ABSTRACT
This chapter makes the argument-perhaps surprising at first sight-that the best insights into the contemporary govern ance of the global economy are found in the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels from the 1840s. This, I suggest, is because the world that they envisaged-one in which capitalism is globally dominant-is only now becoming a reality; and because their unique focus on the orientation of governments and inter national organ iza tions towards competitiveness in the world market captures the most powerful dynamic shaping global politics today.
