Climate Change and Marx in the 21st Century,Part I

This paper comes in two parts. Part I begins with an examination of the relationship between Marx’s characterization of the centrality of commodity production to capitalism as a system, its destructive results on Nature, and the global scale of the climate crisis confronting the 21st century. It then moves on to critically examine three models of political economy (Hayekism, Keynesianism and State Socialism). Part II takes the argument forward by critically examining a fourth model, Green Keynesianism, currently being manufactured in response to the crisis of climate change, in order to show the inability of all four models to resolve the existential threat posed to humanity in the 21st century and beyond. We then proceed to posit, as a thought experiment, a fifth model of political economy, Green Socialism, as something now needed in the 21st century and discuss the important building blocks of the future evolution of a coherent system. The paper concludes with a brief mention of both the ends and means that need deliberation if Green Socialism is to be realized.     

The Tasks of Keynesianism Today: Green New Deals As Transition Towards a Zero Growth Economy?

The world economy today is facing the juncture of two simultaneous crises: the deepest recession since the end of World War Two and an unprecedented world ecological crisis. Does Keynesianism offer viable ideas to face this combined crisis, alternative to the neoliberal policymaking that has prevailed during the last thirty years? Historically, if viewed from a longer-term perspective, the form of Keynesianism that has predominated, is military Keynesianism, defined as macro-economic policymaking by capitalist governments aimed at stimulating aggregate demand for goods. Thus deficit spending was already applied by the British government when it competed with other European states to gain world hegemony, in the late 17th and the 18th century. Again, whereas for a limited period of time after World War Two, a civilian type of Keynesianism has 'coexisted' with military Keynesianism, especially in Western Europe, – the military form of Keynesianism has clearly prevailed in the era of globalization, especially in the US. Keynesianism offers possibilities for a shift from current policymaking, but only if its mode of application is radically different from its historical modes. An ecological Keynesianism needs to fulfil both a social criterion – promotion of employment – and an ecological standard – countering capitalism's inherent tendency to destroy its natural surroundings. Three examples of an ecological Keynesianism initially come to mind: the state's use of transfer and investment measures so as to accelerate the shift from reliance on fossil fuels towards reliance on renewable energy; state intervention to discourage incineration of waste, and to enhance reliance on recycling; and conversion of military production facilities into units which produce for the sustenance of life on earth. The significance of these shifts can be illustrated by employing a model of social reproduction that diverges from Marx's and Keynes'. Yet while an ecological Keynesianism does offer ample possibilities to address today's combined crisis, the given policymaking needs to be understood as transitional. A solution to the world's ecological crisis is only possible via the transition towards a stationary state – a zero growth economy at the world level which protects the interests of the global South.     

建立面向21世纪的具有区域特色的现代首都金融业

在进入２１世纪之际，构建适应首都经济需要的现代金融业，将是首都金融业所面临的一项重要任务，根据国际金融业的发展趋势，现代金融业主要现代中央银行体系、现代金融市场银行业、现代证券业、保险业、信托业以及现代金融法律体系和现代金融风险防范体系等。在继续深化首都金融体制改革的基础上，充分发挥首都金融业的优势与潜力，逐步完善首都金融业的宏调控控功能和金融功能。建立金融体系，是首都经济在２１世纪发展的需要，也     

21世纪西欧国家养老金改革述评

近些年来，西欧各国纷纷进行养老金改革以缓解人口老龄化所可能带来的公共养老金体系的可持续性危机。中国与西欧国家在人口老龄化趋势上面临着类似的压力，本文从老龄经济的视角，以德国、法国、英国三个拥有不同模式养老金体系的国家为研究对象，详细介绍上述三国新世纪养老金体系改革的具体措施，分析改革的共同趋势；并展望中国未来养老金体系的发展方向，认为，以税收优惠和灵活制度安排鼓励第二和第三养老保障支柱的发展是德法英三国改革的共同趋势，也是中国未来养老金体系发展的重要方向。     

The Marxian theory of crisis,capital and the state ∗

An interpretation of the Marxian theory of crisis that rejects the ‘Keynesianism’ of most post-war contributions on the topic. Various criticisms of Marx's position are examined and two popular but incorrect versions of the theory are discussed; the underconsumptionist and disproportionality theory of crisis. An attempt is made to begin an analysis of the role of state intervention in the economy and indicate the limitations of intervention by the capitalist state implied by Marx's theory of crisis.     

Valence politics and economic crisis: Electoral choice in Canada 2008

This paper investigates factors affecting voting behavior in Canada’s October 2008 federal election. The election was held in the context of a rapidly worsening financial crisis that threatened to become a global economic meltdown. National survey data gathered in the 2008 Political Support in Canada Study reveal that the deteriorating economy trumped the opposition Liberal Party’s Green Shift Program as the major campaign issue by a huge margin. Damage done to the governing Conservatives by the economic crisis was limited by perceptions of their leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Analyses of a mixed logit model of electoral choice shows that although the Conservatives had a relatively small share of party identifiers and Harper was widely disliked, his image as “safe pair on hands” helped his party weather the political storm generated by the flood of bad economic news.     

21世纪初危机应对中的俄罗斯国家形象塑造

危机发生后,一国政府如何应对危机一定程度上损害或修复着国家形象。21世纪初的十来年,世界上发生了一系列与俄罗斯相关的国内外危机,面对这些事件,在苏联解体后俄罗斯国际形象受损的颓势背景下,俄罗斯政府积极应对,既灵活务实,又顽强有力,客观上塑造了资源丰富、经济回升、政局稳定、政权有力、追求多极化、在国际上有发言权的世界大国形象。     

Militarism and Terrorism: The Deadly Cycle

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, destined to strongly influence world politics well into the 21st century, can be understood as part of a larger dialectic linking US militarism and what has become global terrorism. This destructive cycle is likely to deepen as elements of American superpower hegemony--economic, political, cultural and military--become more consolidated, and as the USA continues to pursue its unprecedented and ill-defined war against terrorism. The goal of US ruling elites is to make the world increasingly accessible to capital investment, free trade and corporate domination while simultaneously closing off viable alternatives to the neoliberal New World Order. Here terrorism in its different manifestations amounts to both a striking back at US empire--what might be seen as an especially virulent form of blowback--and the unintended relegitimation of this empire as it helps to bolster the war economy and security state. One of the debilitating consequences of the militarism-terrorism cycle is a further closing off of political discourse in the US in the midst of a resurgent national chauvinism, ideological conformism and militarised culture.     

US grand strategy and its contradictions

US global expansion at the beginning of the 21st century is far more ambitious than anything pursued or imagined by previous imperial powers. American elites are presently seeking to reshape the world geopolitical terrain, with hundreds of military bases in more than 120 countries added to hundreds more installations across its own territory. This new militarism is rooted in a new imperialism, part of a grand strategy that aspires to nothing short of world domination—the project of neoconservatives that received new life with the Bush presidency and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It involves far‐reaching changes in the US armed forces, including high‐tech innovations, weaponization of space, new global flexibility, overall growth of the war economy, a bolstering of Empire through economic globalization, military interventions in the Middle East and beyond. As in the past, Empire cannot long survive without mass belief‐systems such as nationalism, religion, and political ideologies that can justify burdensome adventures and deflect public attention away from the terrible costs of war. In this context an urgent question for the fate of the planet is whether US ruling elites can for long sustain their drive toward global domination where the preferred mode of rule is military force and political coercion. It is argued here that the contradictions of US grand strategy are bound to intensify over time, leading to more social polarization, ecological crisis, blowback, and various forms of local and national resistance to Empire. These contradictions can be expected to sharpen both domestically and globally.     

Success and Excess: The Contours and Character of American Higher Education Since 1960

Higher Education in the United States during the six decades from 1960 to 2010 has been a success story characterized by expansion, prosperity and prestige. These characteristics, however, were inseparable from problems of excess and lack of clear educational purposes. Furthermore, these problems remain unresolved early in the 21st century, creating a crisis of confidence for colleges and universities.     

The Future of Conservatism*

British Conservatism embodies certain basic, though not always compatible, tenets of belief. They have underpinned the Conservative Party, which has been the most successful political party in the history of western Europe. The party was the ‘in’ party in British politics in the 20th Century; the reasons for that success shifted in the 21st century to it principal opponent party. Attempts by Conservative leaders in the first two parliaments of opposition constituted quick‐fix and ultimately doomed approaches to restoring electoral dominance. The party under David Cameron has shifted to a long‐term, grounded approach, learning the lessons of earlier periods of opposition. Though the process remains incomplete, the Conservative Party is placed for the first time in the 21st century to return to being a party of governance.     

‘A willing Odysseus’: The life and times of Albert O. Hirschman

Abstract

In this review essay of Jeremy Adelman's biography of Albert O. Hirschman, A worldly philosopher, supplemented by references to other secondary works on Hirschman, I take the opportunity to discuss the relationship between the economist's life and his main publications. I argue that in times of crisis more attempts like Hirschman's political economy are needed. I further argue that Hirschman has given us a good idea of what a new moral economy, which really deserves this name, would look like.     

A theory of entangled political economy, with application to TARP and NRA

The recent financial crisis has provoked a raft of contending claims as to whether the cause of the crisis is better attributed to market failure or political failure. Such claims are predicated on a presumption that markets and polities are meaningfully separate entities. To the contrary, we argue that contemporary arrangements create an entangled political economy that renders theorizing based on separation often misleading. Within this alternative framework of entangled political economy, we illuminate both the recent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and the New Deal??s National Recovery Administration (NRA).     

An Obituary for the Third Way: The Financial Crisis and Social Democracy in Europe

Why has the financial crisis not served as an occasion for social democratic revival? It is because, with the ‘Third Way’, European social democracy became imbricated with the financial system in crisis to such an extent that it is in no position to offer an alternative to it. The financial crisis is the crisis of the Third Way. Furthermore, the Third Way was based on the faulty premise that it was possible to replicate USA's apparent success in the 1990s, which, however, was based on very particular conditions. The argument is pursued with reference to inter alia Third Way ideology, transatlantic relations, the political economy of capitalist variety, and the political sociology of mass parties.     

论科学发展与和谐发展的经济观

进入21世纪,我们面临更加紧迫的发展问题,如何在新阶段实现经济持续科学发展,解决面临的各种问题,如何走科学发展与和谐发展之路,给我们提出了新的挑战。     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviews in this article: Internationalising the Seabed By Roderick Ogley . Seeing Green : The Politics of Ecology Explained . By Jonathon Porritt . Green Politics : The Global Promise . By Fritjof Capra and Charlene Spretnak . The Green Movement in West Germany . By Elim Papadakis . Greening the Tories : New Policies for the Environment . By Andrew Sullivan . Conservation and Change : Policy for the Environment . What Kind of Growth : People or Profits . By Duncan Smith . Labour's Charter for the Environment . Capitalism since World War II: the making and breakup of the great boom . By Philip Armstrong , Andrew Glyn and John Harrison A Socialist Anatomy of Britain . Edited by David Coates , Gordon Johnston and Ray Bush . Local Socialism ? Labour Councils and New Left Alternatives . Edited by Martin Boddy and Colin Fudge . The Politics of Socialism : an essay in political theory . By John Dunn . Against Socialist Illusion: a radical argument . By David Selbourne . Public Life and Late Capitalism: toward a socialist theory of democracy . By John Keane . Capitalism and Social Democracy . By Adam Przeworski . Policy , Power and Order: the persistence of economic problems in capitalist states . By Kerry Schott . Order and Conflict in Contemporary Capitalism . Edited by John Goldthorpe . The Politics of Local Socialism . By John Gyford . The Aims and Outcomes of Social Policy Research . By Patricia Thomas . How Democracies Perish . By Jean -François Revel . The Crawford Papers . Edited by John Vincent . The British Empire in the Middle East 1945-1951: Arab Nationalism, the United States, and Postwar Imperialism . By Wm . Roger Louis . Packaging the Presidency: a history and criticism of presidential campaign advertising . By Kathleen Hall Jamieson .     

The South Korean–Japanese security relationship and the Dokdo/Takeshima islets dispute

Abstract

The metaphor of Asia is frequently used nowadays as a concept for regional identity, but it is very problematical because geographic Asia contains such a large piece of humanity in all cultural, political and economic forms. Historically Asia also has negative connotations, and at times other regional concepts have been preferred over it. Pan‐Asianism, Greater East Asia, Asian‐African cooperation, Asian Socialism, Southeast Asia, Western Pacific, Asia Pacific, and East Asia are some of the regionalist permutations of the metaphor of Asia during this century, but thus far no strong institutional structures have emerged to fill the concepts with lasting and effective political power.     

The New Constitutionalism,Disciplinary Neoliberalism,and the 2015 Greek Election

This article is an effort to situate the conflict between the Syriza government, elected in 2015, and Greece’s creditors in the context of broader changes in the structure of European political economy over the past quarter of a century. It explains the dynamics by which the leftist government of Alexis Tsipras shed its commitment to ending austerity through the lens of Stephen Gill’s “new constitutionalism.” While sovereign power helps show why Tsipras was unable to negotiate a new deal for Greece, two mechanisms of disciplinary power clarify different aspects of crisis politics: market reification, which obscured the role of the European Central Bank, and the reconstitution of truth claims, which led to the attribution of responsibility for the crisis to Greece itself.     

The Political Economy of Unmediated Democracy: Italian Austerity under Mario Monti

This article explores the political economy of reform under the technocratic government of Mario Monti. Unlike the technocratic governments of the 1990s, the Monti interregnum was an experiment in unmediated democracy, in which a government is actively supported neither by political parties nor by encompassing social groups. Italian political leaders adopted unmediated democracy because of the underlying interest group conflicts in the Italian political economy. Unmediated democrats such as Monti can impose bitter medicine on a stalemated society when it is in a stage of acute crisis, but the passage of longer-term reforms requires a social coalition to support those reforms beyond the critical stage of crisis. Thus the government implemented budget cuts, but liberalisation and institutional reform stalled in the face of opposition. Italy is unlikely to be durably reformed by a government that is not anchored to society through political parties or interest groups.     

百年变局下的国际格局调整与中国引领新型周边关系

全球抗疫防疫堪称百年未有之大变局中具有历史影响的疫情政治经济学创举,为迈入后疫情时代的全球经济和国际政治新历程作出新的诠释和导引。启迪人们思考后疫情时代,我们将面对一个什么样的世界经济格局、什么样的全球治理体系、什么样的大国关系,乃至最终归结于什么样的中国未来。疫情引发的全球公共卫生危机和世界经济萧条与危机,导致国际政治经济格局出现重大调整,并为中国引领新型周边国家关系带来新的发展机遇。中国在实践中凝练的抗疫成果为中国与周边国家开展经济合作夯实了基础和提供了契机;“一带一路”建设成为中国周边地区的融合区和重启的首要之地;中美大国关系对中国周边地区的和平稳定起到决定性作用,只有大国关系稳定,周边国家的关系才可防可控可稳。严峻的全球疫情使人类愈发强烈感受并意识到,人类命运共同体已不是缥缈的理念和抽象的概念,每个国家的利益和命运已经与世界相互嵌入、环环相扣。东亚国家在疫情挑战面前选择了团结合作与同舟共济,RCEP的签署必将为促进东亚发展繁荣增添新动能,必将增强区域共同体意识。