Modernity and Global History
Bidet, Jacques
Modernity and Global History - 2013.
7
The cyclical standpoint involved in world-system theories—which climaxes in the question: Who will be the next hegemon?—would appear to neutralize the Marxist perspective of the ultimate goal: the end of capitalism and class domination. “Global history” offers a profound renewal of our historical knowledge, questioning some of the classical claims of Marxism. In line with the argument made by the author in L’État-monde (2011), it is nevertheless argued here that one cannot be satisfied with a purely systemic conception of the present time. Modernity is a fact not only of the (world-)system but also of (class) structure, “classes” being understood here in terms of a state institution within a nation-state. As a result of the technological developments which it propels, capitalist modernity possesses a structural tendency that leads from a nation-state to a world (class) state that is involved in the world-system. In this sense, the present time can be defined as that of ultimodernity. In this ecological terminus, the human species forms a (class-structured) political community. The tasks of Marxism thus return and are restated in a more complex and more uncertain mode.
Modernity and Global History - 2013.
7
The cyclical standpoint involved in world-system theories—which climaxes in the question: Who will be the next hegemon?—would appear to neutralize the Marxist perspective of the ultimate goal: the end of capitalism and class domination. “Global history” offers a profound renewal of our historical knowledge, questioning some of the classical claims of Marxism. In line with the argument made by the author in L’État-monde (2011), it is nevertheless argued here that one cannot be satisfied with a purely systemic conception of the present time. Modernity is a fact not only of the (world-)system but also of (class) structure, “classes” being understood here in terms of a state institution within a nation-state. As a result of the technological developments which it propels, capitalist modernity possesses a structural tendency that leads from a nation-state to a world (class) state that is involved in the world-system. In this sense, the present time can be defined as that of ultimodernity. In this ecological terminus, the human species forms a (class-structured) political community. The tasks of Marxism thus return and are restated in a more complex and more uncertain mode.
Réseaux sociaux