Cheap Natures and Cheap Money: Chinese Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century

• In Event: 508 - Section on Marxist Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Globalization and Economics

Abstract

With the crisis of legitimacy and profitability in West in the 1980s, the movement of capital to East Asia has led to the revival of the conditions of capital accumulation for capitalism. It precursors of survival may also be the reasons for its demise. Synthesizing political economy and environmental history altogether, I argue that the continuation of global capitalism has relied on Chinese capitalism’s appropriation of the unpaid work of cheap natures—food, labor, resources, and energy— outside the wage labor relation but within capital’s reach. However, the increasing difficulties to appropriate cheap natures because of rising socio-ecological contradictions and decreasing basic inputs of natures has been increasing the cost of production and decreasing profitability.
Empirically, I discuss that during China’s integration (1991-2002) with global capital, the appropriation of cheap natures subsidized the cost of production for the formation of value. However, during China’s ascendance in global capital (2003-onwards), it is encountering further ecological contradictions because appropriation tends to degrade the life-making capacities of humans and nature, demonstrating the limits of capital-in-nature. Although Beijing is doing its best to compensate with surplus capital, as well exporting more capital to other countries, global capital has been endeavoring to diversify its investments in other states that could replicate China’s conditions. While the efforts have been difficult and unsustainable, the rising socio-ecological contradictions and deceasing inputs may mean the end for the current phase of capital accumulation.

Authors

• Alvin Almendrala Camba, Johns Hopkins University

• Jason W. Moore, State University of New York-Binghamton