Corporate Power, Class Conflict, and the Crisis of the New Globalization

(Hardback)

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Transnational corporations have used their market and political power in the U.S., the European Union and Japan to expand global production on terms that are highly favorable to corporate interests. Through a detailed history of the establishment of global value chains, Ronald W. Cox examines how corporations have internationalized production by working directly with political elites to establish terms of investment and trade that facilitate working class exploitation. He also examines the political implications of the growing gap between the global rich and the working class, including the increasing illegitimacy of corporate-backed governments in the United States and the European Union. The author concludes the book with suggestions for how the global working class can fight for their own interests in the context of the rising threats of far-right extremism and neo-fascist political movements.

Reviews

By bringing class analysis back into structural studies of International Political Economy, Cox provides substantive insight into the origins of the current antagonism toward globalization among workers in rich and poor countries alike. The book is an important counter-point to liberal assumptions about trade and investment. -- Kathryn C. Lavelle, Case Western Reserve University
Corporate Power, Class Conflict and the Crisis of the New Globalization is a tour-de-force of critical sociology, meticulously researched and innovative in its approach to global capitalism. The book contributes both to our understanding and to the urgent quest for transformative change. -- William K. Carroll, University of Victoria
Ronald Cox's new study of the politics and economics of globalization is well researched and lucidly written. You do not need to agree with all of it to recognize its importance and relevance. -- Thomas Ferguson, professor emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Author Bio

Ronald W. Cox is professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University.