ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces students of global governance to the resources available within Marxism for understanding an increasingly interconnected but profoundly unequal world. It argues that in order to appreciate what is distinct about Marxist approaches to global governance, we need to know what is new and different about capitalism as a way of organizing social life. The chapter suggests that Marx's conception of capitalism as a uniquely expansive and conflictive social system helps us rethink the most profound challenges—from global inequality to climate change—that the discourse and practices of global governance are meant to address. It shows that Marxism reveals the structural and direct forms of capitalist power that circumscribe the capacities of global governance to solve these very problems. The chapter also argues that Marxism also casts light on the particular governance problems and policy conflicts that arise from the uneven development of capitalism across an international system made up of diverse states and societies.
