A Specter Is Haunting Globalization

The first chapter focuses on a concept whose hour of glory corresponds to the historical ascension of neoliberalism: globalization. Calling into question the assumption that it was invented in order to provide a neutral account of unprecedented phenomena, it details the extent to which this notion has served to surreptitiously recuperate three axioms of vulgar Marxism: (i) technico-economic determinism; (ii) teleology; and (iii) historical inevitability. This paradox of a Marxist specter haunting globalization is then analyzed in terms of its concrete effects, which include encouraging citizens to be passive before the supposedly inescapable forces of history, and throwing a shadow over the responsible agents of our presumed common destiny. The chapter concludes by advancing a critique of the world-image fostered by this notion, which consists in demonstrating that “the world” varies considerably according to geography and social strata, as is particularly palpable in the ravages of so-called globalization.