"Magical" Words from the Global Corporate (aka "Master") Discourse

In a "Democracy" it can sometimes be hard to identify the origins of the "Master Discourse"... but it shouldn't be.

1. The transnational capitalist class and the discourse of globalization 

By Leslie Sklair, 2000 Presented by Christina Vollbrecht

2. Capitalist Globalization 

Global System Theory-Transnational Corporations Culture-ideology of Consumerism 

Transnational Capitalist Class Owners and Globalizing Globalizing Consumerist elites Controllers of TNCs bureaucrats and professionals (merchants and and their local politicians media) affiliates 

Units of Analysis: Transnational Practices (TNP) which cross state boundaries but do not originate with state actors or agencies.

3. Purpose

• The paper sets to demonstrate that the dominant forces of global capitalism are the dominant forces in the contemporary global system.

• Here, the focus is on the transnational capitalist class and how it has constructed a discourse of globalization to further its interests.

• Its implications include the conclusion that globalization is not a “western” ideology, but a globalizing capitalist ideology.

4. Argument 

Combinations of the TCC, use Discourses of national Discourses of sustainable competiveness development to further the interests of global capital.

5. THE TRANSNATIONAL CAPITALIST CLASS (TCC)

• (i) owners and controllers of TNCs and their local affiliates;

• (ii) globalizing bureaucrats and politicians;

• (iii) globalizing professionals;

• (iv) consumerist elites (merchants and media).

• They constitute a global power elite, dominant class or inner circle in the sense that these terms have been used to characterize the dominant class structures of specific countries.

6. THE TRANSNATIONAL CAPITALIST CLASS (TCC)

The TCC is transnational (or globalizing) in the following respects:

•(a) The economic interests of its members are increasingly globally linked rather than exclusively local and national in origin.

•(b) The TCC seeks to exert economic control in the workplace, political control in domestic, international and global politics, and culture-ideology control in every-day life through specific forms of global competitive and consumerist rhetoric and practice.

•(c) Members of the TCC have outward-oriented global rather than inward-oriented local perspectives on most economic, political and culture-ideology issues.

•(d) Members of the TCC tend to share similar life-styles, particularly patterns of higher education, and consumption of luxury goods and services.

•(e) Finally, members of the TCC seek to project images of themselves as citizens of the world as well as of their places and/or countries of birth.

7. TCC IN DEPTH: THE GLOBALIZING POLITICIAN (the technopols)

• They support cosmopolitan ideas and meet normal international professional standards,

• Sell sound economic policy in their own countries,

• Political leaders active in remaking damaged social and political systems,

• Choose freer markets over state intervention and liable to favor democracy of pluralist polyarchy.

• Thus they understand that corporations expect policy continuity to safeguard investments.

8. THE DISCOURSE OF CAPITALIST GLOBALIZATION: COMPETITIVENESS

• The insertion of the nation-state into the global capitalist system is facilitated by the transnational capitalist class through the discourse of national competitiveness.

• The TCC achieves this through facilitating alliances of globalizing politicians, globalizing professionals and the corporate sector.

• Global capitalism succeeds by turning most spheres of social life into businesses, by making social institutions— such as schools, universities, prisons, hospitals, welfare systems—more business-like.

• Various forms of benchmarking are used in most large institutions to measure performance against actual competitors or an ultimate target, zero defects, for example.

9. THE DISCOURSE OF CAPITALIST GLOBALIZATION: COMPETITIVENESS

The fractions of the Transnational Capitalist Class Globalizing bureaucrats and Globalizing professionals politicians Create the discourse of National Economic Competitiveness Through World Best Practices and Benchmarking To support the capitalist interests of: Commodification of all Intense discipline on High standards to institutions related to the the workforce reduce competition culture-ideology of consumerism.

10. THE CORPORATE CAPTURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

“As the concept of sustainable development is further defined, we believe it will begin to resemble our outline of an economics for community.” (Daly and Cobb, p. 371)

•‘the Brundtland Report called on the cooperation of industry ... the business community is willing to play a leading role, and to take charge’.

•the idea of ‘sustainable growth’ had replaced the idea of ‘conservation’ and industry could get on with its job.

•Big business successfully recruited much of the global environmental movement in the 1990s to the cause of sustainable global consumerist capitalism by incorporating potential enemies into what Gramsci called new historical blocs.

11. THE CORPORATE CAPTURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The fractions of the Transnational Capitalist Class Owners and Globalizing Consumerist elites Controllers of TNCs bureaucrats and and (merchants and and their local politicians media) affiliates Create the discourse of Sustainable Development Through New Historical Blocs and Neo-liberal globalization To support the capitalist interests of: Free enterprise Unlimited production Unlimited consumption

12. Conclusion

• The combination of the discourse of sustainable development with that of national and international competitiveness provides powerful weapons for the transnational capitalist class.

• Globalization is not a Western but a globalizing capitalist ideology, whose discourse and practices are necessary to negate the growing class polarization and ecological crises characteristic of this latest stage in the long history of capitalism.

13. Questions

• How does the discourse of competiveness strengthen and perpetuate inequality?

• In what other areas can you see the role of the TCC shaping or controlling discourse?

• What affect does increased bureaucratic control of social institutions have on the natural variety and development those institutions might have?

• Can you identify this phenomenon in your experience? (in school, church, work, social organizations?) 

• In your opinion, is this phenomenon acceptable or inacceptable/beneficial or harmful?