How does this relate to world politics? The very core of Marxism is the unit of analysis, most theories of IR today assume the state to the main actor, not only that, but to be an autonomous, rational actor, totally independent of social relations like a ‘black box’. Marxism, on the other hand contends it is the class system which is the key to understanding world politics. Furthering this perception; with the new neo-liberal world order replacing the embedded liberal order which centred on the state intervention within economics, the main ideological perception of the state in the west is one of a ‘liberal minimal state’. In capitalism, as Mark Rupert paraphrases a Marxist argument; a psychological break has been created between the economic
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Essentially, the whole of capitalist society is geared towards the pursuit of more and more capital which is the foundation for imperialist theories. Competition is a crucial concept within capitalism, whether you ask a Marxist or a neoliberal economist. However, due to the nature of competition within a capitalist society, it is inevitable in a Marxist analysis that profits will eventually start to fall. This fall in profit will cause: 1. constant effort to cut production costs , which is seen when companies go abroad for cheaper labour, 2. A drive for the opening of new markets to be able to sell more, either due to overproduction or corporate greed, which is seen in the IMF’s and WTO’s policies to constantly open up new markets and 3. For increased innovation which requires certain technologies and certain levels of a skilled workforce which has also globalised capitalism. Also furthering the labour point; the expansion of capitalism as a concept will be faster than the physical production of goods needed to satisfy new demand, meaning a need in more labourers . A counter to this idea of labour as a source for globalisation is the argument that in the very core countries of capitalism like the US and the UK, there are millions unemployed. On the other hand, Marx argued it was essential for capitalism to work that there be a certain level of unemployment, he explained that without the fear of not having a job to pay for said socially constructed needs, the proletariat would have power over the owning classes, again going back to the point of exploitation as core to a capitalist society
Essentially, the whole of capitalist society is geared towards the pursuit of more and more capital which is the foundation for imperialist theories. Competition is a crucial concept within capitalism, whether you ask a Marxist or a neoliberal economist. However, due to the nature of competition within a capitalist society, it is inevitable in a Marxist analysis that profits will eventually start to fall. This fall in profit will cause: 1. constant effort to cut production costs , which is seen when companies go abroad for cheaper labour, 2. A drive for the opening of new markets to be able to sell more, either due to overproduction or corporate greed, which is seen in the IMF’s and WTO’s policies to constantly open up new markets and 3. For increased innovation which requires certain technologies and certain levels of a skilled workforce which has also globalised capitalism. Also furthering the labour point; the expansion of capitalism as a concept will be faster than the physical production of goods needed to satisfy new demand, meaning a need in more labourers . A counter to this idea of labour as a source for globalisation is the argument that in the very core countries of capitalism like the US and the UK, there are millions unemployed. On the other hand, Marx argued it was essential for capitalism to work that there be a certain level of unemployment, he explained that without the fear of not having a job to pay for said socially constructed needs, the proletariat would have power over the owning classes, again going back to the point of exploitation as core to a capitalist society