The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism

The conflict in Ukraine escalated in 2022 and the West’s radical political, military and economic response to it was but the coup de grâce of a decadent post-World War II western-centric order. However, the escalation of geopolitical tensions around the world in the wake its violent crackup is sympt...

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Main Author: William I. Robinson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2024-12-01
Series:Vestnik RUDN. International Relations
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Online Access:https://journals.rudn.ru/international-relations/article/viewFile/42202/24269
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author William I. Robinson
author_facet William I. Robinson
author_sort William I. Robinson
collection DOAJ
description The conflict in Ukraine escalated in 2022 and the West’s radical political, military and economic response to it was but the coup de grâce of a decadent post-World War II western-centric order. However, the escalation of geopolitical tensions around the world in the wake its violent crackup is symptomatic of something more fundamental: the epochal crisis of global capitalism. The crisis is multidimensional, and its varied dimensions are interconnected. It is a structural crisis of overaccumulation, a political crisis of state legitimacy and capitalist hegemony, a social crisis of global social reproduction, a geopolitical crisis of escalating international conflict, and an environmental crisis that threatens the collapse of the planetary ecosystem. Unlike earlier crises of world capitalism (four crises are traditionally distinguished), we are reaching the historical exhaustion of the conditions for capitalist renewal. Capitalist reactivation may be possible in the coming years through redistributive and regulatory policies and through the application of new digital technologies, but such reactivation could not in the long run resolve the underlying contradictions of a decadent global capitalism. The author concludes that modern society is very far from a revolution against global capitalism, due to the underdevelopment of subjective and organizational conditions. The paper applies a comprehensive approach to the processes and phenomena under consideration, using the principles of comparative data analysis and critical assessment of information. The relevance of the topic of research is due to both the increase in political instability in the world, and the noticeable growth of rivalry and confrontation in global economic processes.
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spelling doaj-art-8b518b5ddfb94d008a4101413f48afbf2025-01-09T07:41:36ZengPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)Vestnik RUDN. International Relations2313-06602313-06792024-12-0124462864210.22363/2313-0660-2024-24-4-628-64221001The Epochal Crisis of Global CapitalismWilliam I. Robinson0University of CaliforniaThe conflict in Ukraine escalated in 2022 and the West’s radical political, military and economic response to it was but the coup de grâce of a decadent post-World War II western-centric order. However, the escalation of geopolitical tensions around the world in the wake its violent crackup is symptomatic of something more fundamental: the epochal crisis of global capitalism. The crisis is multidimensional, and its varied dimensions are interconnected. It is a structural crisis of overaccumulation, a political crisis of state legitimacy and capitalist hegemony, a social crisis of global social reproduction, a geopolitical crisis of escalating international conflict, and an environmental crisis that threatens the collapse of the planetary ecosystem. Unlike earlier crises of world capitalism (four crises are traditionally distinguished), we are reaching the historical exhaustion of the conditions for capitalist renewal. Capitalist reactivation may be possible in the coming years through redistributive and regulatory policies and through the application of new digital technologies, but such reactivation could not in the long run resolve the underlying contradictions of a decadent global capitalism. The author concludes that modern society is very far from a revolution against global capitalism, due to the underdevelopment of subjective and organizational conditions. The paper applies a comprehensive approach to the processes and phenomena under consideration, using the principles of comparative data analysis and critical assessment of information. The relevance of the topic of research is due to both the increase in political instability in the world, and the noticeable growth of rivalry and confrontation in global economic processes.https://journals.rudn.ru/international-relations/article/viewFile/42202/24269international ordermarxismeconomic crisissocial crisisgeopolitical conflict
spellingShingle William I. Robinson
The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
Vestnik RUDN. International Relations
international order
marxism
economic crisis
social crisis
geopolitical conflict
title The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
title_full The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
title_fullStr The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
title_full_unstemmed The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
title_short The Epochal Crisis of Global Capitalism
title_sort epochal crisis of global capitalism
topic international order
marxism
economic crisis
social crisis
geopolitical conflict
url https://journals.rudn.ru/international-relations/article/viewFile/42202/24269
work_keys_str_mv AT williamirobinson theepochalcrisisofglobalcapitalism
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