The New Globalization Guru?

“The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, and establish connections everywhere…. Modern Industry has converted the little workshop of the patriarchal master into the great factory of the industrial capitalist.” Philosopher Karl Marx made some uncanny predictions, describing the modern capitalist world in global terms, in his 1848 Communist Manifesto. This article highlights a debate about Marx and his thoughts on globalization, between Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm and author and economist Jacques Attali. More capitalists concede that Marx offered a worthy assessment of the phenomenon of globalization. Suggesting that free trade was a condition of progress, Marx identified China and India as potential partners of capitalism. He also cautioned that capitalism would struggle to manage the many tensions associated with global economic growth. The world population continues to expand rapidly, with half living in poverty. The environmental and economic challenges will require worldwide organization, demanding some “compromise between the market and democracy.” – YaleGlobal