ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the nature of Marx's thought and argues that the subsumption of its formal structure under the deductive-nomological protocols of the natural sciences disfigures his dialectically informed philosophy. It claims that Marx's philosophy provides a coherent approach for conceptualising the nexus between conscious agency and institutions, and the nexus between political authority and economic forces. Employing Marxist dialectical approach, the chapter traces the origins and nature of globalisation and its effect on state-economy relations, understanding it as the outcome of the long economic downturn that has governed the capitalist world economy since the 1970s. It discusses Constructivism's central theoretical assumptions and specifies some of its recurring objections against Marx. It also introduces one important constructivist approach to globalisation. The chapter suggests that Constructivism and Neo-Weberian Historical Sociology (NWHS) rely on a selective reading of Weber and have failed to address the limits and contradictions of Marx's philosophy of science.
