The growing contradictions within the empire: an interview with Leo Panitch

Abstract

Following a summary of the basic argument of the book The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire, SPE presents an interview with one of its authors, Leo Panitch—the last he gave before his untimely death. Leo addresses the current political situation in the United States, the impact the Trump administration had on the global order, and the strategic challenges facing socialists and the Left in general.

Keywords:

• Deglobalization
• fascism
• inequality
• internationalization of states
• international relations
• planning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Latin American Social Science Council (CLACSO, in Spanish) has translated into Portuguese and Spanish the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Socialist Register. Ediciones Akal has published the book The Making of Global Capitalism in Spanish. This book won the Deutscher Memorial Prize in 2013.

2 Many tributes have circulated in email lists and others have been published in newspapers and websites. Many, but not all, are available at the website of the Department of Political Science of York University https://pols.laps.yorku.ca/tributes-to-distinguished-research-professor-emeritus-leo-panitch/.

3 Garcia and Bugiato, “As Contribuições Teóricas de Leo Panitch.”

4 Panitch and Gindin, The Making of Global Capitalism, 31–35.

5 Panitch and Gindin, Global Capitalism and American Empire.

6 Garcia, “BRICS Investment Agreements in Africa.”

7 The complete interview is available on the Youtube channel of the International Relations and Marxism Network, https://youtu.be/OXuWbUnSuOQ.

8 Panitch, Renewing Socialism.

9 A group that gained attention in this election was the far-Right chauvinist group “Proud Boys,” reported to often engage in political violence. During the first presidential debate of 2020, Trump was challenged by both the moderator Chris Wallace, who refereed them, as Right-wing militias, and by his contender Joe Biden to name and condemn the group, to which he responded by the famous “stand back and stand by.” This episode echoes Trump’s reaction to the 2017 rally in Charlottesville in which an antifascist protester was killed.

10 The BLM movement—which gained momentum after the brutal police killing of George Floyd in May 2020—led to nationwide marches for racial justice. The movement has been credited for Black voters turning out in key battlegrounds such as Georgia and Pennsylvania.

11 This specific quote is attributed to Horkheimer in the 1939 essay “The Jews and Europe.”

12 A central feature of the 2020 American election was the extreme polarization among electors, showing a deeply divided nation. One of the most outstanding and discussed aspects was the record turnout, the highest since 1900. If Biden has earned the highest number of votes for any presidential candidate in US history, Trump comes second to him. This would be a remarkable result under normal conditions, but during a pandemic it is even more impressive.

13 Panitch and Gindin, Trumping the Empire.

14 Arrighi, The Long Twentieth Century.

15 Chen, “JPMorgan Takes Full Control of Chinese Mutual Fund Joint Venture.”

16 Reuters, “JPMorgan Gets China’s Nod for First Fully Foreign-Owned Futures Business.”

17 Panitch and Gindin, The Making of Global Capitalism.

18 For Panitch and Gindin’s discussion of the Mexican crisis, the IMF SAPs, and the Treasury and Fed’s role in managing it, see The Making of Global Capitalism, 2012, 214–17.

19 Leo Panitch refers to a dialogue that is, in fact, between Max Brod and Franz Kafka, quoted in a book by Walter Benjamin: “Would there be hope, then, outside this world of appearances that we know? He laughed: there is enough hope, infinite hope—but not for us.” Benjamin, Magia e Técnica, Arte e Política, 142 (free translation).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ana Garcia

Ana Garcia teaches at the International Relations Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Debora Gaspar

Debora Gaspar teaches at the Department of Development, Agriculture and Society at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Filipe Mendonça

Filipe Mendonça teaches in the Department of Economics and International Relations at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.