Towards A Workers-Led Alternative
Bhabani Shankar Nayak
Will the COVID-19 pandemic be the end of globalisation? There are three visible signs which substantiate the end of the globalisation thesis.
The first sign indicates a reversal of capitalist globalisation led by market integrations. People and their nation-states are fighting the pandemic alone. As a result, there is a growth of ultra-nationalist and right-wing forces at the moment. The second sign comes from the response to the global health crisis, and a search for an anti-coronavirus vaccine demands a more coordinated international response. Many countries are cooperating with each other in research and development of the vaccine. The third sign comes from the failure of capitalist states and their healthcare facilities to deal with COVID-19. It’s a known fact that the liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation model has not helped people during the outbreak. The last two signs reveal that it is imperative for a global engagement in better health, sustainable happiness, lasting peace and prosperity for all. It is impossible to have an island of peace and prosperity when the majority of the world population suffers different crises. Therefore, the need of the hour is a search for an alternative system that puts people before profit during all forms of global crisis.
Both progressive and right-wing forces oppose globalisation today, albeit for different reasons. Progressive forces’ opposition towards globalisation is because it marginalises the masses and destroys the environment by exploiting both human beings and nature. The right-wing, on the other hand, is against it because of their narrow, nativist Malthusian predicaments. During the pandemic, the progressive forces have criticised the capitalist state and its failures to fight the challenges put forth by the coronavirus crisis, whereas right-wing forces continue to oppose particular groups of people – Asians, Chinese and migrants – for having ‘spread’ the pandemic.
In this context, there are plenty of debates about the extent to which re-shaping globalisation is necessary to transform the global economy and politics in a post COVID-19 world. This transformation depends on a better understanding of our own experiences and the history of globalisation itself. It is time to move away from the preoccupation with the analyses of the virtues v/s perils of globalisation. Such cost-benefit analyses of globalisation will not help in developing an alternative and universal narrative that will keep people and environment at the core of its vision. The ferocity and proliferation of this pandemic obscures the fundamental global challenges and threats faced by humanity due to the globalisation of capitalism.
Historically, globalisation of capital has been the most dominant force for the last three centuries of world history. In terms of the relationship between capital and labour, globalisation has passed through three different but interrelated stages.
The first stage of globalisation was a period when labour was absolutely free during the processes of production, consumption and distribution. The second phase of globalisation was dominated by western colonialism in Asia, Africa and the Americas. During this phase of globalisation, colonial capital was free to exploit both labour and natural resources in colonised continents, whereas the movement of labour was limited and based only on the requirements of the colonial powers. By the end of the second World War, there was a further limitation on the mobility of labour, but there was relatively higher freedom for the capital. The third phase of globalisation started with the capital-labour accord with the Washington Consensus, which led to the greater economic integration of markets driven by free trade in the world. During this phase of globalisation, developed countries have followed protectionist economic policies and imposed free trade on developing and under-developed countries. Free trade was designed by erstwhile colonial powers in a way that led to the concentration of wealth in the hands of few in the western world.
In order to succeed, the new era of globalisation needs to conceptualise globalisation differently, by moving away from both protectionism and free trade under capitalism. Policies of both protectionism and free trade help in the concentration of wealth and serve the interests of the same capitalist classes. Concentration of wealth has trickled down to the capitalist classes based in post-colonial countries. This has created conditions for a global capitalist alliance to control global resources in which states have become facilitators. The welfare orientations of the states and their role in providing public healthcare facilities were transformed and privatised by capitalist classes in the pursuit of profit, who took over state resources and facilities. As a result, states have failed to face global health challenges like the current pandemic. The competitive and hierarchical culture of capitalism has simply failed in fighting this health crisis.
In this context, intellectuals, public policymakers, and leaders need to articulate a new wave of globalisation, breaking away from its old colonial and capitalist lineages — the ideological and structural delinking of globalisation from its previous regimes and phases. The ideals of “pluriveralism” need to be the organising principles of globalisation, driven by the workers of the world. Surviving the ravages of COVID-19 and other threats to the survival of humanity and environment depend on our commitment to the principles of cooperation. The framework of a democratic dialogue between individuals, states and societies can create meaningful and sustainable alternatives in a world where “one lives for all and all live for one”. The shared vision for a collective global future and its success depend on our ability to embrace our differences. The articulation of and a fundamental commitment to this principle can start a new era of globalisation which is free and fair for all. Such a global perspective can radically transform the world economy, where workers become shareholders of the capital they produce. In this distinct phase of globalisation, it is vital to create cooperative governance systems, which can transform gun, god and globalisation into workers’ internationalism. This is not a utopian idea. Technological and digital revolutions can help in realising the goals of workers’ internationalism and guarantee peace and prosperity to them.
Workers-led democratisation of ownership of technological and digital revolutions can shape the global economy in four significant ways. Firstly, the use of technology increases the productive power of labour. Growth of productive power means labourers need to get the higher share of the value that they add and produce, by which they can enjoy more leisure time with their families and friends. Secondly, a workers-led digital revolution can reduce competitiveness among workers and create conditions for greater cooperation among themselves. Thirdly, the use of technology will bring down the cost of production. This could help consumers to get everyday products at lower costs. Obviously, quality of life increases with declining costs of living. Finally, technology can help in providing information on conditions and cost of production to consumers. This flow of information can create an interactive process and an atmosphere for greater understanding between consumers and producers. In this way, technology can create a social market as a means of exchange by dismantling the digital divide.
The forward march of a workers-led wave of globalisation based on internationalism is the only way to realise the higher goal of universalisation of global citizenship. It goes without saying that this new wave of alternative globalisation and all its possibilities depend on progressive struggles and commitment to work for a better world.
Dr. Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a Senior Lecturer in Business Strategy at Coventry University, UK. Read his piece on the #BlackLivesMatter movement here.
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