La alternativa política en el siglo XXI

Abstract

The article titled "The Political Alternative in the 21st Century" analyzes the work of Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval on the birth and history of industrial and post-industrial capitalism. The authors argue that capitalism and neoliberalism have led to a cultural and intellectual revolution in the 21st century. They seek to produce a post-capitalist alternative that questions the Marxist ideal of a classless society. The logic of state sovereignty and its relationship with populism and political authoritarianism is also discussed. The article highlights that the state remains a global strategic actor in the era of globalized capital and that state sovereignty has not been defeated, but rather transformed. Additionally, it is mentioned that the state and the global market are not opposed, but rather complement each other in the current historical context. The text analyzes neoliberalism as a political construction rather than an economic one. It emphasizes that neoliberal globalization is due to state policies and involves the liberalization of flows of goods and capital. Neoliberalism is presented as a political theology that involves the construction of institutions and the socialization of the population with market values. It is mentioned that neoliberalism is a powerful ideology with global power capable of governing and affecting people's subjectivity. Additionally, the need to analyze state sovereignty and explore new forms of political organization beyond state sovereignty is raised. The text addresses how the mechanics of governmental power and its mutations affect the state and the discourse of sovereignty. The inseparability between the governmentalization of the state and the statization of government is highlighted. It is argued that neoliberalism needs state sovereignty to create optimal conditions for the circulation of capital. Additionally, the possibility of imagining another type of institutional framework that mediates between individuals based on the logic of the common is raised. The text also explores the historicity of the state and its relationship with the Church as a juridical-political model of sovereignty. It is mentioned that the sovereignty of the modern state emerged in Europe in the 16th and 18th centuries as a requirement for the development of capitalism. The text analyzes the balance of forces in the Westphalian world, where national interest takes priority over religious considerations. Sovereign power is no longer limited to being the source of law, but also produces regulations for the common good. The question of the viability of an economically emancipated government from sovereignty is raised. The relationship between state sovereignty and popular sovereignty is discussed, as well as the critique of early socialists of the principle of state sovereignty. Marx concludes that the only real sovereignty is that of the people. The text analyzes the concept of state sovereignty and its relationship with democracy and neoliberalism. It highlights how the state has adopted a form of sovereignty that fits the obligations of a party-state in an industrial society. The dilemma of whether the state is subject to external powers or still plays a crucial role in the current structure of domination is raised. Additionally, it is mentioned how neoliberalism has transformed the state into an agent of denationalization, redefining the meaning of sovereignty. The modern state is the only secular state in which capitalism can thrive. Its foundation lies in religious mythology, as the conception of sovereign state could not exist without the thought of the sovereign God. Although political sovereignty cannot claim absolute originality, it always comes from an act of will that is its source. Ignasi Brunet.