Globalization and Its Countermovement: Marxian Contention or Polanyian Resistance?

Abstract

This article surveys the scholarship on the countermovement against the diffusion of capitalism and market economy in the Global South. We identify two streams of analysis in the literature. On the one hand, scholars observe contentious politics instances where the spread of capitalist production relations enables the associational capacity and bargaining power of social classes. On the other hand, there are voluminous studies on contentious politics in the Global South where groups such as peasants, shopkeepers, and urban poor resist the intensification of the market economy. We use Beverly Silver's distinction between Marx‐type and Polanyi‐type protests, which focuses on how globalization makes and unmakes social groups, to unpack the heterogeneity of the impacts and experiences of globalization. We argue that although Silver's distinction is of great analytical value, there are strong warrants for separating the effects of the market economy from capitalism in studying contentious politics against globalization. Such an analytical strategy (i) expands the scope of the distinction between Marxian and Polanyian contention to social groups other than the working class and (ii) emphasizes that the roots of these struggles lie in the interconnected diffusion of capitalism and market economy.

Rethinking the Double Movement: Expanding the Frontiers of Polanyian Analysis in the Global South

“…Munck (: 157) sees a similar trend emerge in the region, claiming Latin American countermovements ‘took different shapes and not all were politically progressive, but they undermined the notion the market can simply impose its logic on society’ . On a wider level, Gemici and Nair (: 585) claim that ‘successful collective mobilization against market reforms occurs quite regularly’. Drawing a distinction between Marxist and Polanyian forms of contention, the authors indicate that there have been at least 31 instances of the former and 37 of the latter in the global South during the neoliberal stage of capitalism…”

“…Clark (2014: 74) makes this point forcefully, arguing that within the original formulation of the 30. See also Gemici and Nair (2016); Itzigsohn and Rebón (2015); Silver (2003). double movement the 'protective response did not alleviate the contradictions of the market society, but rather refracted them onto the international terrain, thus creating the conditions for a catastrophic and global collapse'.…”

“…Gemici and Nair () offer these instances of countermovement activity as illustrative cases of a wider phenomenon. Moreover, their study focuses on contentious politics and therefore does not capture the whole gamut of countermovement activity.…”

“…However, she uses it to distinguish between Polanyian and Marxist labour struggles, with the former considered defensive and the latter offensive. See also Gemici and Nair ().…”

Institutional market reforms in Russia and China through the lenses of Polanyi’s double movement

“…In connection with this issue the double movement concept of Karl Polanyi, presented in his famous book "The Great Transformation ..." (first published in 1944), is regarded as his greatest contribution to world economic science. Special attention is given to this concept by heterodox economists [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. His "double movement" concept reflects the role that society plays in economic development [28].…”