by Samir Amin

Introduction

No social or perhaps even natural phenomenon evolves in a regular, constant and indeterminate way. The same also holds for capitalist growth, whose phases of rapid expansion are necessarily followed by periods of difficult readjustment. From this is point of view the post-war years (1945–90) formed an exceptional period of strong generalised growth, entering into crisis in the 1970s and 1980s. This evolution has inspired a revival of long cycle, or Kondratieff, theories, whose merits I won’t discuss here, having done so elsewhere.

Globalisation and socialist strategy

The hackneyed term “globalisation" is simultaneously capital’s “explanation” as to why all attempts to subvert the system are quixotic, but also a rough pointer to a complex, and often baffling, new reality challenging all who still strive to build the socialist alternative.