The Institute of Community in The Works of N.I. Sieber

This article examines the views of the Russian economist Nikolai Ivanovich Sieber on community relations both in Russia and abroad. Sieber, as is known, is the first Russian follower of Marx, who assimilated his theory in all its complexity and dialectical inconsistency. However, in this article, the main attention is paid to the position of Sieber in relation to the peasant community. If Sieber was a consistent apologist for Marx's theory, without introducing his own ideas into it, then scholar seems to be completely independent with his own point of view in matters of the community. In the community context, he argued with the narodniks, particularly with V. P. Vorontsov, about the ways of developing the Russian economy. Should it develop based on the preservation and development of the peasant community, artels, as opposed to the creation of large-scale capitalist production in Russia, or should the country strive to create a capitalist economy in which there is no place for community relations? Sieber refuted the narodnik concept of a special way of development of Russia and defended the Marxist idea that capitalism is an objective stage in the development of society and, therefore, inevitable.

Dispossession as Destination

The systematic dispossession of Māori land in the 19th and 20th centuries formed the basis of Aotearoa New Zealand’s capitalist economy and contributed to persistent patterns of inequality between Pākehā and Māori. Māori were, and largely remain, excluded from the land-based economy of Aotearoa New Zealand. This chapter draws on an emergent body of Indigenous critical theory that seeks to reformulate or “indiginize” Marx’s theory of primitive accumulation to better account for Indigenous experiences of colonization. It describes the settler-colonial process in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the myriad attempts of settlers and the Crown to eliminate Māori and separate us from our ancestral lands. Ultimately, however, this chapter argues that the settler colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand is, in part at least, a failed project. Māori have not been eliminated and the umbilical connection to the lands of our ancestors has not been severed.

Dynamics of Pakhtun Social Structure: Implications for Economic Development

Every region and people has peculiar economic characteristics and these features largely have roots in that region‟s social structure, social psychology and its dynamics. The capitalist economy of the United States has roots in individualismand Protestant Work Ethic, influenced both by Protestant religion and the social character of the Americans; the Client Economy of Saudi Arabia has deep linkages to its tribal social structure and the so-called Bazaar Economy of Afghanistan is profoundly embedded in the Pakhtun social structure of the country. The Pakhtuns of Pakistan have a peculiar social structure and social psychology thereof having profound and extensive influence on the region‟s economy particularly its largely underdevelopedcondition. The paper explores the characteristics of Pakhtun social structure and the interactive linkages between the social edifice and economic development or lack of it.

Donor-Funded Women’s Empowerment in Tajikistan: Trajectories of Women’s NGOs and Changing Attitudes to the International Agenda

This article investigates internationally funded women’s empowerment initiatives in Tajikistan. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent Tajik civil war (1992–1997), this newly independent, Muslim-majority country has experienced an influx of foreign aid, including in the field of women’s rights. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the article analyzes the growth and diversification of local, Western-funded women’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) between 1991 and 2020, paying attention to their leadership and aims, as well as changing perceptions of donors’ interventions. It is argued that, initially, local activists were supportive of international projects, which promoted gender equality by supporting women’s integration into the new, capitalist economy. In the last decade, however, an increasing conditionality of funding and deteriorating donor-NGO relations has fueled local contestations of the international agenda. The donor-enhanced women’s empowerment model, which fosters individual responsibility and self-reliance, is increasingly criticized for aggravating the conditions of local women in the context of a growing economic insecurity characterizing the local capitalist economy. Against this resentment, an alternative women’s empowerment model, advancing gender equity based on complementarity of male and female social roles and stressing the importance of family as a safety net against economic precarity, is gaining prominence locally.

Notes from the Editors, June 2021

buy this issue Where capitalism itself is concerned, the dominant view is that the COVID-19 crisis constitutes a rare, unpredictable, and unlikely to be repeated occurrence. The world capitalist economy, we are informed, was fundamentally sound prior to the advent of this unforeseen exogenous shock, and it will revive quickly once the SARS-CoV-2 virus is under control. This received view, however, is incorrect on all counts.

Florin Georgescu: A New Outlook on Romanian Capitalism

In 2021, the Romanian Sociological Association awarded economist Florin Georgescu its Award for Excellence. This essay covers the author’s magnum opus, titled Capital in Post-communist Romania, and focuses on the content most relevant to sociology. Unique in size and scope, the approximate 1,000 page three-volume book features three books in one: a 30-year economic history of Romania, a critical analysis of the way the Romanian capitalist economy developed in the second half of the 2010s, and a blueprint for structural reforms to foster development and reduce inequality. The essay includes a short author presentation and an overall review of the book’s contents, an appraisal of the work’s style and originality, and a review of the themes and subjects most salient for sociologists: capital ‒ labour relationship and the distribution and redistribution system, income and wealth inequality, precarious work, the transition and privatisation processes, structural problems of capitalism, and development policies.

University Education and the Value Projection of the Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility

The authors consider the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a component of the global capitalist ideology. The value disposition of universities in relation to the concept of CSR is analyzed relying on the fundamental motivational matrix (FMM). The fundamental types of motivation are defined according to the anthropological distinction between personality and human nature and the social distinction between reward and punishment. In accordance with the logic of the applicability of different types of motivation, the fundamental contradiction between the value basis of the capitalist economy and the main scientific and educational activities of universities is determined. The attitude of voluntary responsibility characteristic of CSR is defined as internally contradictory, but unavoidable within the system of declared values of the capitalist economy. It is shown that the peripheral position of labor in this system of values is not accidental, that labor and investment success are opposed, and that it is irrevocable.

Uberization of labor and Marx’s Capital

In the last decade, we saw the expansion of digital platforms and decentralized and freelance labor relations in the global capitalist economy. This combination has been called Gig Economy and its specific labor relation Uberization. This process is directly link to the intensification of work, working day expansion, low remuneration, absence of labor rights and amplification of indirect control over the labor process. Although this phenomenon appears as something new, considering Marx’s analysis of piece-wage in Capital, it’s possible to see the very features and consequences of Uberization. The remuneration, be it by hour or piece/gigs, no alters the essential nature of labor relations in capitalism. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to identify that Marx’s Capital already anticipated this tendency of capitalist economy and traced the main consequences of Uberization of labor.

Globalization and Its Contradictions: China’s Developing Path

Globalization is a process of contradictions and value conflicts. Developing countries are faced with various challenges in this process. Economic globalization is essentially global-wide expansion of the capitalist economy. Inherent contradictions of economic globalization can be divided into original and derivative contradictions. The inherent contradiction of the capitalist economy determines its two different aspects, its corresponding effects upon the world history, as well as conflicts between economic, political, and cultural values. Being exposed to this process, China needs to make wise choices.