Excerpt: /386/ Reading Club: Globalisation (III & IV)

Jan 29, 2024

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Double episode! On Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing. [Patreon Tier II & III Exclusive] We wrap up the 2023 syllabus by taking on the second half of Arrighi's book, in which he analyses the over-reach and decline of the US empire, and whether China's rise and role in world affairs presents a different model, one that might be more peaceful. We discuss:

How important was the neo-cons' Project for a New American Century?
What were the long-term consequences of the Iraq invasion?
What do we make of Arrighi's theoretical account of imperialism and the tension between territorial and capitalistic logics?
Did the USA represent a "world state" after WWII, and how did it fail?
What is the world-historic meaning of China’s development?
Do we buy Arrighi’s attempt at a Smithean vision of inter-civilizational harmony?

Links:

Adam Smith in Beijing:Lineages of the Twenty-First Century, Giovanni Arrighi
/305/ Techno-Feudal Unreason - on 'political' capitalism and plunder
/250/ Oil & Disorder ft. Helen Thompson - on imperialism, the world system and energy
/195/ No Shock China ft. Isabella Weber - on China avoiding neoliberal shock-therapy