Other Works on Marxist Theory

On this sub-page, we refer to works on Marxist theory which have been published by us in academic journals.

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Chinese Imperialism and the World Economy

By Michael Pröbsting

The second edition of The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism contains an essay by Michael Pröbsting. The Encyclopedia has been edited by Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope. It has been published by Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, in 2020.

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Is India a New Emerging Great Power?

By Michael Pröbsting

The academic Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory has in its latest issue (Volume 48, Issue 1, 2020) published an article by Michael Pröbsting on the development and contradictions of Indian capitalism. The journal is published by the Centre for Study of Socialist Theory and Movements at Glasgow University. Its editor is Professor Hillel Ticktin and, among others, Yassamine Mather, Suzi Weissman, István Mészáros, Latief Parker, and Savas Matsas are members of its Editorial Board.

Abstract

A key issue discussed by observers in world politics is the question if India is becoming a new Great Power. Already six years ago, the British magazine ‘The Economist' asked ‘Can India become a great power?' (30.06.2013). Stratfor- an influential right-wing US geopolitical intelligence company—published an essay last year which deals with the same question (‘India Struggles With Its Strategy for Becoming a Great Power', 23.03.2018). And China's Global Times—the international edition of regime's central organ People's Daily—also discusses ‘India's great power status' (Liu Zongyi: China-India bid can forge united Asia, Global Times, 08.10.2019). There exists even an entry on Wikipedia called ‘India as an emerging superpower'. This question is currently particularly relevant since India has become an important factor in world politics in the recent past—as the catastrophic developments in Kashmir, the tensions at the border with Pakistan and the developments around the US-initiated ‘Indo-Pacific alliance' as well as the China-led RCEP free trade agreement demonstrate. In this essay, we intend to show that India—despite the clear ambitions of its ruling class—has not become an imperialist Great Power and is highly unlikely to become such in the foreseeable future. While it certainly plays an increasing role as a kind of regional or intermediate power, it basically remains a semi-colonial country which does not dominate global economic and political relations. The analysis outlined in this essay is based on several studies on Indian capitalism which the author has published in the last years.

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Great Power Rivalry in the Early Twenty-first Century (Article in the US journal 'New Politics')

By Michael Pröbsting

This article has been written by Michael Pröbsting and was published by the US journal “New Politics” in its edition of summer 2019 (New Politics Vol. XVIII No. 3, Whole Number 67).

Abstract

One of the most important issues of our time is the intensifying rivalry between the imperialist Great Powers: the United States, China, the EU, Russia, and Japan. Diplomatic rows, sanctions, trade wars, military tensions, and, ultimately, major wars now loom as prominent features of the historic period now unfolding. Trade war between the United States and China, tensions in the South China Sea, sanctions between the West and Russia? The prospect of Great Power rivalry has already become the present.

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Capitalism Today and the Law of Uneven Development: The Marxist Tradition and its Application in the Present Historic Period

by Michael Pröbsting

The academic Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory has in its latest issue (Volume 44, Issue 4, 2016) published an article by Michael Pröbsting on the Law of Uneven Development in the Marxist Tradition and its Application in the Present Historic Period. The journal is published by the Centre for Study of Socialist Theory and Movements at Glasgow University. Its editor is Professor Hillel Ticktin and, among others, Yassamine Mather, Suzi Weissman, István Mészáros, Latief Parker, and Savas Matsas are members of its Editorial Board.

Below we republish the abstract of the article. The article can be read here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03017605.2016.1236483

Abstract

The world capitalist system has undergone tremendous changes in the past hundred years. One of the most important developments is the globalization of the capitalist world and the accompanying increasing inequality between the classes as well as between the nations. These developments can only be understood in the framework of the Marxist law of uneven and combined development. This approach was first used by Marx, Engels and Lenin and, in particularly, further developed by Trotsky. The law of uneven and combined development explains how different stages of development as well as different tempos of development in a given society interact with one another and thereby result in different forms or types of development.

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Migration and Super-exploitation: Marxist Theory and the Role of Migration in the present Period of Capitalist Decay

By Michael Pröbsting

The academic Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory has in its latest issue (Volume 43, Issue 3-4, 2015) published an article by Michael Pröbsting on migration and super-exploitation. The journal is published by the Centre for Study of Socialist Theory and Movements at Glasgow University. Its editor is Professor Hillel Ticktin and, among others, Yassamine Mather, Suzi Weissman, István Mészáros, Latief Parker, and Savas Matsas are members of its Editorial Board.

Below we republish the abstract of the article. The article can be read here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03017605.2015.1099846

Abstract

Migration is a central issue in most advanced capitalist countries in the Western world. Today migrants represent a significant sector both of the labor forces as well as of the population. Essentially, migration is part of the fundamental process of the super-exploitation of the so-called Third World by imperialist monopoly capital. Just as the monopoly capital extracts surplus profits from the semi-colonial world, there is also an appropriation of extra profits through migration. Imperialist capital draws profit by paying the migrant workers below the value of their labor force in several ways. As a result migrants can be characterized as ‘a nationally oppressed layer of super-exploited labour force.’

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Росія сьогодні: постання великої імперіалістичної потуги. Емпіричний аналіз із марксистської точки зору

Міхаель Прьобстінг

Introduction in English: The following essay on Russia as an emerging imperialist power has been written by Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the RCIT. It has been translated by and published in the leftist Ukrainian journal «СПІЛЬНЕ» (COMMONS, http://commons.com.ua), №10: Війна і націоналізм. The whole journal can be read and downloaded as a pdf here: http://commons.com.ua/en/zhurnal-spilne-10-vijna-i-natsionalizm/. The article can also be read here: http://commons.com.ua/rosiya-sogodni-postannya-velikoyi-imperialistichnoyi-potugi-empirichnij-analiz-iz-marksistskoyi-tochki-zoru/

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China’s Emergence as an Imperialist Power (Article in the US journal 'New Politics')

by Michael Pröbsting

Below we link to an article on China’s rise as a great imperialist power. The article, written by Michael Pröbsting, was published by the US journal “New Politics” in its edition of Summer 2014 (Vol:XV-1, Whole #: 57)

Abstract

One of the most important issues in world politics today is China’s rise as a great imperialist power. Most left-wing writers consider China either as a “socialist country,” a “deformed workers’ state,” or as a “dependent capitalist country” exploited by Western monopolies. As I have elaborated elsewhere, I believe that such analyses, positions, and terminology deriving from Communist, post-Trotskyist, and dependency theorists fail to understand China’s transformation into an imperialist Great Power during the past decade.