Conceptualizing capitalist globalization

Abstract

The philosophical theory of globalization is predominantly comprised of a critique of modern globalization, which is based on a theory of equal distribution of goods and guided by universal ethical principles. I argue that philosophical ethics cannot approach the problem in a different way, because of a lacking concept of society. The lack of a theory of society necessitates arguing with universal principles: philosophers focus on poverty and suffering as such, rather than on poverty and suffering generated by the process of globalization. From the perspective of Marx’s critique of political economy, the empirical perception of human society leads to a mystified and overly simplistic analysis of social interaction. This means that only a conceptual theory of society can reveal the hidden relationship between economical categories. It thereby enables a more complex and adequate critique of globalization than the positivistic theory and its solution to the problems provided by philosophical ethics. Based on a theory of capitalist society, the universalist promises of philosophy will not simply be criticized as illusions, but are recognized as realistic opportunities based on cooperative productive capacities to be liberated from their current alienated forms. Thus, globalization ultimately—in its alienated form—generates the basis for the universal principles that are used by philosophy for its critique of globalization.