Vishwas Satgar - BRICS and the New American Imperialism: Global Rivalry and Resistance

Series Editor: Vishwas Satgar

The crisis of Marxism in the late twentieth century was the crisis of orthodox and vanguardist Marxism associated mainly with hierarchical communist parties, and imposed, even as state ideology, as the correct Marxism. The Stalinisation of the Soviet Union and its eventual collapse exposed the inherent weaknesses and authoritarian mould of vanguardist Marxism. More fundamentally, vanguardist Marxism was rendered obsolete but for its residual existence in a few parts of the world, including within authoritarian national liberation movements in Africa and in China.

With the deepening crises of capitalism, a new democratic Marxism (or democratic historical materialism) is coming to the fore. Such a democratic Marxism is characterised by the following:

This series seeks to elaborate the social theorising and politics of democratic Marxism.

Michelle Williams and Vishwas Satgar (eds). 2013. Marxisms in the 21st Century: Crisis, Critique and Struggle. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

Vishwas Satgar (ed.). 2015. Capitalisms Crises: Class Struggles in South Africa and the World. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

Vishwas Satgar (ed.). 2018. The Climate Crisis: South African and Global Democratic Eco-Socialist Alternatives. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

Vishwas Satgar (ed.). 2019. Racism after Apartheid: Challenges for Marxism and Anti-Racism. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

GLOBAL RIVALRY AND RESISTANCE

Edited by Vishwas Satgar

Published in South Africa by:

Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg 2001

www.witspress.co.za

Compilation Vishwas Satgar 2020
Chapters Individual contributors 2020
Published edition Wits University Press 2020

First published 2020

http://dx.doi.org.10.18772/22020035287

978-1-77614-528-7 (Print)
978-1-77614-566-9 (Hardback)
978-1-77614-563-8 (PDF)
978-1-77614-564-5 (EPUB)
978-1-77614-565-2 (Mobi)
978-1-77614-576-8 (Open Access PDF)

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This book is freely available through the OAPEN library (www.oapen.org) under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

The publication of this volume was made possible by funding from the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung and through a grant received from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Project manager: Inga Norenius
Copyeditor: Inga Norenius
Proofreader: Tessa Botha
Indexer: Margaret Ramsay
Cover design: Hothouse, South Africa
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Vishwas Satgar

William K. Carroll

Ferrial Adam

Patrick Bond

Ana Garcia and Karina Kato

Chris Chase-Dunn

Samir Amin

Keamogetswe Seipato

Alexander Gallas

Nivedita Majumdar

Table 2.1 Historical eras of imperialism

Table 2.2 Composition of the Top 50 fossil corporations, 2018

Table 2.3 The most central fossil corporations in the global interlock network

Table 4.1 Changes in the IMF top ten owner-countries voting shares, 20102019

Figure 1.1 US cycles of hegemony and crisis

Figure 2.1 Twelve minor components in the network

Figure 2.2 Three communities in the fossil-capital network

Figure 2.3 Interlocks among eight major fossils and 23 financial institutions, 2018

Figure 3.1 The increasing water conflicts at a subnational level, 19312011

Figure 4.1 Steel overaccumulation driven by China

Figure 4.2 Producer price index for iron and steel, 20022019

Figure 4.3 Profit flows, 20152017 (average dividend receipts as a per cent of dividend payments)

Figure 5.1 Vales business units in Mozambique

Figure 5.2 World Banks spatial development initiatives and growth poles

T his volume owes a special debt to the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Without their support it would have been impossible to hold a contributors workshop in South Africa and to ensure the manuscript was prepared for publication. The use of the conferencing space at their office provided a conducive space for engagement during the contributors workshop. We are also grateful for the support given by the Co-operative and Policy Centre (COPAC), which played a central role in organising the workshop convened with contributors and activists from various social movements and community organisations. The support given by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences has enabled the digitisation of this volume. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge the editorial assistance provided by Jane Cherry from COPAC. Her efforts were crucial for keeping things on track. The efforts of Courtney Morgan and Aaisha Domingo, working with Jane Cherry, are also appreciated. Special thanks to Professor Michelle Williams for her supportive feedback during this project. Finally, our sincerest appreciation to the team at Wits University Press, particularly Veronica Klipp, Roshan Cader and Corina van der Spoel, for supporting this volume and the Democratic Marxism series.