Brave New Worlds

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This large volume is a welcome turn to the classic roots of political economy. here refers to the dynamics of late capitalism, an economic system that now covers the entire planet. means that such system must be examined in terms of costs and benefits, potentiality and actual ity. The field of globalization studies is orga nized around a set of questions about late capitalism and its various articulations in dif ferent areas-in this case Latin America. The situation of the field was well-stated by Eric Hobsbawm, for whom the living dichotomy capitalism/socialism is over (Hobsbawm 2009). Moreover, the failure of pre ceded the bankruptcy of capitalism. In fact, the socialist collapse may have precipitated the current capitalist crisis by launching an unopposed search for cheap labor, with the consequent migration of industry to hitherto out-of-bounds nations, and the overspecial ization of former industrial countries in the service sector, including financial speculation and leveraged consumption. We are now witnessing the rebalancing of this unsustain able dynamic. The situation presents a paradox for Marxists, for whom will ultimately succeed capitalism. To this reviewer such an outcome seems unlikely. Not so to William Robinson, who hopes that the present crisis of world capitalism will usher in a new wave of revolutionary movements. In his view, this new march towards socialism is happen ing in various parts of Latin America and will become a source of international inspi ration. In the analysis of capitalist globalization and its crisis, interpretations from the right quadrant are lacking. Market fundamental ists have remained silent since the crisis started, with a few exceptions to be found in some newsletters circulated by investor gurus. By and large, the economic establishment has moved to the left. The narrative is as fol lows: the crisis began in the American real Latin America and Global Capitalism: A Critical Globalization Perspective, by William I. Robinson. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. 412pp. $55.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780801890390.