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The Persistence of American Economic Power in Global Capitalism: from the 1960S Into the Twenty-First Century

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The Persistence of American Economic Power in Global Capitalism: from the 1960S Into the Twenty-First Century The Persistence of American Economic Power in Global Capitalism: From the 1960s into the Twenty-First Century Sean Kenji Starrs A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA June 2014 © Sean Kenji Starrs, 2014 Abstract This dissertation intervenes in the more than four decades-long debate on the decline or persistence of American economic power. It argues that we cannot move forward without reconceptualizing the nature of economic power in global capitalism, especially by moving beyond national accounts (such as GDP). Too many commentators from across the diversity of perspectives assume that the relative rise and decline of national accounts approximates the relative rise and decline of national economic power. In contrast, this dissertation argues that in the era of globalization, national accounts are an inadequate measure of national economic power. Rather, we must investigate the transnational corporations themselves in order to encompass their transnational operations, and analyze the matrix of inter- linkages now characteristic of global capitalism in general, and American power in particular. Therefore, this dissertation draws upon extensive original empirical research, including the following: 1) the first aggregation of the national sales- shares of the world’s top 200 corporations from 1957 to 2013; 2) the first aggregation of the national profit-shares of the world’s top 2,000 corporations across 25 broad sectors from 2006 to 2013; 3) the first aggregation of the top 50 national acquirers and targets of all cross-border mergers and acquisitions worth $1 million or more from 1980 to 2012; and 4) the first national aggregation of the ownership structures of the world’s top 500 corporations. ii The results from this empirical research, among others, will illuminate a number of facets concerning contemporary global capitalism. First, the nationality of capital remains very relevant despite several decades of intensifying globalization at the turn of the twentieth century. Following from this, the persistence of American economic power from the 1960s into the twenty-first century is astounding, particularly at the technological frontier. Indeed, in advanced technology and even Wall Street, American dominance has actually increased since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. There are no foreseeable contenders, including China. Therefore, this dissertation will demonstrate that far from relative American decline, in certain respects American economic power has never been stronger — and will conclude with a number of important implications from this analysis concerning the future of world order. iii Acknowledgements There are four people without whom this dissertation could not have been conceived, in chronological order: First, from 2002 onwards, Noam Chomsky, whose prodigious output sparked my initial interest in many issues relating to American power and global capitalism, and politicized me more generally. Second, Frank Unger, my MA thesis supervisor at the University of British Columbia, in 2003 introduced me to The Socialist Register 2004: The New Imperial Challenge (edited by Leo Panitch and Colin Leys). This volume, along with some prodding from Frank, inspired my dream to attend the Department of Political Science at York University, from where so many of the authors were based. In particular, it was Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin’s essay entitled Global Capitalism and American Empire that ignited a eureka moment — crystallizing, complementing, and deepening everything I had learned in those tumultuous years of the alter-globalization movements and the anti-Iraq war protests. Third — after a three-year hiatus as a high school teacher in Japan — at York University during my second MA and the first few years of my PhD, Jonathan Nitzan. I had never constructed a chart, a table, nor used Excel before taking Jonathan’s classes (there are 20 charts and 48 tables in this dissertation), and more broadly he taught me empirical research skills without which this dissertation could not have been conceived. Moreover, our many debates during 2007-2010 on the nature of global capitalism were crucial, as his contrarian positions helped to formulate and re-formulate my own. This includes his admonition that if I continue to believe in the persistence of American power, I’ll be caught like a Sovietologist in the late 1980s, just before the collapse! I am very grateful for all that Jonathan iv taught me, and our debates inspired much in this dissertation (of course, much of which he will disagree). Fourth — and most of all — this dissertation could not have been conceived nor finished without my PhD supervisor, Leo Panitch. The things he did for me from 2007-2014 are vast, and there is nothing that could adequately convey my gratitude, much less begin to repay him. From lending me his copy of the 2000 volume of UNCTAD’s World Investment Report on mergers and acquisitions (in autumn of 2007, the first data source I seriously explored) to introducing me to the Thomson Reuters database, from commissioning two major research reports through his SSHRC Canada Research Chair, which honed and consolidated my empirical research skills (and provided much needed funding), from offering emotional support during a break-up to inviting me to many lunches and drinks over the years, from forcing me to write four drafts of my dissertation proposal to essentially rewriting my entire 532-page First Draft, from incredibly extensive comments and corrections on hundreds of pages returned in a few weeks or less (my 400-page Second Draft was returned in five days) to writing a long series of reference letters (including while in Brazil with only his iPad on a spotty hotel Internet connection in between stops on his major public speaking tour) — Leo Panitch is truly a role model for how to be the best and most inspirational and supportive supervisor (as well as an engaged academic and public intellectual more generally), and I am forever grateful for all that he has done and for all that he has taught me. Simply put, my admission into the PhD program at York University, SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship, publication in International Studies Quarterly and its award of Foreign v Policy’s 2013 Albert O. Hirschman Award for Best Writing in Global Political Economy, SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Noam Chomsky, and appointment as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the City University of Hong Kong, and more, could not have been achieved without the guidance and support (and reference letters!) of Leo Panitch. Hence, “Thank you” does not quite cover it. I am also very grateful for the comments, criticisms, and support of Sam Gindin during various stages of this research, from my first major research report in 2008 to my defense in 2014. Sam also unhesitatingly wrote a long line of reference letters, including one while jet-lagged at 5:30am before giving a talk in Vienna. Thank you also to Sharada Srinivasan, who gave me the freedom as her teaching assistant to develop some of the ideas in this dissertation. She also spent time writing reference letters (even while she was on fieldwork in India). I must also acknowledge the exceptional quality of the intellectual champagne flowing from the Graduate Program in Political Science at York University, and especially courses taught by Greg Albo, Gregory Chin, Hannes Lacher, Jonathan Nitzan, and Leo Panitch have greatly influenced various aspects of this dissertation, as well as discussions with classmates and friends, especially Jordan Brennan, Troy Cochrane, Sandy Hager, Gareth Manning, and James Parisot. A special debt of gratitude must go to Jordan Brennan, for he dared me (with the aid of alcohol) to ask Noam Chomsky to be my Post-Doctoral supervisor (without which I would not have had the hubris to do so). Many have also provided useful feedback on various stages of this research at conferences, workshops, and two jobtalks (at vi Newcastle University and City University of Hong Kong), especially Paul Cammack, Michael Cox, Tim Di Muzio, Joe Francis, Nick Kitchen, Adam Quinn, Justin Robertson, Richard Saull, and Gilbert Skillman. I also appreciate the insightful criticism of three anonymous reviewers from International Studies Quarterly. Thank you also to Greg Albo, Stephen McBride, Ananya Mukherjee-Reed, and Mark Thomas (in addition to Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin of course), for very helpful criticisms and suggestions during my dissertation defense, especially on such short notice. I would also like to thank the librarians at the Schulich School of Business, who helped me navigate the Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters databases (and on multiple occasions retrieved dusty decades-old volumes of Fortune Magazine from the vault), especially Sophie Bury, June Hill, Xuemei Li, and Elizabeth Watson. Thank you also to Judy Matadial and Marlene Quesenberry for providing administrative and other support during my time in the Graduate Program. I also thank Kazuko and Roy Starrs, my parents who live in New Zealand, for the support and love they gave me, electronically and otherwise, from the bottom of the world. I have missed you, and Serena, all this time, and thought about you often. Finally, I am very grateful for the generous funding provided by a Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and Ontario Graduate Scholarship granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Provincial Government, respectively. Apologies for such a long-winded Acknowledgements, but its length gives an indication of just how lucky I have been. Thank you all very, very much. vii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables ix List of Figures xiii Introduction: From After Hegemony to China’s Eclipse 1 Chapter One: Theorizing American Economic Power — Decline or Persistence? 7 I.
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