Globalization and the Decline of American Power

Reviews / Votes

'This book represents a monumental achievement that brings together much of what Cyrus Bina has been writing over the last four decades into what is a coherent critique of political economy. Through his understanding of Marx's fundamental notion of capital as a social relation, the author offers a provocative analysis that cuts across orthodoxy and heterodoxy, including the radical left, both Marxists and non-Marxists. While focusing mainly on the transnationalization of capital as the latter evolved to bring about the decline of Pax Americana, the richness and the clarity of writing, as well as the book's broad focus, make it an essential reading for all political economists.' - Mario Seccareccia, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Ottawa, Canada, and Editor of the International Journal of Political Economy

'Cyrus Bina's Globalization and the Decline of American Power is the culmination of a lifetime of sustained radical scholarship, reflecting as only Bina can do -- often controversially -- breathtaking reach, incisive analytical polemics, and a rare intellectual ambition: Bina offers an explanation of declining US power that goes beneath the surface, linking it to economic globalization and thereby to the historical process of the expansion of capital' - Sanjay Reddy, Associated Professor and Chair of Economics, The New School for Social Research

'As a fellow traveler in the tradition of classical political economy, I have long been an admirer of Cyrus Bina's work starting with his early and original contribution to the theory of oil rent. It therefore comes as no surprise that his latest book is also brilliantly insightful in its capacity to explain the roots of our world's multifaceted crises embedded in what appears to be the twilight of American Empire. This book is a must-read for students, scholars, and lay readers at all stages in their careers. Providing an alternative to both "monopoly capitalist" and postmodernist leftist analyses, this book is theoretically grounded in the classical Marxian framework with its very different analysis of power. The strength of this book lies in its capacity to weave in theoretical insights into very concrete political events as they unfolded over the post Second World War period. This abstract theory and political history nexus is the basis of a scholarly book that is a tour de force. I could not recommend this book more highly, especially to those who would strongly disagree with Bina's analytical framework.' - Jamee K. Moudud, Professor of Economics, Sarah Lawrence College and Board Member, Association for the Promotion of Political Economy and the Law