Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and Postcolonialism
Paul Viotti and Mark Kauppi
Economic Structuralism
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Economic Structuralism is based on four main assumptions:
o The understanding of the global context in which states and other entities interact, before
attempting to understand the state and individuals within it.
o The importance of historical analysis in order to understand the current structure of the
international system.
o Uneven development due to the dependency between industrialised states and the capital-poor
states, limiting third world states ability to develop.
o Economic and material factors are critical in explaining the international capitalist system and
subordinate position of the Third World.
Economic Structuralism has an interest in why ‘so many Third Word Major Actors and, capital-poor
states in Latin America, Africa, and Asia have been unable to develop’.
o Reading referred to the ‘economic west’ and ‘economic south’.
Economic Structuralism’s view is highly relevant to observe and understand the spread of the
capitalist world system through globalization.
o Economic structuralism also believe globalization is not a new concept, rather can be traced
back several centuries.
o However while ‘literature accommodates economic-structuralist approaches, it has had
relatively little impact on the debates occurring within mainstream IR journals’.
Intellectual Precursors and Influences
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Karl Marx (1818 – 1883), all economic structuralists are directly or indirectly influenced by the works
of Karl Marx.
o Marx set the context for economic structuralism through the focus on unequal and exploitative
relations of capitalism.
 Marx refers to the development and expansion of capitalism as being law like.
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Marx highlighted that society should be studied on a whole, because it is interrelated. This also
influenced economic structuralisms that uses who units of analysis when studying states or
individuals.
Hobson (1854 – 1940) and Imperialism – imperialism addresses at the division of labour between rich
and poor regions.
o Hobson one of the most significant theory suggested that capitalist societies experience three
basic interrelated problems:
 Overproduction,
 Under consumption by working class
 Over saving by capitalists states.
Lenin (1870 – 1924). Lenin’s Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism impacts economic
structuralisms.
o Lenin accepted Hobsons basic problem is capitalism under consumption; he also took ideas
from Hilferding and Marx.
Luxemburg (1870 – 1919) and Revolution– Luxemburg argues that a revolution is the only effective
means to change society.
Antonio Gramsci (1891– 1937). Gramsic’s Prison Notebooks is a key influence on economic
structuralism. Economic structuralism adopted the idea of bloc, which refers to a social change in
order to maintain social dominance or from an IR perspective global dominance.
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Dependency Theorists
Dependency theorists include the Latin American scholars that referred to economic
Strucutalism in 1960s and 1970s.
o Many of these writers referred to the Economic Commission on Latin America (ECLA)
and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
 ECLA and UNCTAD were used to explain problems development in Latin
America and the Third World.
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Radical Critiques
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Economist Rual Prebisch (1901 – 1986) analysis of economic factors of the ECLA and
UNCTAD focused on nationalism and the need for state guided capitalism.
Other writes adopted bolder approaches by including political and social factors within the
context of the capitalism system limiting development of Latin America.
Dependency theorists also suggested that economic exploitation of low developed countries by
industrialiaed states as part of the capitalist system and are necessary for it to function.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) and international banks are viewed as another means by
which Third World states maintain their subordinate position in the international capitalist
economy.
Domestic Forces
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Dependency theorists includes that internal factors have the ability to limit development.
o Internal factors including:
 Class alliances
 Role of the state
 Social structures.
o Comprador class or national bourgeoisie occurs when then ruling class contributes to the
exploitation of its own society.
o Class exploitation is influenced by external factors including foreign capitalists,
contributing to further division between the working class and bourgeoisie.
However domestic limitations, internal and external forces differ between states depending
how developed they are.
o Leading dendency theorists to argue that development of states benefits some at the
exploitation of others leading to further inequality and ultimately growing external control
over Third World economies.
Reference: P. Viotti and M. Kauppi, ‘Economic Structuralism: Global Capitalism and
Postcolonialism’, International Relations Theory, New York: Longman, 2010