A couple of weeks back I was trying to persuade Red Frog to read "Imperialism and Global Political Economy" by Alex Callinicos, a copy of which can be found in Mayday (where indeed I bought my own copy last year). Here is an ISR review of the book. As I told Red Frog, this is a book written by an academic: careful arguments buttressed by facts and figures.
If -- big if -- a book club is ever resurrected in the Twin Cities, then this book by Callinicos, as well as books by Harvey and Brenner, should be on the reading list. Dare one hope?
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Interesting review. It points out how this is an 'academic' work. I don't normally read academics because they are generally dreadful writers, and poorly organize their thinking. I don't see anything really new here either. The point on 'geopolitics' is similar to Minqi Li's use of the core/periphery/semi-periphery argument too.
As to the USSR and the US both being similar 'superpowers' with no class content, it looks like Callincos (and the author of this review) miss the actual class character of this confrontation, which was really part of the 'global class war."
It is no accident that the counter-attack against the US working class in the 80s coincided with an escalation of the cold war against the USSR, which was victorious at the end of 1989. As was the US ruling class over the US labor movement around that same time.
Not to see the profound difference in the Soviet economy versus the US is a somewhat large mistake to make in looking at the recent history of imperialism.
Will I read it? Hmmmm. Why don't you read it and write a review?
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