Book Review: The Transnational Capitalist Class

In The Transnational Capitalist Class Leslie Sklair attempts to tackle a daunting task in discussing the discourse of globalization. Sklair seeks to identify structures and strategies of corporations. Consequently he proposes the notion of the transnational capitalist class as a social group, and structure influencing multinational enterprise and a way to study it. Because they control substantial amounts of capital and operate across state borders, actions of transnational capitalists must be monitored. The reason being that this class seeks to "further the interest of global capital than any real or imagined nation-state" (Sklair 295). Utilizing Global system theory, Sklair tries to explain the functions of the transnational capitalist class and their role in globalization.

Studying the transnational capitalist class is critical because they are in the position to further their interests in ways not able to other social classes (Sklair 295). Moreover Sklair identifies that the transnational capitalist class is composed of more than corporate actors, but other social groups like consumers, politicians, and other professionals. Furthermore, Sklair divides the class into four parts. These four fractions describe the main activities of the class through it's actors. First, the TNC executives and their local affiliates (corporate fraction); next the globalizing bureaucrats and politicians (the state fraction); next the globalizing professionals (the technical fraction); and finally the merchants and media (the consumer fraction), these fractions demonstrate the different types of capital that needs to be mobilized in order to further interests of the global capitalist system.

The strategies and structures identified by Sklair are useful in understanding the motivation behind many actions of the transnational capitalist class. The global vision that this class is a reflection of the current ideology of consumerism. Moreover, the economic interests of the TCC have become increasingly global, rather than local and national in origin (Sklair 18). As a consequence, the rhetoric of consumerism is directly influenced by the TCC in order to impact their power on an international level. In addition, the goal of the TCC is an outward oriented global perspective on most economic, political, and ideologies of culture (Sklair 20). Moreover, members of the TCC all share similar levels of higher education. And finally, the members of the TCC seek to project themselves as citizens of the world (Sklair 21). It also should be noted that TCC also contains a hierarchy, and members of the class may hold interlocking position within many spheres of social action on an international and domestic level. These strategies and structures are key in understanding the meaning behind many actions of the TCC,

Sklair also identifies that four arguments that the TCC is currently pushing through capitalism. First and foremost, the TCC is emerging as controlling globalization. As a result, they are gaining dominance as a social class in some social spheres. Consumerism reproduces itself through the culture driven ideology of consumerism. And lastly, the TCC is trying to resolve a conflict of interest; the large disparity of wealth accumulation across nations and the ecological crisis of unsustainablity of the system (Sklair 6). These four criteria outlined by Sklair frame the concepts of her writing as he tries to address the TCC's role in globalization, and their motivations. Understanding the motivations of TCC's through global systems theory heds light into the utilization of certain strategies and structures implemented, in addition to their role in the global vision.

The transnational capitalist class seeks to create a new world culture. The consumerist vision, which is transformed into a globalizing practice by the implementation logistics by the TCC are globalizing practices because they contribute to capitalist hegemony against it rivals (Sklair 288). Global system theory, which is proposed by Sklair as a means to study TCC, restricts its scope of analysis to those technological, economic, political, and culture-ideology innovations that began to change the world in the twentieth century. He utilizes global system theory because he identifies actions cross state borders, but they don't originate at state agencies (Sklair 4). Consequently, the theory seeks to prove that dominant forces in global capitalism are the same forces dominant in the global system. Utilizing global system theory, Sklair argues that we can study and understand the TCC. Global system theory argues that capitalism is organized politically on a global scale through the TCC (Sklair 298). The TCC acts rationally to seek their best interests.

"Challenging the global capitalism in the economic sphere involves disrupting the transnational corporate capacity to accumulate profits at the expense of their workforce (Sklair 297). Resistance to global vision practices can only be effective where disruption of smooth running corporate practices, specifically in the area of profit accumulation. No social movement has demonstrated to overthrow the pillars of support that TCC have reinforced through their globalizing vision. Global production chains are critical components of global production, therefore stoppages are effective, to an extent as an irritation against capital by labor (Sklair 297). As Sklair tactfully states, "order to save the system, we must find out what is wrong and ensure that the cure does not kill the patient" (Sklair 300). An effective social movement will undoubtably, utilize Sklair's research in an insightful way to fix the system without destroying it.

- Dr Leslie Sklair. 2001. The transnational capitalist class. Blackwell.