Background
I published a book in 1997 – Capitalism and Democracy in the Third World – that was essentially a critique of then current theories of development. It argues that mainstream development theory centred on a ‘doctrine of political development’ that aimed to adapt political participation everywhere to the constraints imposed by the global system of competitive capitalism. While writing it, I had started to look at the World Bank, and that led me to read the annual World Development Reports from 1990 onwards. That led in turn to a series of articles that culminated in ‘What the World Bank Means by Poverty Reduction and Why It Matters’ (2004). My argument then was essentially the same as it is now: that since 1990 the World Bank has been systematically promoting the proletarianisation of the world’s poor (their equipping for, incorporation into and subjection to competitive labour markets), along with the creation of an institutional framework within which global capitalist accumulation could be sustained and legitimated through policies of controlled participation and ‘pro-poor’ propaganda. I saw its objective as the systematic transformation of social relations and institutions in the developing world, in order to generalise and facilitate proletarianisation and capitalist accumulation on a global scale, and build specifically capitalist hegemony by infusing all areas of life with its logic in an effort to bring all thought and behaviour into line with it. At the same time, I came to the conclusion that the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) was performing a parallel role in relation to the developed countries, and that unlike the World Bank, it had hardly been studied at all. This led to the first outline of what became the book, in ‘The Politics of Global Competitiveness’, 2006. What is original about the book, I would say, is first that it identifies a single global project, carried forward particularly by the World Bank and the OECD in tandem, and second that it sees this project as intended to establish the capitalist mode of production on a global scale, and secure as far as possible the conditions for its hegemony. I developed the argument in a number of ways over the following years, initially through a series of complementary studies of the multilateral development banks and the UNDP. But as I was doing so, it became clear that some of the most important developments in the project were taking place in Europe, involving a close partnership between the OECD, the World Bank, and the European Commission. So the final version of the book leaves out the material on the multilateral development banks (texts included below and available in the Archive), and focused instead on the joint efforts of those partners to reform welfare and raise the proportion of the population in paid work by devising strategies to reach sectors such as single mothers with young children that were in their view ‘under-employed’. Then, because these and other developments raised issues concerning the changing role of the household in relation to capitalist production, I wrote a paper on ‘Marx and social reproduction’ (2020) that appears in somewhat different form as the first chapter, following a brief introduction. Chapter 2 then covers the role of the OECD from its founding in 1961, and Chapter 3 covers the World Bank, from 1978, when the first World Development Report was published. Chapter 4 applies Marx’s general law of social production to the joint OECD, World Bank and the European Commission project on combatting joblessness, Chapter 5 addresses the social politics of competitiveness on a global scale, and the final chapter looks at what the responses to COVID-19 on the part of the OECD and the World Bank tells us about the politics of competitiveness. The only other thing I would say, in introducing the book, is that although I first formulated the ideas in it around the turn of the century, the most compelling evidence supporting the argument has emerged since then. So I do think I’m on to something.
Background texts:
Capitalism and Democracy in the Third World, 1997.
‘Globalization and the Death of Liberal Democracy’, European Review, 6, 2, 1998, 255-269.
‘Interpreting ASEM: interregionalism and the new materialism’, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 4, 1, March 1999, 13-32.
‘Making the Poor Work for Globalisation?’, New Political Economy, 6, 3, November 2001, 397-408.
‘Making Poverty Work’, in L. Panitch and C. Leys, eds, A World of Contradictions: Socialist Register 2002, Merlin Press, 2001, 193-210.
‘Neoliberalism, the World Bank, and the New Politics of Development’, in U. Kothari and M. Minogue, eds, Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives, Palgrave, 2002, 157-178.
‘Attacking the Poor’, New Left Review, 2/13, Jan-Feb 2002, 125-134.
‘The Governance of Global Capitalism’, Historical Materialism, 11, 2, 2003, 37-59.
‘What the World Bank Means by Poverty Reduction and Why It Matters’, New Political Economy, 9, 2, 2004, pp. 189-211.
‘The Politics of Global Competitiveness’, Papers in the Politics of Global Competitiveness, No. 1, Institute for Global Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, e-space Open Access Repository, November 2006.
‘Global Governance, State Agency and Competitiveness: the Political Economy of the Commission for Africa’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 8, 3, 2006, 331-350.
‘UN Imperialism: unleashing entrepreneurship in the developing world’, in Colin Mooers, ed, The New Imperialists: Ideologies of Empire, Oneworld Publications, 2006, 229-260.
‘Convergence and Competitiveness: The Open Method of Coordination in Latin America’, Papers in the Politics of Global Competitiveness, No. 5, Institute for Global Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, e-space Open Access Repository, March 2007.
‘Poverty Reduction and Universal Competitiveness’, Labour, Capital and Society, 42, 1&2, 2009, 32-54.
‘The Shape of Capitalism to Come’, Antipode, 41, S1, 2010, 262-280.
‘The G20, the Crisis, and the Rise of Global Developmental Liberalism’, Third World Quarterly, 33, 1, February 2012, pp 1-16.
‘Risk, Social Protection and the World Market’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 42, 3, 2012, 359-377.
‘The Asian Development Bank and the Asian Financial Crisis: Openness and Inclusion, 1997-2000’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 1, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, January 2013.
‘The Asian Development Bank between the Crises: The Pursuit of Competitiveness, 2001-2007’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 2, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, February 2013.
‘The Asian Development Bank and the Global Financial Crisis: Asian Global Leadership, 2008-2012’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 3, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, March 2013.
‘Socio-economic Rights in the World Market: China, India, and the Gang of Four’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 4, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, April 2013.
‘The Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Financial Crisis: Promoting Productive Development’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 5, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, September 2013.
‘The World Development Report 2015: Programming the Poor, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 7, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, 2014.
‘What International Organizations Do, and Why They Do It’, Spectrum, 7, 1, 2015, 62-77.
‘The Multilateral Development Banks in the Global Political Economy’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 8, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, May 2015.
‘World Market Regionalism at the Asian Development Bank’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 46, 2, 2016, 173-197.
‘The UNDP, the World Bank, and Human Development through the World Market’, Development Policy Review, 35, 1, 2017, pp. 3-21.
‘The OECD and the World Market: Antecedents of Deep Marketisation’, Globalizations, 61, 6, 2019, pp. 804-818.
‘Marx on Social Reproduction’, Historical Materialism, 28, 2, 2020, 76-106.
Background texts:
Capitalism and Democracy in the Third World, 1997.
‘Globalization and the Death of Liberal Democracy’, European Review, 6, 2, 1998, 255-269.
‘Interpreting ASEM: interregionalism and the new materialism’, Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 4, 1, March 1999, 13-32.
‘Making the Poor Work for Globalisation?’, New Political Economy, 6, 3, November 2001, 397-408.
‘Making Poverty Work’, in L. Panitch and C. Leys, eds, A World of Contradictions: Socialist Register 2002, Merlin Press, 2001, 193-210.
‘Neoliberalism, the World Bank, and the New Politics of Development’, in U. Kothari and M. Minogue, eds, Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives, Palgrave, 2002, 157-178.
‘Attacking the Poor’, New Left Review, 2/13, Jan-Feb 2002, 125-134.
‘The Governance of Global Capitalism’, Historical Materialism, 11, 2, 2003, 37-59.
‘What the World Bank Means by Poverty Reduction and Why It Matters’, New Political Economy, 9, 2, 2004, pp. 189-211.
‘The Politics of Global Competitiveness’, Papers in the Politics of Global Competitiveness, No. 1, Institute for Global Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, e-space Open Access Repository, November 2006.
‘Global Governance, State Agency and Competitiveness: the Political Economy of the Commission for Africa’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 8, 3, 2006, 331-350.
‘UN Imperialism: unleashing entrepreneurship in the developing world’, in Colin Mooers, ed, The New Imperialists: Ideologies of Empire, Oneworld Publications, 2006, 229-260.
‘Convergence and Competitiveness: The Open Method of Coordination in Latin America’, Papers in the Politics of Global Competitiveness, No. 5, Institute for Global Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, e-space Open Access Repository, March 2007.
‘Poverty Reduction and Universal Competitiveness’, Labour, Capital and Society, 42, 1&2, 2009, 32-54.
‘The Shape of Capitalism to Come’, Antipode, 41, S1, 2010, 262-280.
‘The G20, the Crisis, and the Rise of Global Developmental Liberalism’, Third World Quarterly, 33, 1, February 2012, pp 1-16.
‘Risk, Social Protection and the World Market’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 42, 3, 2012, 359-377.
‘The Asian Development Bank and the Asian Financial Crisis: Openness and Inclusion, 1997-2000’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 1, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, January 2013.
‘The Asian Development Bank between the Crises: The Pursuit of Competitiveness, 2001-2007’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 2, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, February 2013.
‘The Asian Development Bank and the Global Financial Crisis: Asian Global Leadership, 2008-2012’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 3, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, March 2013.
‘Socio-economic Rights in the World Market: China, India, and the Gang of Four’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 4, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, April 2013.
‘The Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Financial Crisis: Promoting Productive Development’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 5, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, September 2013.
‘The World Development Report 2015: Programming the Poor, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 7, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, 2014.
‘What International Organizations Do, and Why They Do It’, Spectrum, 7, 1, 2015, 62-77.
‘The Multilateral Development Banks in the Global Political Economy’, Working Papers Series: The Multilateral Development Banks and the Global Financial Crisis, No. 8, Southeast Asian Research Centre, City University of Hong Kong, May 2015.
‘World Market Regionalism at the Asian Development Bank’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 46, 2, 2016, 173-197.
‘The UNDP, the World Bank, and Human Development through the World Market’, Development Policy Review, 35, 1, 2017, pp. 3-21.
‘The OECD and the World Market: Antecedents of Deep Marketisation’, Globalizations, 61, 6, 2019, pp. 804-818.
‘Marx on Social Reproduction’, Historical Materialism, 28, 2, 2020, 76-106.