Neoliberal capitalism in the new world economy

Abstract

There is a great deal of speculation today regarding the changes in the world economy in the last quarter of the twentieth century. At the same time, there are a number of disparate (and unconvincing) explana? tions of just what are the characteristics and contradictions of this new international configuration and what events have contributed to its emer? gence. It would appear that the theory of international economic relations is now undergoing one of its worst crises. If one is to be guided by the western capitalist media, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, all theo? retical perspectives other than those of the neoclassical school have been put to flight. This has contributed to the abandonment of perspectives that explain world realities through the theory of materialism and by use of the dialectical method, as well as theories of development that were so popular in the 1980s, such as the thesis of unequal exchange and the perspectives of the Economic Commission for Latin America. Today these theories ap? pear disarticulated, confused, and abandoned, paving the way for a search for new alternatives and interpretations. For this reason, in this essay we analyze the characteristics of the new world economy by considering the points of view of several authors, principally in regard to their perspectives on contemporary capitalism. At the same time, we wish to evaluate the current state of the theory of in? ternational relations as a means to explain what is actually transpiring in the world and to what degree conventional theories are being overtaken by realities that cannot be accommodated within their assumptions. We also intend to show that even though it is widely accepted that capitalism is now passing through another of its stages ? this one identified as "neo? liberal" ? there does not yet exist a theoretical treatment nor a body of