, 1980, 1989)
Global economic structures determine how world
works
Division of labor among states creates
dependencies:
Resource-abundant developing countries
Periphery
Semiperiphery
Core
(Exploited)
In-between these two categories: both
exploiter and exploited.
Capital-rich Western industrial countries
(Exploiter)
Dependency Theory
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/video/wmp/mini_p02_05_220.html
Andre Gunder Frank, Capitalism and Underdevelopment, 1967
The global economic structure leads North-South dependence
at the expense of the South
There are three eras of dependency in modern history:
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colonial dependence,
financial-industrial dependence, and
dependency through MNCs.
Because LDCs remain dependent on industrial nations (or
MNCs) they are systematically underdeveloped
The reasons for underdevelopment should be found in colonial
history.
Intellectual Hegemony
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Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison
Notebooks, 1971
Hegemony is maintained through coercion and
consent (Gramsci is more interested in the consent
part)
Ideas over economic structures: Intellectual
hegemony creates consent by convincing the masses,
via propaganda, to have the same interests as the
dominant class and serve those interests.
Organic intellectuals as a hope to overturn the
dominant classes