V. Capitalism as a Globally Fragmented System Across Space and Time

Abstract

This chapter focuses more precisely on the spatial and temporal dimensions of capitalism. It argues that a global perspective is required so as to understand the international economy, politics and social power relations. From this perspective, it is possible to examine the fragmented world economy, the international state system, as well as collective actors and the moves they make between these two systems (for example, social and political movements). In addition, with the aid of the concept of combined and uneven development, the chapter analyses both the differentiated 'totality' and the dimension of the 'international' within the global capitalist system. Within the context of a capitalist 'spatial economy', it then makes these general comments more concrete by referring to the territorial specification of capital accumulation and relying specifically on political processes of assimilation. The chapter ends with some considerations of the various forms of capitalist competition.Keywords: capital accumulation; fragmented world economy; geopolitical competition; global capitalist system; international state system; power relation; spatio-temporal process