Capitalism in the Age of Globalisation ; The Management of Contemporary Society

by Samir Amin

Samir Amin remains one of the world's most influential thinkers about the changing nature of North-South relations in the development of contemporary capitalism. In this highly prescient book, originally published in 1997, he provides a powerful analysis of the new unilateral capitalist era following the collapse of the Soviet model, and the apparent triumph of the market and globalization.Amin's innovative analysis charts the rise of ethnicity and fundamentalism as consequences of the failure of ruling classes in the South to counter the exploitative terms of globalization. This has had profound implications and continues to resonate today. Furthermore, his deconstruction of the Bretton Woods institutions as managerial mechanisms which protect the profitability of capital provides an important insight into the continued difficulties in reforming them. Amin's rejection of the apparent inevitability of globalization in its present polarising form is particularly prophetic - instead he asserts the need for each society to negotiate the terms of its inter-dependence with the rest of the global economy.A landmark work by a key contemporary thinker.

Genres: Economics, Politics, History, Sociology, Nonfiction, Theory, Africa

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Samir Amin (Arabic: سمير أمين) (3 September 1931 – 12 August 2018) was an Egyptian-French Marxian economist, political scientist and world-systems analyst. He is noted for his introduction of the term Eurocentrism in 1988 and considered a pioneer of Dependency Theory.

Reviews

[cunningrocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty good summary of Samir Amin thought. Seems to be a set of MR articles put together. Interestingly some chapters were translated by Beatrice Wallerstein, wife of Immanuel. Diagnoses problems succinctly. Postmodernism catches a few strays in the chapter. Probably don't need to read this if you're familiar with Amin but it was a nice intro.

[Reese Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great analysis of the changes in the international economic structure int he post-WW2 era built upon both world-system theory as well as dependency theory within a Marxist framework; also offers concrete(-ish) solutions for these problems, though the political feasibility and potential for such mobility remains an issue.

[Vusi Gumede · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Samir Amin's outstanding books - his analysis of the pre-colonial African economy is profound, and his recommendations on how the African economy can be reconfigured are robust