Imperialist rent and the challenges for the radical left

Abstract

This article provides a reading of the historical trajectory of capitalism in order to sketch out potential future world orders. While the imperialist Triad attempts to restore the pre-2008 order, the second wave of independent initiatives by the countries of the Global South may constitute first steps towards a socialist alternative. The agrarian and environmental questions are crucial in this respect. In relation to the former, rather than replacing the three billion peasant farmers with capitalist industrialized agriculture, driving them off their land in this process, it will be crucial to ensure that they can stay on the land assisted with modern agricultural methods. As for the latter, it will be essential to find a socialist alternative to ‘green capitalism’, which ultimately only represents a further extension of capitalist exploitation.