Globalization after the great contraction: The emergence of zones of exclusion

Abstract

Prior to the onset of the Great Contraction in 2008, globalization was understood as a process of global economic integration and the expansion of global capitalism. In response to the neoliberal mantra that there was no alternative to freemarket orthodoxy, many social movements maintained that another world was possible. These debates have lost their relevance as the Great Contraction has exposed the weaknesses of global capitalism - no longer can it be understood as a hegemonic totality encircling the globe. Rather than unlimited expansion and intensification, global capitalism is retreating and places and people that lack a productive function are rendered redundant and excluded from global commodity chains. Globalization must now be thought of as the expansion of non-capitalist 'zones of exclusion' and its coexistence with intensely capitalist 'zones of exception.' I examine the political economy that has emerged in one such place, Flint, Michigan. I draw on recent scholarship on de-growth, and suggest that rather than reconnecting with the global economy at all costs, policy makers in Flint should work to make viable and institutionalize its emergent non-capitalist relations of production.