Global South: Predicament and Promise

Author(s): Arif Dirlik

Source: The Global South, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Winter, 2007), pp. 12-23
Published by: Indiana University Press
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Global South:

Predicament and Promise

ArifDirlik
ABSTRACT
Thisessayexplorespossibilities
fortheestablishment
ofa newglobalorin
which
the
Global
South
a
central
der,
mayplay
part.It tracesthe
oftheconcepthistorically,
withspecialattention
to itsanteemergence
cedentsin thepopulartermofthe 1960s and 1970s,"ThirdWorld."It
thatwhilethe"ThirdWorld"is no longera viableconceptgeosuggests
or as politicalproject,it maystillprovidean inspiration
for
politically
theglobalSouthintoa forcein
similarprojects
thatmayrender
presently
thereconfiguration
ofglobalrelations.
A numberofpowerfulsocieties
thathavereasonto alignwiththeglobalSouth- China,India,Brazil
in forging
a global
and SouthAfrica
maybe particularly
important
to theGlobal
South.The essayexaminesin somedepththerelationship
Southofonesuchsociety,
thePeoplesRepublicofChina.

H will discussbriefly
belowtheterm,"Global South":itshistoricalassociations,the intellectual,
ideologicaland politicalprojectsit suggests,and what
to therealizationofthoseprojreadingwe placeon itthatwill bestcontribute
ects.Thiswill also clarifymyvisionofwhatthepresentjournalcould accomplish: to serveas a forumthatwill focuson issuesof the South,while also
fromothersmoredifficult
to place geographically.
encouragingparticipation
Alliancesthatcutacrossdevelopmental
of
be
an
mapsmay
urgentrequirement
thetimes.I hope that"globalSouth"as idea pointsto one formof alternative
globalalliance,and thisjournalservesas a meansto thatend.
THEGLOBAL
SOUTH:THETHIRDWORLD
The term"globalSouth"- or at leastthe"South"componentofit- goes back
to the 1970s,and is entangledin its implications
withothertermsthatpostWorldWar II modernization
discourseand revolutionary
movements
gener12 Vol.1:1

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in achievingthe
ated to describesocietiesthat seemed to face difficulties
economicand politicalgoals of eithercapitalistor socialistmodernity.
It was
but
not
identical
the
for
with,
to,
largelyequivalent
populardesignation such
societiesin the1950sand 1960s ("ThirdWorld")to whichitborea contradicIt was popularizedby the so-called BrandtCommission
toryrelationship.1
reportspublishedin 1980 and 1983, both of whichbore "North-South"in
theirtitles.The reportsadvocatedlargeinfusionsofcapitalfromtheNorthto
1 am notcertainwhen"global"was
the Southto enabletheirmodernization.2
attachedto the"South"to formthecontemporary
compoundterm;thepredito the discourseof globalizationthatwas on
cate suggestssome relationship
the emergencein the 1990s. The UnitedNationsDevelopmentPrograminitiativeof 2003, "Forginga Global South,"has playedan importantpartin
amongsocietiesof the
drawingattentionto the concept,as has interactivity
in pursuingdevelopmental
theirown initiatives
"South"establishing
agenda.3
The changingusagesoftheterm,and thedifferent
agendatheyimply,ofoverthelasthalf-century
in
and discontinuities
fercluesto bothcontinuities
as
as
in
the
and
theglobalpositioningofthe"South," well
ideological political
roleassignedto it in globalpolitics.The use of thetermis explainedbysome
thatwith two exceptions,Australiaand New Zealand, the
geographically;
of theworldlie to theNorthofthedeveloping,undevelcountries
developed
oped or leastdevelopedones.4While thetermwas no doubtnotintendedby
itscoinersto be takenin a literalphysicalgeographicalsense,it seemsworth
thatlike all geographicaldesignationsforideopointingout, nevertheless,
and
and
projects(globalizationcomesto mindreadily),
logical
politicalspaces
is muchmorecomplicatedthanthetermsuggests,and subjectto
itsgeography
worldmaybe sigso thatthe"South"ofthecontemporary
over
time;
change
in
and
territorial
its
different
spreadthanthe Southof
composition
nificantly
the early1970s,or the colonialSouthof the immediatepost-WorldWar peon theNorthPole, whilesome formerly
coloriod.The Inuitsare practically
nial or neocolonialurbancentersare a matchin activityand appearancefor
of Capital. The context,too,is differcitiesat the headquarters
metropolitan
has leftbehindone hegeent.The disappearanceof the socialistalternative
This situationhas
monicpower,and one hegemonicideology:neoliberalism.
in manywaysincreasedthe burdenson the South,both in the problemsit
ofglobalproblems.Boththe
faces,and in theroleitmayplayin theresolution
the
and
the
of
"South,"
politicalprojectsit suggests,are subjectto
problems
and material/
variationovertimein accordancewithsuch internal/external,
ideologicalchanges.
It is hardlynecessaryto elaboratethattheterm"ThirdWorld,"coinedby
colonizedor
AlfredSauvyin 1952, and intendedto distinguishthe formerly
worldsofcapitalismand socialism,
neocolonizedworldfromthemodernizing
was to becomebythe 1960s a centralpoliticalsloganforthe radicalleft.The
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13

termin itsoriginshad suggestedthatsocietiesoftheThirdWorld,embarking

on thelongpathto modernity,
had one oftwopathsto follow:thecapitalistor
the socialist.Implicitin it was a lingeringassumption,ultimately
to be fulthat
the
itself
of
a
socialist
was
deviation,as
filled,
something temporary
path
modernization
discourseassignedto capitalismthe ultimateteleologicaltask
of bringinghistoryto an end.5Nevertheless,
giventhe close associationof
influwith
the
socialist
capitalism
imperialism,
exampleexertedsignificant
ence on the national liberationmovementsthat the Third World idea
spawned.
ButtheThirdWorldcouldalso be conceivedas a thirdpathto modernity,
in
and itwas conceivedas suchbythesocietiesofthe Southwho participated
theBandungConferenceof 1955.This conceptionwas ofcrucialrelevancein
in both
thehighvalue placed on ThirdWorldnationalliberationmovements
Northand South as a wayout of capitalism,doomedto fallwiththe end of
colonialismand imperialism,
withoutfallingbackon Stalinistsocialism.1968
was the yearof the ThirdWorld.The ThirdWorldwas by thennotjust an
a revolutionary
empiricalterm.It had come also to represent
way out of the
socialism.The South
dilemmaspresentedbycapitalismand actually-existing
seemedpoisedat theedge ofhistory.
The
Only a decade later,the situationseemedto havebeen transformed.
BrandtCommissionwas establishedin 1977 bythenhead oftheWorldBank,
RobertMcNamara of VietnamFame,who had re-invented
himselffromthe
officialin chargeof the militaryconductof thewar in Vietnam,to compassionatepatronoftheThirdWorld(notesimilarities
to Paul Wolfowitzat the
present).Led by formerMayor of Berlin and German ChancellorWilly
thecommissionperceived
Brandt,a Social DemocratwithGreeninclinations,
an impendingeconomicand environmental
crisis
on thehorizon,and
global
saw increasedsuccorforthe Southas one crucialwayto avertcatastrophe
for
humankind.Withina decade,the"South"had turnedfroma possiblesavior
of the worldto an objectof compassionthatmustbe saved in orderforthe
worldto saveitself.But thesalvationnowpointedto a different
paththanthe
one envisagedearlierwith the liberationist
of
world
revolutionary
impulses
movements.
The publicationof the BrandtCommissionreportin 1981 coincidedwiththebeginningsoftheReagan/Thatcher
theappearance
revolution,
of East/SoutheastAsian capitalismsas competitors
to the "North,"and the
recedingofsocialism,beginningwiththePeople'sRepublicofChina in 1978.
The BrandtCommission'sglobal neo-Keynesianism
was stillbornin itsrapid
in
the
of
course
the
1980s
neoliberal
economicpoliciesenreplacement
by
forcedby the U.S. -dominatedWorld Bank and the International
Monetary
Fund.The transformation
foundexpressionultimately
in theso-calledWashwithreference
to U.S. polingtonconsensus,a termcoinedin 1990 primarily
iciesin Latin America,butquicklycame to be associatedwiththe shiftfrom
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aid to marketization
thatcharacterized
thediscourseofglobalgovernmental
in the 1990s.The Southhad to seek
ization,whichitselfacquiredprominence
in theglobalcapitalisteconomy.This also signifiedan important
development
froman earlieremphasison developshiftin thecontentofdevelopment-away
of thewholenation).It is
mentas nationaldevelopment
(or the development
conditions,nationalecoquiteevidentin hindsightthatundercontemporary
no longermeansthedevelopment
ofthewholenation,but
nomicdevelopment
ratheronlyofthosesectorsoftheeconomyand populationthatcan participate
in theglobaleconomy,
thatarecompousuallyin urbannetworks
successfully
nentsofa globalnetworksociety.
THE GLOBAL SOUTH: MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT

Withtheso-calledglobalizationofthe1990s,thegeographiesofdevelopment
havebeenreconfigured,
callingintoquestionnotonlytheearlierThreeWorlds
of
distinction.
theboundarbut
the
idea,
viability theNorth/South
Presently,
ies betweenthetwo are crisscrossed
by networksofvariouskinds,relocating
somepartsofthe Southin theNorth,and viceversa.I am referring
herenot
of
across
various
boundaries
to
developmentalsuccess,but
only migrations
also to thecreationof"native"pocketsofpovertythatareverymuchreministhatthecountriesoftheNorthand South
centoftheSouth;withoutimplying
based differfromthesame deprivations
and maladies.But territorially
suffer
- not
social
encesarebeingoverdetermined
inequalities
just ethbyemerging
a
site
of
internal
and
that
render
the
South
contradictions
but
class
nic,
gender
muchthesameas in theNorthbutwithoutsomeoftheinstituand conflicts,
available.
tionalrestraints
is thatthe solutionsto the South's problemsmustbe
What is important
partofglobalsolutions or at leastregionalsolutionsthattranscendnational
boundaries.The UNDP projectof 2003, "Forginga Global South,"is deThe projectis intendedforthe
scribedas a "newparadigmof development."
Southto takecommandofitsown future.Ratherthanawaitsuccorfromthe
North,thecountriesofthe Southmostcooperatewithone anotherin fosterof the South: "south-south
as the
cooperation,"
ing the overalldevelopment
as
a
"decentralized
it.
"South-south
described
framers
cooperation,"
coopput
eration,"is to be open to cooperationwithcountriesoutsideof the South in
whatis termed"triangular
cooperation"(United4). What maybe mostsignificanthereis the suggestionthatthe South mustinventitself,and acquire
on theglobalscenein an assertionofitsautonomy,
partialautonomy,
visibility
at least.It has somekinshipwiththeidea ofthe"ThirdWorld"in itsself-ashistorical
sertion.On theotherhand,it is also theproductofa quitedifferent
situation.The disappearanceof the "Second World,"theworldof socialism,
has leftbehinda worldthatis nearlyunipolarin military
might,butotherwise
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The Southas
quitechaoticin itseconomic,politicaland culturalalignments.
ifit is
to neoliberalism
it inventsitselfmustalso inventeconomicalternatives
withintheconfinesofglobalcapitalism,
to achieveautonomousdevelopment
Can thisbe
whichis abouttheonlyoptionavailableon thehorizonpresently.
achieved?
Such an achievementmaybe dependent,ironically,
upon the returnto
someof the economicand politicalalignmentsof an earlier,"ThreeWorlds,"
oftheworld.At thesametime,itmustaccountfortheentanglespatialization
of
the
mentsof
South and theNorthin one another,and thereconfiguration
of
spatialrelationships
throughtheglobalizationand thetransnationalization
of
is
it
forth.
and
the
institutions
calls
The
philosophy self-help splencapital,
did, but it requiresforits practiceautonomyof nationand region,whichin
thatrespectsand supports
turncalls fora global institutional
arrangement
ofsupposedlyuniversuchautonomy,
ratherthansubjectit to thesubversions
sal neoliberalmarketprinciples.It is also importantto rememberthat the
obstaclesto autonomousdevelopmentdo not lie outsidealone, as thereare
groupsand classes in mostsocietiesof the South who are alreadypartsof a
and have a stakein itspertransnational
economyand its social formations,
and
petuation
expansion.
betweenthesesocietiesin terms
thereare certainaffinities
Nevertheless,
withcolonialismand neocoloof mutualrecognition
ofhistoricalexperiences
nialism,a historynotyetendedofeconomic,politicaland social (racial)marginalization,and,in somecases,memoriesofcooperationorcommoncausein
The UNDP Global
strugglesforglobaljusticein past liberationmovements.
South projecthas coincidedwith renewedactivityin whichsocietiesof the
"South"havetakentheinitiative,
fromtheWorldSocial Forumto theformation in 2003 of the Group of 20, representing
powerfulSouthernsocieties
suchas China,India and Brazil.The South,in cooperationwithradicalforces
in theNorth,has playedan increasingly
visiblepartin globalpoliticalactivity
fromprotestsagainsttheWTO to protestsagainsttheWar in Iraq.6
Not to be too romanticaboutThirdWorldaffinities,
thereare also issues
ofglobalpowerat stake.Thereare societiespoisedbetweentheNorthand the
Southbyvirtueof developmental
success- China and India beingprimeex- thatcan
amplespresently
playa leadershiprolein the South,and also benefitfromtherolein theenhancement
oftheirown poweron theglobalscene.
For the same reason,thereis some evidencealreadythatfromthe People's
Republicof China to India, Brazil and South Africa,societiesthat might
qualifyforleadershipin theglobalSoutharealreadyengagedin a competition
forpoweramong themselves(as had been the case earlierwith Bandung),
the promiseof unityas well as invitingmanipulationfromthe
undermining
outside,mostimportantly
bytheUnitedStateswhichhas been openlyhostile
to anysignsof Southernresurgence.7
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A further
is thatthesesocietiesthemselvesare underprespredicament
surefromneoliberalglobalization,ofwhichtheyare beneficiaries,
and surfer
thatis a structural
someof theconsequencesof unevendevelopment
characon
a
territorial
teristicof global capitalism
basis, as
unequal development
well as severesocial inequalitieson theemergence.Thereare internalas well
as externalforcespushingthesesocietiesin thedirectionofgreaterglobalization,and assimilationintoneoliberalcapitalism,and forcesthatfavorautonowithgreaterequityand socialjustice(andlessenvironmenmousdevelopment
we mightadd); whichof theseforcesmayprevailis an open
tal degradation,
and
is
environment
dependentto a largeextenton theinternational
question,
as well.
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH

I wouldliketo illustrate
someofthepossibilities
and predicaments
ofa Southof the People'sRepublicof China, an increasernalliancein theperspective
playerin worldeconomyand politics.Over thelasttwoyears,
inglyimportant
reference
to a "Beijingconsensus"as an alternative
therehas been frequent
to
the neoliberalWashingtonConsensus.The idea of a Beijingconsensuswas
floatedby formerTimemagazineforeignnewseditor,and presentGoldman
and Sachs employeein Beijing,JoshuaCooper Ramo. It is quitesimplein its
thathas registered
basics in arguingfora "Chinese model of development"
in
and
so
without
success
the
done
naglobaleconomy,
sacrificing
significant
tionalautonomyand goals.8Where the Chinese "modelof development"
is
concerned,Ramos discussionof the Beijingconsensusis naivelyideological,
and full of contradictions.
Nevertheless,Chinese writers,while criticalof
Ramo's particularapproach,have foundin the notionan expressionof their
own dispositions.And the stresson the possibilityof autonomousdevelopof global capitalismhas caughtthe attentionof
mentwithinthe framework
in
the
Third
World.
many
as well as thechallengesfacingtheGlobal Southare apThe possibilities
thatarevisiblein thecase ofthePeople'sRepublic
parentin thecontradictions
within
of China, whichhas managedto achievea highlevelof development
the neoliberalglobal economywithoutcompletely
its
abandoning autonomy,
to developnationally,
and ideas of equityandjusticethatare
itscommitment
ofsocialistexperimentation.
thelegaciesofhalfa century
Therehasbeensome
talkof a Chinese Model of Development,but thatmaybe the mostillusory
aspectof Chinese claimsto leadership.All theproblemscreatedby developmentneedto be solvedbeforeconvincingclaimsmaybe madeon theviability
of such a model;and the Chinese pathof development
maybe impossibleto
emulateelsewhere,as itwas shapednotonlybya particularrevolutionary
legwithin
a
node
of
as
well
but
also
globalcapitalism,
byplacement
regional
acy,
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17

as in relationship
to significant
OverseasChinesecapital,thatcreatedtheconditionsfortheflowofglobalcapitalto Chinese development.
But thereis nevertheless
in theChinesecomsomethingquiteimportant
- if
mitment
to autonomy,
and
social
at
only thelevelof an ideequity
justice
thatcountersa hegemonicneoliberalorderthat
ologyof global relationships
wouldplacethefateofhumanity
in themarketization
ofsocietyitself,and the
of
its
lifelines.
And
it
has
been called a Beijing
is
here
that
what
privatization
consensusmaypointto possibilitiesforglobal reorganization
led bya Southern covenant,in cooperationwith all the forcesof the North born of the
of the Northitself.It is notso mucha modelthatChinese
"southernization"
developments
providesas a paradigm,in whichthe apparentdefenseof selfdetermination
goes hand-in-handwith successfulglobalization,as Chinese
commentators
would have it. It maybe herethata Beijingconsensusoffersa
alternative
to theWashingtonConsensus,notin theeconomyor sogenuine
cial policy,butin reshapingtheglobalpoliticalenvironment
thatis thecontext
foreconomicdevelopment.
The People'sRepublicof China has openedup to
theglobeeconomically
but,muchto thechagrinofgroupsrangingfromReaconservatives
to
labor
leadersin theUnitedStates,has managedneverganite
thelessto preserveitspoliticalautonomyand sovereignty.
A recentstudybya
Chinese Americanscholar,Colleen Lye, observesperceptively
thatoverthe
centuryand a halfof relationsbetweenthe United Statesand China, it has
been an Americandreamto convertChina to capitalism,whichturnsintoa
the momentthe conversion
nightmare
beginsto showsignsof success.9This,
ofcourse,has beenpartofa largerglobalproject.Globalizationitselfhas presupposedthe conversionof the globe into capitalismunderthe aegis of the
advancedcapitalistsocieties,mostimportantly
ofNorthAmericaand Europe.
On the otherhand,globalizationhas derivedmuchof its substantialreality
fromthesproutingoflocalizedcapitalismsthatunifiestheglobe,butalso dividesit in newways.Contraryto ideologuesofglobalization,the cravingfor
has notdisappearedfromtheglobe;on the
autonomyand self-determination
it
have
renewed
forcefromtheproliferation
ofglobal
contrary, may
acquired
institutions
and communication,
notions
of
complicating
autonomyand selfdetermination
byaddingnewdemandsto alreadyexistingones.
The searchforautonomyand self-determination
has takenthe formnot
of
controls
over
the
butalso bya multionly maintaining
economyinternally,
lateralistapproachto global relationships
thatcontrastssharplywiththe inunilateralist
directionUnitedStatespolicyhas takenoverthe last
creasingly
two decades.The mostimportant
aspectof theBeijingConsensusmaybe an
to
that
approach globalrelationships seeksin multilateral
globalrelationships
a newglobalorderwhichis foundedon economicrelationships
butalso recognizespoliticaland culturaldifference,
whichrecognizesdifferences
in regional and nationalpracticeswithina commonglobal framework,
and which is
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thatinevitably
lead to hegefoundednot upon homogenizinguniversalisms
of
and
difference.
monism,buta simultaneous
recognition commonality
Deng
to economicinterbeginningin the 1980s gave priority
Xiaoping'sreforms
courseoverpoliticalcorrectness.
In the pursuitof thesegoals overthe last two decades,the P.R.C. has
withoutdiemergedas a counterto U.S. economicand politicalhegemony,
the
United
States.
What
is
also
remarkable
is
the
rectlychallenging
willingnessof transnational
corporations,
includingU.S. transnational
corporations,
- which
and externally
to go alongwithBeijing'spoliciesinternally
mayindior a genuinesuspicionof neoliberalism
as a paracatepoliticalopportunism,
digm notonlyof the economybut of societyand politicsas well. Leadersof
globalcapitalism,fromGeorgeSorosto Bill Gates,havevoicedsuchconcerns,
and thepromotionofa Chinese modelofdevelopment
(Beijingconsensus)by
an employeeofGoldmanand Sachs in Beijingmaywell be readas an emergingconsensusamongglobalcorporatecapitaltogo alongwithBeijing.WorldsystemsanalystsfromAndre Gundar Frankto Giovanni Arrighiand ImmanuelWallersteinhave arguedforsome time now that the centerof the
is in the processof relocatingto East Asia. The recapitalistworld-system
evidenceof sucha shift,so longas
around
Beijingmaybe further
alignments
of East Asia due to thephenomwe keepin mindthespatialreconfiguration
thenewspatialand socialdivisions
to above mostimportantly
ena I referred
to speak of East Asia in termsof nationalsurfacesor
thatmake it difficult
homogenizednationalspaces.East Asia, in otherwords,
sociallyandculturally
centralpartin theglobaleconas itplaysan increasingly
is beingreconfigured
omy.The P.R.C. seeks to integrateitselfnot onlywith East, but also with
SoutheastAsia and the Pacific.Therehas been talkalso of China, India and
Brazil as forminga new ThirdWorld triangleto counterthe economicand
Thesenewnetworks
are
politicaldominationofEuropeand NorthAmerica.10
notjust economicand political,but also geopolitical,pointingto a new kind
overglobalresources.
ofcompetition
oftheThirdWorld,or
Beijingmaybe emergingas a newcenterofgravity
theGlobal South,a Bandungfortheage ofglobalcapitalismwhentheissueis
colonialismorfindinga "thirdwayofdevelopment,"
but
no longerovercoming
colonizedand marginalizedin a
the inclusionof the voicesof the formerly
to whichthereis
worldthatalreadyhas been shapedby a colonialmodernity
- the worldof
It
is
in sight
no alternative
global modernity. also important,
ofa newglobalorderaroundtheglobalSouthnotbe
thattheforging
however,
ofnationalpower,ofwhichthereare alreadysigns
to considerations
sacrificed
in thecompetition
betweenChina, India, Brazil,and,possibly,SouthAfrica.
theurge
"De-centralizedcooperation"maywell offerone wayof overcoming
to thisend,to anyconsensus
topower.A "globalconsensus"maybe preferable,
namedafternationor nationalcapital.11
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19

Whatevermaybe thenamewe giveit,a globalconsensusagainsta hegerelamonicEmpirehas far-reaching

implicationsnot onlyforinternational
tionsbut also forthe solutionof problemsinternalto societies.The global
dominationofneoliberalism
rulesouttheformation
ofautonomoussocialand
politicalspacesthatare necessaryforthepursuitof socialjusticeand welfare
withinnations.Where itis notpossibleto establishanykindofa cleardemarcationbetweentheinsideand theoutside,an alternative
globalorderpremised
the
of
local
and
needs
upon
recognition
particularities
maybe theindispensable conditionof sucha pursuit.It is no longerpossibleto entertain
hopesfor
orconfidence
in "delinking"fromglobalcapitalismas a meansto thisend.The
searchforanswersto globalproblemsmustitselfbe globalin itsvision.In the
particularcase of the People'sRepublicof China, "theopeningand reform"
Thereis everyindica(gaige kaifang)of thelastthreedecadesis irreversible.
tion that the P.R.C. maywell end up in a completeassimilationto global
capitalism.But thereare otherpossibilitiesas well, and theirrealizationmay
well dependon theabilityofthepostsocialistregimeto pursuea reconfigurationofglobalforcesto countertheuniversalistic
ofneoliberalism.
pretensions
A centuryof revolutionary
socialistsearchforautonomy,
bolsteredby recent
economicsuccess,qualifiestheP.R.C. eminently
to provideleadershipin the
of an alternative
formation
order.
That
global
global ordermaybe the indispensablecondition,in turn,of developmentthatrespondsto the particular
internalneedsofdifferent
societies.
GLOBAL
SOLUTIONS
TOGLOBAL
PROBLEMS
Over thelasttwoyears,thenotionof a "Beijingconsensus"seemsto haveacto neoliberalglobalization
quireda lifeofitsown.The searchforan alternative
no doubthas playedan importantpartin provokinginterestin the implicationsof the term,especiallyin theThirdWorld,but in the formerly
Second
World as well. Dissatisfactionwith the "shocktherapies"of neoliberalism
came to a head withthe Asian crisisof 1997. SuccessfuleconomicdevelopmentoftheP.R.C. has madeitintotheenvyofthedevelopingworld;writings
fromabroadfrequently
focuson theabilityof theBeijinggovernment
in purown
its
as
a
reason
for
that
success.
The
Brazilian
leader
suing
agenda
major
Lula DaSilva expressedhis admirationfortheP.R.C. foritsabilityto pursue
an integrated
and to globalizewithoutgivingup its autonomy
development,
and sovereignty.12
itsefforts
to engagein multiBeijingin turnhas intensified
lateralagreements
thathavecontributed
to itspositiveimagearoundtheworld
and,withit,theprestigeofa notionofBeijingconsensus.
The appeal oftheBeijingconsensusno doubthas also benefited
fromthe
declineofU.S. prestigegloballywiththeunscrupulous
use ofAmericanpower underthe currentadministration,
concernswith the need to
intensifying
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to thatrepresented
findan alternative
modelofglobaldevelopment
bytheU.
S. Whetheror not a "Chinese model" can servesuch a purposeis another
in the
aspectofChina'sparticipation
question."Localization"is an important
of
the
Revolution
In
it
was
Chinese
a
earlier).
globalperglobaleconomy(as
spective,localization,needlessto say,pointsto the importanceof tailoring
fromone
development
policiesto local needs,whichof necessityare different
to drawa distinction
locationto another.In thissense,I thinkit is important
betweena "Beijingconsensus,"
whichpointsto an alternative
globalorganizawhich
answersto theparticularneedsofChinese
and
a
"Chinese
model,"
tion,
is similarto thatof an earlierday,whenthe"Chinese
society.The distinction
to a particularly
Chinesepathofsocialistdevelopment,
withmodel"referred
theglobalnecessity
ofsocialism.
outrepudiating
It is all themoreimportant,
giventheurgencyofthesequestions,to keep
a perspectiveon the contemporary
situation.The undeniablesuccessof the
of
the
Chinese
economyshouldnotblindus to theproblemscredevelopment
atedbytheverysame success,whichironicallyare in thoseveryareasthatattractthe admirationof outsiders.The P.R.C. economyis by no meansintein bothspatialand social
fromsevereunevendevelopment
gratedbut surfers
thattheyhavebecomean
terms.Levelsofpollutionhavereachedsuchseverity
and disturbance.
While therehas indeed
additionalcause of publicsuffering
been a remarkable
growthofwealthin certainsectorsof thepopulation,and
ofthepopulaan explosionin thesize oftheurbanmiddleclass,themajority
tionhas experienceda declinein basicwelfare.
at arm'slength,thesuccessesofthe
Forall itsabilityto keepneoliberalism
in the end to successfulmanipulationof a
Chinese economyare attributable
neoliberalglobal economy,as are the problemsit has produced.The Walthereis every
Martizationof societywould seemto be gatheringin strength,
evidenceofthespreadofa consumerculturenotonlyin majorurbanareasbut
in thecountryside
as well,and theP.R.C. in termsofitsstructuring
ofpower
with
class
its
own
fracdivisions,
increasingly
approximates
global
internally
Not
class.13
tionofa transnational
capitalist
good signs!
in considering
theseproblems,that
to remember,
It is equallyimportant
those aspectsof developmentthat outsideobserversfindattractiveare not
productsof this neoliberaleconomybut legaciesof the socialistrevolution.
of the nationaleconomy,autonomousdevelopment,
politicaland
Integration
social equalityare all themesthatare as old as thehiseconomicsovereignty,
in thesocialwhichin theendfoundexpression
toryoftheChineserevolution
thata crucialelementin the
istrevolution.
One authorhas observedrecently
was thattheybuilt"on the achievements
of
successof the post-1978reforms
are used thesedaysto discredit
Post-1978developments
theearlierregime."14
socialismofan earlierperiod.It is also possibleto
thepoliciesofrevolutionary
statenotonlythatthosepolicieslaid theeconomic,social and politicalfounPredicament and Promise/Dirlik

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Vol. 1:1

21

dationforChina's autonomouspath intoglobalization,but also thatit is the

samefoundation,
nowin theprocessofcrumbling,
thatsecuredtheminimum
socialwelfarewhichenabledparticipation
in a neoliberalglobaleconomy.
How thesedevelopments
will end up remainsto be seen,butit seemsat
thiscrucialjuncturethatsomereconsideration
ofthenowabandonedsocialist
of
social
welfare
and
is
policies
integration verymuchin order.Socialismis,
afterall, attention
to publicpolicyagainstthevagariesofthemarketor ofinas an end)
novation,and theendsofdevelopment
(in contrastto development
areverymucha matterofpublicpolicy.The global Southhas itsrootsin earlierThirdWorldvisionsofliberation,
and thosevisionsstillhavean important
roleto playin restoring
humanends to development,
so long as theydo not
becomeblindersagainstrecognition
ofa changedworldsituation.

Notes
1. See "Third."
2. See Independent
Northand Crisis,respectively.
3. See United.The"GlobalSouth"program
was a reconceptualization
andreorganization
oftheUN
on TechnicalCooperationthatwentbackto 1948in itsorigins.
Conference
4. See "Third."
5. Theclassicdiscussionofthevariousimplications
oftheThirdWorldideaappearsin Pletsch.More
recentdiscussions,
withreference
to thepresent,
appearin Berger.
6. See Young.
7. See Devraj.Brazilianclaimsto leadershiparediscussedin Hernandez.
8. See Ramo.
9. See Lye.
10. See Harris.
11. "Global Covenant"alreadyhas founditswayintothe titlesof two books,byDavid Held and
RobertH. Jackson,
It seemsimportant
to me to underlinetheimportance
in anysuch
respectively.
termoftheglobalSouth,theclearmajority
ofhumankindthatis marginalizedundertheregime
ofneoliberalglobalization.
The PRC is likelyto be crucialto anysuchsearchbecauseit is uniquely
situatedbetweenthe secondand thirdworldsof the former
"ThreeWorlds,"as analyzedby Mao
Zedongin the1970s,ortheEuropeanNorthand theSouthofthepresent.See Held,Jackson.
12. See Lula. I am grateful
to mycolleaguesAna Candela and CarlosAguirrefortheirhelpwith
thisarticle.
translating
13. Forfurther
discussionofthesetendencies,
see Dirlik"Markets."
14. See Singh.See also DirlikMarxism.

22 Vol 1:1

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