The fin de siecle debate: Globalization as epochal shift

Behind the economic turbulence and political transformations of recent deca des is the transition from the nation-state phase of world capitalism to a new transnational phase, While many detractors of globalization focus on gl obal trade, the process is driven by the transnationalization of capital ow nership, which in turn leads to the rise of a transnational bourgeoisie tha t sits at the apex of the global order. Parallel to the transatlantic and t ranspacific integration of capital there has been an integration of Souther n capitalists into the emergent system of transnational capital. A transnat ional hegemony is replacing a declining U. S. hegemony, although supra-nati onal structures are still not capable of providing the economic regulation and political conditions for global capitalism to function smoothly. In thi s period of extraordinary conflict, upheaval, and uncertainty, the role of popular classes will be crucial. But their struggles must take on a transna tional perspective and engage in transnational organizing.