Marx on Globalization

'All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned ... the need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere' ... this was the Communist Manifesto's description of the global reach of capitalism.

Globalisation, evidently, is not a new phenomenon; but on the eve of the new millennium, the processes that constitute the phenomenon of globalisation are intensifying, and being experienced in new ways.

The immense scholarship and analytic powers of Marx mean that his writings on international capitalism and its effects remain of interest in current debates on globalisation. With this in mind, Lawrence and Wishart offer a new selection from the writings of Marx, in the hope that it will enrich current discussions.

The selection includes extracts from The Communist Manifesto, Capital volumes 1-3, The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 and The Poverty of Philosophy

Dave Renton teaches History at Edge Hill College and is the author of Fascism: Theory and Practice (Pluto, 1999).