ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the nature of the modern political economy and its implications for social and international conflict. The causes and driving forces of social conflict are inequality in society; violence is the manifestation of this struggle. The proletariat is recognised as the most critical social force in the struggle for achieving a classless and harmonious society. In Marxism, the political direction for uniting the working class in an organised manner has a firm social dimension in structural change. The relationship between economic growth and international conflict has been explained by the necessity of industrial states to look for foreign markets and raw materials that are crucial for continuing prosperity. Reciprocal action by adversaries initiates conflict spirals that increase the probability of war. This model was applied to the analysis of the origins of World War I and the Japanese initiation of war against the US during World War II.
