MODULE 2. KEY IPE THEORIES.
discourse that has emerged, either locally or independent of any conception of the good
1. Liberalism and Neoliberalism
Liberalism
● the dominant economic and political
proposition of the free market that
encompasses a broad range of theorists and
historical contexts over the course of history.
(Dunn, 2009)
Neoliberalism
● came to dominate the economic profession
and international policy circles, at least for a
while. Liberalism proved adaptable to the
times. What was once at the margin moved to
center stage. (Dunn, 2009)
● the doctrine that market exchange is an ethic
in itself, capable of acting as a guide for all
human action (Harvey, 2005)
Discussion Points on @NeoliberalHell
● Despite the deep crisis of neoliberalism, there
has been no credible alternative paradigm or
international (Bello, 2009) (Holowchak, 2006)
● Getting over neoliberalism, in short, will ● Dunn
involve getting beyond the worship of numbers ○ The great achievement and limitation
that often act as a shroud to the real, beyond of liberalism
the scientism that masks itself as science ○ Early Liberalism
(Bello, 2009) ■ Invisible Hand: The market, left
The Literature: Dunn + Bello to itself, allowed the free play of
● Global Political Economy: A Marxist Critique individual interests to distribute
(Dunn, 2009) efficiently.
○ The basics and scope of liberalism ○ New Individualism
within a Marxist analysis of historical ■ Psychological Hedonism:
and material conditions. People are naturally lazy and
● Neoliberalism as Hegemonic Ideology (Bello, try to maximize their utility
2009) ○ Methodological Individualism
○ The application of the Neoliberal ■ The individual is conceptually
hegemony to the Southeast Asian and prior and independent of social
Philippine context, history and at the institutions
present moment ○ Liberal economics exaggerates
competitive individualism
● Bello
○ Aquino's technocrats pushed down
capital expenditures as a proportion of
the national budget from 26 to 16
percent
○ Executive Order 264
○ Asian Financial Crisis
○ Prioritization of economic development
at the expense of the protection of the
Individualism: The Free Marketplace of Ideas
individual
● People are autonomous and self-contained
individuals, whose rights are prior to and
Free Markets: Competitive Individualism
● Can be understood as a central tenet in the
realm of classical liberalism.
○ Limited Government Intervention and
regulation
■ Competitive
Individualism/Market
● Marginal Utility
● Dunn
○ “Free-market models are the most
plausible at the individual level (p.21)”
● Bello
○ ...Concentrated wealth and power to
technocrats and elite class circles
● How do liberals define and understand
freedom?
The Minimal State: Limiting State Powers
● Dunn
○ The concept of minimal state is a
contradiction.
■ How can a strong state be
minimal?
○ Commodification as uninterrupted by
the state
○ “National security remained
legitimate sphere of state activity and
escalating arms budgets have been
compatible with liberalization” (p 25)
○ Externalities
● Bello
○ The Philippine neoliberals perceived
that the success of our neighbors was
due to the hegemony of the market
○ Radical tariff liberalization and foreign
investment regimes, and international
organizations
○ Corruption discourse
Malcolm X: “There are many whites who are trying to
solve the problem. But you never see them going
under the label of liberal. That white person you see
calling himself a liberal is the most dangerous thing in
the entire Western Hemisphere. He’s the most
deceitful, he’s like a fox, and the fox is always more
dangerous in the forest than the wolf. You can see the
wolf coming, you know what he’s up to. But the fox
will fool you, he comes at you with his mouth shaped
in such a way that even though you see his teeth you
think he’s smiling.”
● Reflection: What does this quote say or imply
about the concepts of:
○ Individualism and the Free Market of
Ideas
○ Free Markets and Competitive
a Individualism
○ The Minimal State and Limiting State
powers
2. Mercantilism
Mercantilism
● “’[T]he policy of merchants’. Merchants trade.”
(p. 32)
● Extracting resources from a colony, sending
these back to the mother country to process
as manufactured goods and selling these back
to the colonies or to other countries at a profit.
● A system which would come to be known as a
national economy.
Economic nationalism
● Zero-sum game: one country’s gain meant
another's loss.
● The colonial powers imposed tariffs on the
exportation of raw materials and created state
monopolies on the most lucrative products.
● This shielded local industries from foreign
competition and organized rather than freed
trade.
The Case of Britain
● Britain encouraged the importation of raw
materials like wool, cotton, linen, dyestuffs,
and leather and banned the importation of
manufactured goods.
● Creating a native manufacturing industry and
protecting other infant industries which allowed
Britain to accumulate wealth and begin
founding its own colonies.
Free Trade
● Advocates for the least amount of government
intervention in the economy as possible.
 ● The uninterrupted flow of goods in the market
will benefit both consumers and producers.
Azcárraga’s critique of mercantilism
● Azcárraga critiques Spanish mercantilist ideas
and biases, which he blames for inhibiting the
Philippines' development opportunities over
centuries.
● Review authored by Emmanuel de Dios for the
University of the Philippines School of
Economics.
Galeão de Manila
● Annual round trips across the Pacific between
Manila, in the Philippines, and Acapulco, in
present Mexico between 1565–1815 for trade.
● Vital to Spain's trade within its empire until
around 1785 when the Philippines were finally
opened up to other European traders.
‘Wrong-headed’ Spanish policies
● Issue of the Propagandistas towards
wrong-headed Spanish policies.
● Philippines as a ‘booming sector’ or suffering
from ‘Dutch Disease’
● “[W]hen people from Manila found an easy
method of getting rich, they neglected
everything”. (p.109)
Philippines in a state of ‘paralysis’
● Azcarraga posed a development puzzle. He
asks: “[c]onsidering its locational, climatic, and
other natural similarities with (and indeed,
advantages over) other colonies in the region,
why is the Philippines less developed and less
prosperous than the latter?” (p. 114)
● Spain’s neglect of the islands, which for
centuries were relegated to being an
appendage of Mexico – the colony of a colony
● The country’s distance, unfamiliarity and
inhospitable climate may have served as a
powerful disincentive
● No large-scale settlement to ‘kick start’
development
Four epochs of commercial history
1. Legazpi’s arrival to 1593
2. The Royal Decree of 1593 that established
Manila-Acapulco trade to 1750.
3. From 1750 to when the galleon trade existed
alongside direct trade between Philippines and
Peninsular Spain
4. 1834 to the opening of Manila and other ports
to international shipping
Criticisms on Galeão de Manila
● Limiting trade between the Philippines and
Mexico exclusively, restricting trade
engagement to citizens of Manila while
prohibiting Philippine residents from directly
sailing to China for trade purposes.
● Annual voyage imposed limitation,
● Limitation on value and volume of trade
● Restrictions were heavily influenced by
Andalusian, competitor of Chinese silk
● 1720-1723: explicit prohibition on the
transportation of Chinese silk
● Prohibition on Spanish subjects, particularly
those from the Philippines, from directly
procuring merchandise from China, India, and
other Asian ports
● Criticized to realize Philippines dynamic gains
and loss from the trade
Criticisms on mercantilism by Basco
● Mercantilist approach extended beyond mere
restrictions on imports and outflows of metal
species and began to prioritize domestic
production with the aim of potential export.
● Some restrictions that were mandated during
Galleon Trade were lifted
● “A second mandate of the Royal Philippine
Company was to invest part of its capital in the
development of manufacturing and agricultural
products. This initiative was a departure from
the earlier type of mercantilism centered on
protecting Spanish industry (particularly the
Andalusian textile industry) that had motivated
the restrictive policies on the galleon trade.”
(p.129)
Birth of ‘Economic Nationalism’
● Royal Philippine Company’s actions align with
economic nationalist ideals of promoting
domestic production, fostering economic
autonomy, and strengthening the nation's
economic position in the global market.
Free trade and development
● Azcárraga's trade vision: Focus on exporting
resource-based goods (sugar, tobacco, abaca,
cotton) to fund imports of manufactured
products (pp. 130-131).
 ● Critical stance: Azcárraga questions forced
export promotion, expressing reservations
about prioritizing exports, including agricultural
items, over a laissez-faire approach (p. 133).
Free trade as an engine of growth
● As a vent for surplus for the export of goods in
accordance with absolute advantage
● As a vehicle for domestic capital accumulation
● As a means to attract foreign capital and new
technology
Azcárraga and Smith
● Divergent Perspectives: Azcárraga prioritizes
the carrying trade, contrary to Smith's
emphasis on opulence progression.
● Critical Element: Azcárraga sees the carrying
trade as vital for Filipino development,
challenging Smith's stance.
● Common Ground: Both stress capital's
importance, differing in preferred routes.
● Unrestrained carrying trade attracts capital,
fostering agriculture and manufacturing
growth.
Welfare effects of free trade
● Material well-being priority: Emphasis on
improving living conditions for Filipinos beyond
fiscal and political gains.
● Lower prices, increased abundance:
Envisioning the positive impact of free trade on
local prosperity.
● Immediate benefits of imports: Contrasting
with mercantilists, Azcárraga highlights the
positive effects of imports on consumption and complex journey towards Philippine
productivity. independence.
Liberal trade policies
● Spain's "Glorious Revolution" (1868): 2.2. Realism and Neorealism
Successive liberal governments in the What is realism
Philippines. ● a theory in international relations that
● Emphasis on Economic Reforms: Delicate prioritizes state security and power interests
balance due to political complexities. within an anarchic international system.
● Transition to Export Economy: Trade
liberalization, port openings, and tariff
reductions attract foreign capital.
● Unprecedented Regional Specialization:
Focus on sugar and abaca cultivation
transforms the Philippines. Overview of Dunn’s Framework
Subsistence to export-oriented ● Multifaceted approach
● Liberalized trade attracts foreign investments, ● Critique of the Separation of Politics and
turning the Philippines into a commercial hub. Economics
● Regional Specialization: Unprecedented focus ● Nationalism
on sugar and abaca cultivation leads to unique ● Multidimensional Power
regional economic dynamics.
● Panay's Struggle: Displacement of the
weaving industry in Panay brings widespread
unemployment and food production
challenges.
Unforeseen consequence
● Free trade, beyond economic gains, sparks a
demand for political rights and freedoms.
● Ideological Exposure: Exposure to liberal
ideologies abroad, facilitated by prosperity,
What is neorealism?
triggers transformative ideas.
● a theory in international relations that
● Struggle for Independence: The pursuit of
emphasizes the role of power politics and
political freedoms becomes a catalyst for the
 structural constraints within an anarchic international relations.” (Azzara & Sholeh, 2.3. Institutionalism
international system. 2022) Institutionalism in a nutshell
Historical Overview: Communism vs Democracy ● This approach sheds light on the role of
● Contesting ideologies date back to the Qing institutions (states, corporations, rules, norms,
dynasty practices, etc.) in shaping behavior of society,
● The Chinese Communist Party first emerged politics, and outcomes in the international
in 1927 political economy
Overview of Dunn’s Framework ● Those that practiced democracy occupied the ● Game of Chess Metaphor of a chess game
● Examples of Game Theory: area of Taiwan - Republic of China (ROC) 1. Institutions as rulers
○ Prisoner’s Dilemma ● Those that practiced communism formed the 2. People as entities that follow rules
○ Stag Hunt People’s Republic of China (PRC) and claimed 3. Interactions as the dynamics between
● The merging of the political and the economic sovereignty over Taiwan the institutions and the people
4. Presence of fair play and order
Introduction
● Scholars have viewed corporate globalization
as a challenge in viewing power from a
state-centric perspective (Strange 1996,
1998).
● According to Dunn, corporate power can
influence leading states and even dominate
smaller states which means that these
China and Taiwan: Theory Application in Territorial
institutions are not mere means to achieve a
Disputes
goal but rather play a role.
● An example of corporate power dominating
smaller states would be the tobacco industry.
● In examining political economy in international
relations, we have to highlight the influence of
supra- state institutions going beyond
individual nations.
● “The assumptions of realism can be witnessed ● It becomes difficult to view political economy
directly by the occurrence of conflicts in through state-centric realism.
Institutionalism (Dunn 2009)
● Four interacting structures:
○ Security
○ Production
○ Finance
○ Knowledge
● “Formula of IPE should incorporate multiple
authorities, multiple markets, the variable mix
of basic values, and their allocation among
states, classes, generations, genders and
multiple social groups and associations.”
(Strange, 1996)
● In the IPE literature, theory and institutions are
interconnected and constructed through
history (Reinert 2005).
● Veblen (1964, 1998): “Institutions embody
habitual practices and beliefs, evolving
through time, but outliving their particular
members.”
○ Institutions govern and condition
behavior (Hodgson 1993).
● “That capitalism is necessarily ‘embedded’ in
social and political practices has become a
common objection to recent strands of
dogmatic liberalism (Polanyi 2001)”
Institutionalism (Snidal 1996)
● Institutions are more than formal organizations
with permanent staff (Keohane 2005). They
are also the diverse habitual practices, which
shape behavior and which precisely
undermine presumptions of individual
rationality…
Criticisms or endogenous (shaped by state
● On Institutional Economics: Failed to produce behavior)
a hard science and was better regarded as a ○ When examining the role of
descriptive economic sociology. international institutions, while they
● Institutional factors are hard to quantify as they play an efficiency- enhancing role
are ever- changing domestically, looking at it in the
● The absence of explicit theory leaves intact all international arena requires
sorts of implicit assumptions about how the acknowledging both power dynamics
world works and the explanatory priorities. and and diversity among states
● In response to such criticisms, authors have ● Institutions vs Anarchy
pushed for an openly ‘eclectic’ political ○ Anarchy (term anchored on Hobbes) -
economy where daily life is affected by the
○ “Plea for academic tolerance” possibility of violence and loss of
○ Eclectic = “to borrow freely from security. Therefore, international
different sources” institutions are then unimportant.
○ Anarchy = lack of institutions; little to
no place for institutions in
decision-making in an anarchical
society
○ International politics are anarchic but
domestic politics are hierarchic
○ Do institutions play a big role in
anarchical environments?
■ NO. They are recognized but
they don’t affect much on big
decision-making processes.
● Main points
● Duality of institutions: exogenous and
○ It brings light to the idea of
endogenous
“international anarchy” and whether
○ Exogenous = external forces, from
institutions shall be treated as
outside the state
exogenous (external to state behavior)
○ Endogenous = internal forces, from
within the state
 ○ “...institutions combine voluntary choice
and subsequent constraint.”
● Distribution, power, and other limits to the
efficiency of institutions
○ Efficiency is the key determinant in
many legal decisions.
○ Institutions vary;
○ Institutions are not fixed.
● Limits
○ No strong canon
○ Conception of optimality
○ Designed to achieve different goals
Serve a distributive process
○ May serve purposes of power or
control rather than efficiency
○ May serve neither any other goal nor
the distributive interest of any group
● Why Snidal?
○ Overview of the history behind the
creation of the new institutionalism
theory
○ In-depth discussion of the roles of
institutions, which supplements Dunn’s
arguments.
○ Institutions are not recognized in an
anarchical environment
○ Highlights institutions’ dual nature
○ Empirical example
3.1. Constructivism
What is constructivism?
● Constructivism is one of the critical
approaches to IPE that is based on the belief
that there is no objective social or political
reality independent of our understanding on it,
thus, highlighting the social construction of
reality and the importance of non-material
factors in understanding world order.
Emergence of constructivism
● The recognition of constructivism as a valid
theoretical perspective occurred due to
different factors:
○ Failure of traditional theories to fully
explain or predict global events
○ Rejection of realist claim of materialist
structuralism as the sole driving force
in the global economic system.
○ Recognition of the power of “ideas” and
“ideologies”
○ Liberal claims did not materialize at the
end of the Cold War.
○ Limited theories that challenge
dominant paradigms.
● Constructivism’s claims
1. Changing systems of belief can
potentially undermine material
constraints
a. Material factors are not fixed
and immutable.
b. Rejects the idea that actors are
consistently rational.
2. Values and norms matter. structure contributes to the discussion
a. Nonmaterial things (values and of the shifts and transformation in
norms) influence people’s international order
identities, which in turn ● Provides an alternative understanding of the
influence their interests, and international system that fills in the lapses of
influence how they act. traditional theories
3. Ideas or shared symbols, references, ○ the emergence of new concepts or the
and mutual expectations among actors expansion of the scope of IR and IPE
shape people's behavior and ideas that were not previously realized
interactions. or taken into account by the traditional
a. These shared understandings theories
the basis for mutual ● Helped reinvigorate normative theorizing
predictability of interests and in through the power of ideas, norms, and values
turn actions. ○ analyzes how norms are constructed,
4. Recognizes multifaceted nature of a challenged, and changed throughout
constructed power time and even the ethical
a. Power cannot be constrained considerations that result from these
by objective quantifications Constructivism: Strengths actions—somehow humanizing global
such as amount of wealth and ● More nuanced and context-specific relations
military strength. explanations ○ normative contestation, ideological
5. Structures and agents are mutually ○ provides compelling explanations of conflicts
constitutive the intricacies and discrete aspects of Constructivism: Criticisms
a. There exists an interaction world politics and global economic ● Empirical challenges
involving both the influence of phenomena often ignored by ○ It is idealistic and overly subjective,
ideas on institutional structures conventional thinking as it goes beyond this, resulting in the loss of an
and the impact of institutions on the rationalization of human interests. established foundation upon which it is
shaping and perpetuating ● Account for potential changes and grounded
certain ideas, agents to complexities in state and nonstate behavior ○ lack of falsifiability
structures and vice versa. and actors’ interaction ● Lacks a theory of agency
○ changes in norms and values which ○ indicates that the theory is so focused
have significant implications on social norms and structures that it
ex: mutually constituted agency and ignores the role of agents
 ● Failure to consider that complex and ongoing
interplay between ideas and material world
(Heywood, 2011)
Overview: Key Concepts
● Multinational enterprise (MNE)
○ owns and controls substantial business
operations in multiple countries, such
as Coca-cola, Apple, Unilever, Nestle,
Chevron etc. (Dunning & Lundan,
2008)
● Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
○ a management concept that “describes
how a company contributes to the
well-being of communities and society
through environmental and social
measures” (Reckmann, 2023)
● Norms
○ “Collective expectations for the proper
behavior of actors with a given identity”
● Logic of consequences
○ actors act on the basis of expected
consequences of their behavior in
relation to the gains that they may gain
● Logic of appropriateness
○ actors assess potential outcomes and
choose actions based on their
anticipated consequences.
Overview: Rationalist vs Constructivist
● Rationalist Conception of Actors and Agency
○ Agent-centric point of view
■ Rationally pursue their aims
and preference independently
from social interaction
■ Norms as prescriptive rules,
affecting actors only in
regulative way
○ Logic of consequences
● Constructivist
○ Return to norms
■ Norms as collective social facts;
constitutive effects of norms
○ Logic of appropriateness
■ Actors act appropriately to
situation and identity
Different views on CSR
● Rationalists
○ MNE’s CSR initiatives as a rational
pursuit of their aims
○ MNEs as a prime example of
“efficiency-driven, positive-sum game
institutions”
○ “[t]he social responsibility of business
is to produce profits”
● Constructivists
○ CSR as a bundle of norms that define
appropriate behavior or corporate
actors
○ MNEs as complex social actors which
exceed their goals and functions in
non-utilitarian ways
MNEs as Social Actors
● What motivates private business actors to
participate in CSR?
○ Logic of expected consequences can
and should be integrated into a
comprehensive logic of
appropriateness, where corporate
behavior is guided by the notions of
appropriate action and ideational
motivation
CSR: A New Notion of Appropriate Behavior
● CSR as the appropriate behavior of private
business entities
● Renegotiation of what it means to be a
successful enterprise and restatement of
corporate interests and preferences
● Profit Maximizer to Accountable Business
Actors
● Global-level expectations towards corporate
actors are being articulated
MNEs as Social Actors
● “Why do presumed rational actors consciously
engage in and initiate CSR partnerships in
manners that surpass the assumptions put
forth by classical rational choice approach?”
○ Authors analyze whether or not MNEs
refer to different logic of action when
publicly justifying their behavior
3.2. Feminist Theory ● Limited scope
Introduction ○ The "reification of state sovereignty"
● According to Dunn, “Feminism theory was and the "narrow focus of
reinvigorated through the works of Foucault market-oriented economics," fails to
which described a pervasiveness of power and capture the complexities of gendered
explicitly engaged with questions of sex, power dynamics.
gender, and sexuality. The most obvious ● Masculine constructs
achievement of feminist accounts has been to ○ The IPE Analysis of states and markets
draw the attention to the enormity of gender reflects the values, experiences, and
differences in the global political economy and priorities of men, often excluding or
the way in which they have overlooked by marginalizing those of women.
other perspectives.” Approaches
○ Feminism has had less impact on IPE ● Materialist
than other disciplines, reflecting a ○ sees gendering as a social
particular masculine and construction rooted in material
male-dominated discipline. conditions like capitalism’s exploitation
○ Feminism identified how the position of of a dual labor market and unpaid
women could be ignored or even domestic work
explicitly subordinate within other ● Constructivist
movements including Marxism and ○ emphasizes the role of norms,
movements for black liberation ideologies, and social performativity in
○ There has been an increasing shaping gender and its impact on
awareness of the male-dominated social and economic structures
discipline and the gendered nature of ● Anti-essentialist
the global political economy. ○ rejects singular explanations,
Main Criticisms acknowledging the intersection of
● Overlook on gender gender with other forms of power like
○ IPE has traditionally ignored gender race and class
inequalities, neglecting how concepts
like states and markets are inherently
masculine and exclude women’s
experiences.
The Political Economy of Transnational Business
Feminism (Adrienne Roberts)
● What is TBF
○ TBF translates as “Transnational
Business Feminism”
○ It is an emerging project that has the
following characteristics
■ It is a transnational in scope
■ Ideological underpinnings are in
the instrumental and marketed
logic of the business case for
gender equality
■ Corporations have played an
important role in defining its
parameters
■ Tends to pivot around the 2008
global financial crisis
■ Helps link to certain feminist
ideas and interests to the
interests of global capitalism
● A transnational project
○ It's mainly influenced by global entities
like multinational corporations,
inter-governmental institutions,
international organizations, IFIs, and
certain NGOs.
○ The project operates globally and is
connected to regional banks, OECD
governments, universities, and
academics, particularly in political
science and business departments.
● The business case for gender equality
○ How exactly does TBF fit the business
case for gender equality?
■ The project aligns with the
business case for gender
equality, focusing on
empowering women to
participate in the market
economy as both producers
and consumers. This traces
back to the efficiency approach
of Women in Development
(WID) from the 1980s and
1990s, aiming to integrate
women into the paid labor force
for efficient growth and reduced
gender inequalities. However,
this approach overlooks power
relations and ignores historical
and structural conditions that
perpetuate inequalities between
countries and groups.
○ Gender equality is often associated
with women's access to education,
health services, and political
representation. However, these
benefits, originally provided to men, are
often viewed in instrumentalist terms,
treating women as investments. While
such benefits are seen as cost-saving
for families and communities, and
beneficial for corporate profitability and
national competitiveness, the
 importance of women's empowerment overlooking socio-political implications. ○ lead to higher profits, partly because
beyond economic factors is It underscores the need to consider the heightened
overlooked, including civic socio-political consequences of ○ testosterone levels are linked to risky
participation. adopting a market-oriented view behavior. This positivist approach,
○ Gender equality is valued for both shaped largely by profit-driven focusing on the empirical effect of sex
intrinsic and instrumental reasons, businesses. on risk-taking, overlooks how social
though the latter often receives more ○ Equating gender equality with value for constructs of masculinity and
focus. The World Bank's business- money, as seen in approaches by WEF femininity, and pressures to conform to
oriented approach to gender and others, risks marginalizing broader gender norms, are shaped by power
emphasizes economic theory to social transformations that are less hierarchies.
identify key factors driving differences quantifiable. ○ Another explanation stems from the
in welfare between men and women. ● The role of business economic theory known as the
They argue that access to education, ○ Corporations play a central role in Diversity Prediction Theorem,
health, economic opportunities, and shaping the economic logic behind suggesting that a more diverse group
resources is crucial for development, TBF, often viewing women through a is likely to produce varied responses
as it enhances economic efficiency and homogenized lens, seeing them as and achieve better outcomes.
improves overall development facing barriers to full participation in However, this approach essentializes
outcomes. markets and society. women and overlooks the social power
○ The business case for The Triple ○ Women are increasingly perceived as dynamics that perpetuate inequalities,
Bottom Line (TBF) also aligns with the more risk-averse than men, with framing gender equality within a
Women’s Empowerment Principles longer-term goals, making them seen corporate growth strategy.
(WEP), which not only improve as less risky borrowers likely to ● The crisis as conjecture
women's lives but also integrate prioritize spending on their families. ○ TBF often revolves around the 2008
gender equality into the capitalist This perceived aversion to risk is global financial crisis. Here's why it
market economy. The WEPs legitimize considered an asset that can mitigate was pivotal:
corporations' role in promoting excessively risky behaviors threatening ■ The crisis risked undermining
sustainable development through profitability. the legitimacy of finance-led
gender equality, framing gender ○ In "Womenomics" by Shipman and capitalism, prompting capitalists
oppression in terms of monetary costs. Kay, the asset-to-estrogen ratio to highlight corporations'
However, this perpetuates a suggests that more female employees philanthropic and socially
market-based view of gender inequality ○ responsible behavior, especially
rooted in capitalist notions of value,
 among banks and financial
firms facing severe criticism.
■ Media, governments,
academics, and others
developed gendered narratives
attributing the crisis to unethical
or corrupt behavior by
masculinized individuals.
■ Investing in women and girls as
the most efficient way to
combat global poverty gains
appeal amid widespread
government austerity policies in
both the Global North and
South.
■ Women became viewed as the
solution to the risk-taking
behavior fueled by testosterone
that contributed to the crisis.
● Is the project feminist?
○ Critical feminists oppose positivist
methodologies linking women as a
homogenized category to profitability.
They emphasize understanding power
dynamics in knowledge production and
advocate for engaging with
epistemology in research.
○ Queer feminists, feminists of color,
Third World feminists, and others
highlight the diversity of feminisms.
Some writings explicitly align with a
Western version of liberal feminism
that defines empowerment in terms of
market economy participation.
○ The focus should shift from whether
TBF is feminist to examining how
struggles against gender inequality and
oppression are integrated into a
politico-economic project that
reinforces neoliberal capitalist
frameworks, inherently unequal and
exploitative.
● Toward a critical feminist approach to TBF
○ In contrast to TBF's depoliticized view
of gender inequality, critical feminist
historical materialism highlights how
the market is shaped by power
dynamics between capital and labor, as
well as between genders and other
intersecting lines of oppression. A
political strategy for gender equality
must address the gendered division of
reproductive labor, particularly
intensified under neoliberalism.
Recognizing women's disadvantages
requires understanding gender
inequality as intertwined with structural
inequalities across class, capital-labor
relations, and the international state
system.
● Gendered labor markets and the global
feminization of labor
○ Rather than seeing the market as a
neutral space for equal exchange, it's
argued that capitalism shifted political
powers to the economic sphere,
concealing their operation while
transferring control over goods and
services from lower classes.
○ Under capitalism, exploitation and
oppression are inherent within the
market's structural relations.
○ From a feminist historical materialist
perspective, women joining labor
markets doesn't always lead to their
empowerment.
○ Labor markets remain
gender-segregated, with women often
in low-paid, long-hour, and informal
jobs, and overrepresented in part-time
work, a trend also increasing among
men in many countries.
● Feminization policy
○ Many women, especially in the least
developed countries, face social and
economic barriers to entering the
formal labor force. Instead, they are
heavily involved in household work,
often classified as "non-economic
activity."
○ Gender inequality stems not solely
from women's exclusion from
production, but from the separation of
production from social reproduction,
the sexual division of labor it
reinforces, and the devaluation of
 primarily female-led social reproduction ○ Another issue with TBF is that it girls, with words like "flies,” "husband,"
work. perpetuates the neoliberal "baby," "HIV," and "hunger" appearing
○ The devaluation of gendered macroeconomic conditions that on the screen. It suggests that the
reproductive work persists, as seen in contribute to a highly unequal global solution to this plight is not science, the
TBF's push for women's empowerment economic system, leading to growing Internet, government, or money, but
as producers and consumers while insecurity in social reproduction. simply investing in girls.
state support for social reproduction is ○ TBF literature rarely addresses the ○ The Girl Effect normalizes and
reduced or tied to gendered work contradiction between promoting de-politicizes Nike and other
requirements and conditions, often due gender equality as a macroeconomic corporations' increasing influence in
to fiscal constraints from economic policy and supporting neoliberal defining development and poverty
crises. policies based on deregulated financial alleviation. It suggests that
○ Critics note that targeted social markets and free trade, as advocated development can occur without debt
provisioning stigmatizes programs, by Goldman Sachs and others. forgiveness, state involvement in
deepens divisions among the ● The Girl Effect as an example of TBF progressive social reproduction, or a
population, and imposes new ○ The "Girl Effect" is primarily promoted fairer global political economy.
responsibilities on women, requiring by the Nike Foundation, which shifted ● The girl effect as smart economics
them to participate in health its focus to global poverty alleviation in ○ The Girl Effect framework asserts that
workshops, attend regular health 2004 and discovered that investing in economic and social progress can be
checks, and ensure their children girls had the greatest impact. achieved by: (1) prioritizing girls; (2)
attend school. ○ Investing in adolescent girls is the most funding programs for adolescent girls;
○ While TBF offers a depoliticized and effective way to create positive change and (3) ensuring girls receive equitable
ahistorical narrative, suggesting because when a girl gains educational access to opportunities such as jobs,
empowering women economically is and economic opportunities, the social programs, and human rights.
the smart choice, critical feminists benefits extend beyond her to her ○ While recognizing the role of
emphasize the complexities of linking family, community, and future corporations in advancing the Girl
gender to poverty alleviation. They generations. Effect, the Coalition report primarily
caution against instrumentalist views ○ The Girl Effect's message is emphasizes the role of the state and
that prioritize individual agency of poor straightforward: "Invest in a girl and international donors, with less
women, as it may further individualize she'll take care of the rest." However, it emphasis on corporate responsibility in
the costs of social reproduction and perpetuates a stereotype of girls from promoting gender equality across their
normalize women's roles in it. the Global South as in need of saving. supply chains, despite the dominance
● Macroeconomics The video portrays poverty-stricken
 of agricultural and informal sectors in
poor countries.
● The girl effect as a substitute for
development? The example of Girl Hub
○ The Girl Effect has influenced how
some OECD governments
conceptualize and fund development
programs.
○ The Girl Hub's role is to unleash the
Girl Effect by funding projects for
adolescent girls in developing countries
and connecting policymakers in these
countries with donors.
○ The Girl Hub claims to be “smoothing
the path for the Revolution”
○ In this new framework, Nike and other
corporations' role in shaping DFID's
development approach and producing
"expert" knowledge on gender is
depoliticized.
○ DFID's approach to gender equality is
instrumentalist, focusing on
results-based actions and largely
overlooking the structural causes of
poverty and gender inequality.
○ In "A New Strategic Vision for Girls and
Women," DFID prioritizes four areas:
(1) delaying first pregnancy and
supporting safe childbirth; (2) providing
economic assets directly to girls and
women; (3) ensuring girls complete
secondary school; (4) preventing ○ This article highlights the convergence
violence against girls and women. of corporations, institutions, states, and
○ Creating an "enabling environment" to academics in what seems to be an
achieve these priorities involves emerging transnational business
challenging discrimination, establishing feminism project.
effective legal frameworks to protect ○ While the increased focus on gender
rights, increasing the societal value of inequality holds promise for
girls and women (including by men and transformation, its articulation through
boys), supporting informed the business case for gender equality
decision-making by women, promoting and the blending of public and private
their political participation, and interests neglects key concerns raised
sustaining political commitments to by decades of critical feminist
services that benefit them. scholarship.
○ The structural barriers preventing girls ○ Linking gender equality with corporate
from attending school or controlling profitability overlooks broader
resources are ignored, as are the neoliberal economic structures that
broader macroeconomic conditions sustain gender inequality. It also
perpetuating underdevelopment and perpetuates simplistic views of women
poverty for both genders. and girls while normalizing
○ The Girl Effect framework centralizes corporations' roles in defining
and perpetuates the status quo by development and poverty alleviation.
neglecting to challenge broader This approach offers simplistic
neoliberal macroeconomic frameworks solutions to complex issues rooted in
of power and accumulation. It also intersecting structural inequalities
depoliticizes and legitimizes the private among genders, social classes, and
sector's role in shaping development nations.
and poverty alleviation, framing it as ○ With the growing influence of this
investment by Western individuals and project, there's a call for renewed
corporations in saving girls from the commitment to critical anti-capitalist
Global South. and anti-imperialist feminist
● Final Claims from Roberts scholarship. This scholarship must
disrupt efforts to simplify gender
 equality as a measurable and profitable ■ The nurture of the sun, water, & ○ Marketize then competitively
goal while neglecting to challenge soil. commodify to return freedom
corporate power and neoliberal ■ Ebb-and-flows of the seas that
capitalism. move boats.
Conclusion (Dunn and Roberts) ■ Fossil fuels that operate
● As Dunn’s reading touched upon how machines.
feminism is perceived in the corporate setting, ● Main premise of Green IPE (Dunn 2009)
Roberts perpetuates to have one emerging ○ The international political economy is
project used by multiples corporations to not just a product of social relations,
indicate that they support gender equality but but also ecological relations.
in truth, this is only on the surface because of ● Green IPE is split into two schools of thought
how they don’t touch upon the very core ○ Green Capitalism
problems of what gender inequality brings. It ■ “Green solutions [are] ● Critiques of green capitalism
also exhibits how there is a need for further achievable within capitalism.” ○ It “works”, because green solutions are
research to better implement feminism in the (Dunn, 2009, p. 61) supplanted onto an existing economic
corporate setting without depoliticizing the ○ Green Idealism system that the majority of the world is
problems faced by the female population ■ Reimagine the international used to.
alongside the minorities that continue to be political economy. (Dunn, 2009, ○ Green capitalism is inherently
undermined by the patriarchal system. p. 61) contradictory. You cannot be
● Two frameworks environmentally friendly and
3.3. Green IPE ○ Competitive commodification exploitative at the same time.
Parts 1 and 2: Green IPE ■ Many people want something? ○ Green capitalism will tell you to buy
● How did your morning coffee get to you? Make that something for sale! from sustainable businesses but won’t
○ Social relations ○ Green spiral encourage to radically change your
■ Labor. Farmers, logistics, ■ Innovate and innovate! Or die consumption patterns.
baristas. ● Competitive commodification (Dunn 2009) ● Ideas in green idealism (Dunn 2009)
■ Market transaction. The buy ○ Every resource is initially common. ○ Anthropocentrism
and the sell. That is, they’re free-for-all. ■ Humans must not dominate
■ IPE. Trade agreements, Tariffs, ○ People need to over-extract to secure nature. Nature is a means to
Trade routing survival or self-interest our ends.
○ Ecological relations ○ Enclose the commons to stop ○ Ecocentrism
over-extraction
 ■ Nature’s wellbeing and ○ Fossil fuels ○ Can give rise to ecofascism:
preservation is prior to affect who gets “environmentalism through genocide”
humanity’s. coffee and how ● Big Picture: Ineffectiveness
○ Gaia idealism much and many ○ Global South Homogenization
■ Make capitalism eco-friendly ■ Entropic determinism ■ Tailors an overarching global
with less carbon & waste trends and dynamics that,
footprints. oftentimes, overlooks economic
○ More-than-human geography. Likewise,
■ The social world is constructed homogenization catapults
by the interactions between regional and global
human and non-human entities dependencies.
(i.e. materialities). ○ Oversight of Regional Dynamics
■ More-than-human politics ■ Regional complexities in
● Both human and ecological characteristics,
non-human entities economic structures, and
have power. All institutional frameworks
materialities can ■ Moreover, it neglects power
influence who gets asymmetries between and
what, when, where, why, among nations.
and how. ● Big Picture: Effectivity in Interdisciplinarity
○ The sun, water, ○ Eco-feminism
and soil affects ■ Intersectionality of the
who gets what environment and feminism
and how much ■ Acknowledges that
coffee in the environmental degradation
morning. disproportionately affects
○ The state of the vulnerable groups such as
● Critiques of green idealism
seas affect trade women
○ Ineffective and impractical to states
and therefore ○ Eco-Marxism
with poor and fragile economies
coffee market ■ Dialectical relationship between
○ “Too ecocentric” Environment above
transactions. man and nature
human well-being
 ■ Critiques the growth-oriented
logic of capitalism
○ Care ethics
■ Value of relationality among
human beings and its physical
world
■ Humanized approach that
shares a commitment to justice
and equity
Part 3: Green Tech IPE
● Climate change affects IPE
○ Exacerbation of resource scarcity
○ Increased state protectionism
○ Shift of government and market
investment behaviors
● Green technologies affect climate change
○ And therefore, IPE by:
■ Supplying novel capacities
■ Incentivising green markets
■ NB: For this case study, we
particularly refer to electric
vehicles for green tech
● In the green capitalist POV:
○ Novel capacities
■ Less dependence to fossil
fuels, more efficient energy use,
and heightening green tech ROI
■ Green Spiral saves Earth
○ Green markets
■ Competitively commodifying
environmental protection
through green technologies.
■ Maximize profits while saving
Earth!
● Green technologies affect climate change
○ And, therefore, IPE by:
■ Producing immense
transitionary waste
■ Producing materially
irrecoverable waste
■ Exacerbating climate change
social inequalities
● Transitionary waste
○ Outdated car production machinery
becomes phased out for E-Cars.
○ Fossil fuel cars will be waste
○ E-Car industries will force smaller car
producers that cannot acclimate to
bankruptcy and wasted capital.
● Materially irrecoverable waste
○ No way to 100% recycle lithium-ion
batteries.
○ More intense lithium mining to keep up
with the new demand.
○ Lithium uncontrolled is an
environmental poison.
● Exacerbating social inequalities
○ The novelty of E-Cars will make E-Car
producers need ROI. Thus, higher
prices.
○ G. North transitions to E-Cars; G.
South gets the FF cars as IPE further
taxes FF techs.
○ G. South coerced to accommodate
E-Cars regardless of their capacity to
do so.
● In the green idealist POV:
○ Green techs shows both extremes of
Anthropocentrism & Ecocentrism (both
pro and anti) in Green IPE.
Part 4: The Big Picture
● In summary
○ Green IPE is founded upon the
integration of ecological relations into
our conceptions and analyses of
international political economy.
○ Under Green Capitalism, there is an
implicit submission to the ubiquity of
the capitalist world system with
attempts to go green simply being
attempts to buy time before our
inevitable demise.
○ Green idealism promises a radical
reimagining of the relationship between
economy and environment, but
ultimately fails to provide pragmatic
solutions to the issues posed.
● The need for critical approaches
○ To build off the failures of traditional
paradigms, while knowing that they are
not invincible nor error-free.
○ Critical approaches bridge current
realities with alternative ways of life
that are more ideal.
 ○ Critical approaches shield us from
complacency and nihilism.
● Cancer is what only tries to grow without end
for nothing but growth.
○ The more we fail to answer why we
need more power or more money and
until when do we need more, the more
we design an IPE that will ultimately kill
us.
3.3. Marxism
Marx and the Jewish Question
● Karl Marx
○ Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in
Prussia
○ born to a family with Jewish heritage
○ both parents of Marx came from
rabbinical lineages
○ Marx's father was a lawyer who
converted to Christianity to continue his
legal career successfully.
○ Marx pursued higher education in law
and philosophy at the universities of
Bonn and Berlin.
○ Marx's adult life was characterized by a
blend of independent scholarship,
political activism, and financial
instability.
○ During his stay in Paris and his last
months in Germany, Marx
○ produced several significant writings,
including "On the Jewish Question".
● The Jewish Question
○ refers to a complex and historically
rooted issue that has been debated for
centuries, especially in Europe.
○ It encompasses various socio-political,
cultural, and economic concerns
related to the status, rights, and
integration of Jewish communities into
broader society.
○ Jews faced discrimination, persecution,
and exclusion from many aspects of
society.
○ discussions about the "Jewish
Question" often revolved around how
to address these injustices and
challenges facing Jewish individuals
and communities.
○ In the context of Karl Marx's “On The
Jewish Question”, he engaged in a
critical examination of Jewish
emancipation by responding to the
arguments of his Hegelian friend,
Bruno Bauer, who discussed the
question of Jewish emancipation in
Germany.
● The Jewish Question of Bauer
○ Bauer argued that the Jewish
community cannot attain political
emancipation unless they renounce
their religious consciousness.
○ For Bauer Judaism was the main
reason that made the Jews unfit to
become full citizens
○ their ineligibility for citizenship had to
do with their backwardness and
incapacity to develop morally and
culturally their exclusive demands for
privileged treatment as they claim to be
the chosen people made them careless
about the freedom and the welfare of
others.
○ For Bauer, political emancipation can
be achieved only by the abolition of
religion and all forms of sectarian
narrowness.
● “On the Jewish Question” of Marx
○ Although Marx agrees with Bauer’s
criticism of religion, he opposes the
idea that religion is an impediment to
human emancipation in general and
Jewish emancipation in particular. For
him, human egoism in civil society is
the real obstacle to human
emancipation.
○ He considers the human rights
declarations (French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and the Citizen 1793) as
the real embodiment of the demeaning
situation of the alienated man in civil
society, criticizing these rights as
nothing but the rights of “egoistic man,
 of man separated from other men and
the community.
● Marx’s critique of human rights
○ Human rights in Marxist thought are
regarded as the preoccupations of the
bourgeois capitalist individual in their
classical formulations as if they were
universal norms of human nature.
○ On the right to liberty Marx defines
liberty as “the right to do and perform
what does not harm others.”
○ The right of man to property offers
every individual the possibility to
dispose and benefit as he wishes from
the income and the fruits of his work
and industry and leads the man to
consider his fellow men as constant
rivals and imposed obstacles in the
way of the acquisition or preservation
of property.
○ “The right to security does not enable
civil society to rise above its egoism.
On the contrary, security is the
guarantee of its egoism.”
○ Marx argues that the right to liberty, the
property right, and the right to personal
security are based on the egoistic
desires of the greedy individual; the
bourgeois ideology inspires not only
the content but also the very form of
rights.
○ In his comments on the French
Declaration of the Rights of Man and
the Citizen 1793, Marx believes that
man in civil society acts as a private
individual in accordance with the
capitalist industry and capitalist
economy, pursuing material profit and
linked with other individuals only by
market and commodity exchange.
Marx’s Das Kapital (Vol 1: On the Process of
Production of Capital, Chapters I and VII)
● On historical epochs
○ Primitive Epoch
■ nomadic, simple labor,
communal work
○ Ancient Epoch
■ less nomadic, early agricultural
development
○ Feudal Epoch
■ more agricultural development,
growing towns and kingdoms
■ the rise of landowning nobility,
serfs, monarchical rule
○ Capitalist Epoch (YOU ARE HERE)
■ widely expanded markets
■ Burgs (cities) developed as
hubs for trade and markets
■ Note: Alienation of Labor as
effect of this epoch
○ Communist Epoch (COMING SOON!)
● On capitalism’s effects
○ Labor has become more abundant; the
further development of technology
would not only hasten the making of
such goods, but produce more of these
goods than possible in any prior epoch.
○ This system has yet to expand and
perpetuate itself; the laborers of which
would be purchased by the capitalist to
work for them.
○ To rake in more profits for the capitalist
and its system, labor costs, along with
the wages given to its workers, would
have to be reduced, thus generating
more sales and profit.
● On commodities
○ The capitalist has to keep perpetuating
this system for it to survive - which
brings one to the concept of commodity
fetishism.
■ Overhyping a certain
commodity, by abstracting their
exchange value from their use
value
■ The capitalist overhypes the
commodity to the masses, and
is sold for more than its worth
● E.g., Fiji Water vs
Nature’s Spring Bottled
Water
● The water one buys is of
a limited edition, and
thus has to buy it lest
 they never get to
experience that again.
● But for all its hype, it’s
just water.
○ Nevertheless, the money spent on the
commodity sustains the capitalist’s
system.
● “Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted
the world in various ways; the point is to
change it.” (Marx, Theses on Feuerbach)
Key points of Dunn
● Brief overview of Marx’s writings
○ Nuanced critique of capitalism - Marx
offers a detailed examination of
capitalism, highlighting its inherent
contradictions and complexities.
○ Rejection of determinism - challenges
deterministic interpretations of history,
emphasizing the role of struggle and
agency in shaping historical outcomes.
○ Dual nature of capitalism - Marx
acknowledges capitalism's material
advancements but also critiques its
tendency to produce social
catastrophes.
○ Analysis of political economy - Marx
exposes the contradictions within
capitalism through his analysis of
political economy, delving into
economic structures and social
relations.
○ Advocacy for transformative social
action - Marx advocates for
transformative social action, urging
readers to engage critically with
societal issues and work towards
change.
● Ambiguity and contradiction in Marx’s writings
○ Historical materialism and dialectical
materialism - Marx's understanding of
historical development is rooted in
these theories, which emphasize the
influence of society's material
conditions, particularly its economic
structure.
○ Rejection of linear progression - Marx
rejects the idea of history unfolding in a
linear fashion, and instead highlights
the significance of human agency and
class struggle in shaping historical
outcomes.
○ Class struggle - Central to Marx's
analysis is the concept of class
struggle, particularly between the
bourgeoisie and the proletariat, which
he sees as a driving force behind
historical progress.
○ Role of revolutions - Marx views
revolutions as pivotal moments in
history where existing social structures
are challenged and new ones emerge,
driven by inherent contradictions within
society.
○ Acknowledgment of contingency - Marx
acknowledges the contingent nature of
historical development, recognizing the
interplay of economic, social, and
political factors in shaping outcomes.
● Debunking determinism in Marx
○ Determinism - is a philosophical
concept that suggests that all events,
including human actions, are ultimately
determined by causes external to the
will. Determinism implies that given the
same initial conditions, the same
outcomes will inevitably occur, and that
free will is an illusion.
○ Complexity - Many scholars emphasize
the complexity of Marx's analysis,
particularly regarding the interaction
between economic and political forces.
○ Dialectical materialism - Marx's
dialectical materialism rejects
predetermined outcomes and views
historical development as dynamic and
contradictory
○ Historical specificity and human
agency - Marx emphasizes historical
specificity and human agency,
challenging deterministic explanations
of history and asserting the role of
conscious efforts in bringing about
revolutionary change.
○ Rejection of determinism - Marx's
rejection of determinism is highlighted
 through his emphasis on historical
specificity, human agency, and the
dialectical nature of historical
development.
● Tendency for development and revolutionary
change
○ Developmental tendency of production
- Marx's historical materialism centers
on the idea that societies evolve as
they seek to enhance productivity and
meet the needs of individuals.
○ Hindrances posed by existing social
structures - Marx acknowledges that
progress can be impeded by capitalist
systems, where profit motives and
class divisions restrict the full potential
of productivity.
○ Advocacy for revolutionary change - To
overcome these obstacles, Marx
advocates for revolutionary action,
particularly led by oppressed classes
like the proletariat, to challenge and
overthrow capitalist relations.
○ Transformative process - Revolutionary
change not only breaks free from
exploitation but also reorganizes
society to utilize productive forces for
the benefit of all members.
○ Dialectical interplay - Marx's analysis
underscores the dialectical interplay
between forces of production, existing
social barriers, and the necessity of
revolutionary action for achieving ○ Informed and transformative social
societal liberation and equitable social action - Marx advocates for social
structures. action that is informed by a deep
● Capitalism as a contradictory system understanding of societal conditions
○ Dual nature of capitalism - Marx and emphasizes the need for
highlights capitalism's ability to meaningful change.
generate material ○ Importance of self-transformation -
○ advances and technological progress, Engaging in struggles for social justice
alongside perpetuating social involves not only altering external
catastrophes and structures but also fostering
○ inequalities. self-transformation and collective
○ Exploitative capitalist relations - empowerment.
Capitalist relations of production ○ Revolutionary potential of the working
involve the class - Marx highlights the
○ bourgeoisie extracting surplus value revolutionary potential of the working
from the proletariat's labor, resulting in class and envisions their realization
widespread poverty, inequality, and through organized collective action
economic instability. against capitalist exploitation.
○ Revolutionary potential of the ○ Integral role of protracted struggles -
proletariat - Marx identifies the Marx sees protracted struggles as
proletariat as the exploited class with essential for achieving liberation,
revolutionary potential, as their recognizing the nonlinear nature of
oppression fosters class challenging capitalism.
consciousness and collective action. Beyond orthodox Marxism
○ Vision for a socialist society - Marx ● Pertinent secondary readings
envisions revolutionary change paving
the way for a socialist society based on
collective ownership and democratic
control, offering a more just and
equitable social order as an alternative
to capitalism.
● Potential for social action
● The War and Social Democracy
○ “It is with a feeling of the most bitter
disappointment that we have to record
that the socialist parties of the leading
European countries have failed to
discharge this duty, the behaviour of
these parties’ leaders, particularly in
Germany, bordering on downright
betrayal of the cause of socialism. At
this time of supreme and historic
importance, most of the leaders of the
present Socialist International, the
Second (1889-1914), are trying to
substitute nationalism for socialism. As
a result of their behaviour, the workers’
parties of these countries did not
oppose the governments’ criminal
conduct, but called upon the working
class to identify its position with that of
the imperialist governments. The
leaders of the International committed
an act of treachery against socialism
by voting for war credits, by reiterating
the chauvinist (‘patriotic’) slogans of
the bourgeoisie of their ‘own’ countries,
by justifying and defending the war, by
joining the bourgeois governments of
the belligerent countries, and so on
and so forth. The most influential
socialist leaders and the most
influential organs of the socialist press
of present-day Europe hold views that
are chauvinist, bourgeois and liberal,
and in no way socialist. The
responsibility for thus disgracing
socialism falls primarily on the German
Social-Democrats, who were the
strongest and most influential party in
the Second International. But neither
can one justify the French socialists,
who have accepted ministerial posts in
the government of that very
bourgeoisie which betrayed its country
and allied itself with Bismarck so as to
crush the Commune.” - Vladimir Lenin,
written prior to September 1914
● The April Theses
○ “We must take the initiative in creating
a revolutionary International, an
International against the
social-chauvinists and against the
‘Centre’.”
○ “I quoted the words of Rosa
Luxemburg, who on August 4, 1914,
called German Social-Democracy a
‘stinking corpse’. And the Plekhanovs,
Goldenbergs and Co. feel ‘offended’.
On whose behalf? On behalf of the
German chauvinists, because they
were called chauvinists!”
○ “[T]he country is passing from the first
stage of the revolution—which, owing
to the insufficient class-consciousness
and organization of the proletariat,
placed power in the hands of the
bourgeoisie—to its second stage,
which must place power in the hands
of the proletariat and the poorest
sections of the peasants.”
○ Among his directives were, to name a
few:
■ Abolition of the police, the army,
and the bureaucracy;
■ The salaries of all officials, all of
whom are elective and
displaceable at any time, not to
exceed the average wage of a
competent worker;
■ Confiscation of all landed
estates; and the subsequent
nationalization of all lands in the
country;
■ The immediate union of all
banks in the country into a
single national bank, and;
■ Change of the Party’s Name
● To becoming the
Bolshevik Party
● Foundations of Leninism
○ “Leninism is Marxism of the era of
imperialism and the proletarian
revolution. To be more exact, Leninism
is the theory and tactics of the
proletarian revolution in general, the
theory and tactics of the dictatorship of
the proletariat in particular. Marx and
 Engels pursued their activities in the preliminary condition for a successful
pre-revolutionary period (we have the fight against capitalism. It must not be
proletarian revolution in mind), when forgotten that between Marx and
developed imperialism did not yet exist, Engels, on the one hand, and Lenin, on
in the period of the proletarians' the other, there lies a whole period of
preparation for revolution, in the period undivided domination of the
when the proletarian revolution was not opportunism of the Second
yet an immediate practical inevitability. International, and the ruthless struggle
But Lenin, the disciple of Marx and against this opportunism could not but
Engels, pursued his activities in the constitute one of the most important
period of developed imperialism, in the tasks of Leninism.” - Joseph Stalin,
period of the unfolding proletarian Foundations of Leninism
revolution, when the proletarian
revolution had already triumphed in
one country, had smashed bourgeois
democracy and had ushered in the era
of proletarian democracy, the era of the
Soviets. That is why Leninism is the
further development of Marxism.” -
Joseph Stalin, Foundations of Leninism
○ “It is usual to point to the exceptionally
militant and exceptionally revolutionary
character of Leninism. This is quite
correct. But this specific feature of
Leninism is due to two causes: firstly,
to the fact that Leninism emerged from
the proletarian revolution, the imprint of
which it cannot but bear; secondly, to
the fact that it grew and became strong
in clashes with the opportunism of the
Second International, the fight against
which was and remains an essential