Female car Insurers

The core of the issue for me is contained in many of the ideas of David Harvey. The shift from Keynesian welfare state capitalism which was democratic, inclusive, and required nation-building for its success was replaced by a new form neo-liberalism (Harvey elsewhere calls it flexible accumulation) which consolidates the relevant decision-making bodies of existing states into international venue such as the WTO and the World Economic Forum while breaking down the nation building structures that once brought people together as a nation such as free universal public education, universal health care, union rights, and regulatory protections.

Such things fostered an expanded concept of citizenship and a flexible sense of rights as part of a national community. Such was ultimately viewed as a fetter on the concentration and centralization of capital on a global basis. It further impinged on the profits of the rich which were accumulated during the intermediate good input intensive consumer durables phase of national capitalism which created middle classes in integrated national societies and growing national economies.

Interestingly, the 1960s saw the highest rate of average annual wage, productivity, GNP, and profits growth simultaniously. With the sudden overproduction of consumer durables in the early 1970s capitalist realized a global restructuring of capital was needed. Capitalism has been subject to overall stagnation tendencies ever since. Globalization has coincided with lower average annual rates of GDP growth. Militarism and military spending has been one strategy for maintaining the stability of the average rate of profit with very mixed success.

Tags:
National Economies
Regulatory Protections
Militarism