Coming to Terms with Contemporary Capitalism: Beyond the Idealism of Globalisation and Capitalist Ascendancy Arguments

This article challenges the prevailing orthodoxy which suggests that contemporaryglobal capitalism is in the ascendancy. In the context of an evaluation of theextensive literature supporting the ascendancy argument and a brief synopsis ofempirical evidence supporting a decline thesis, a number of alternative theoriesof capitalist transition are then assessed. It is argued that each theory, indifferent ways, offers an inadequate explanation of contemporary capitalistdevelopment. On the basis of this assessment, the article then contributes to atheory of capitalist decline by examining and explaining the importance of theMarxist conception of social law, the law ofvalue and the role of gold as world money, to anunderstanding of contemporary capitalism's transition and decline. [1]