News of the story
"On Point"
MINSK, 30 April (BelTA) - Russian historian, Director of the Institute for Systemic and Strategic Analysis Andrei Fursov outlined the fundamental differences between the capitalist and post-capitalist worlds in a recent episode of BelTA’s V Teme [On Point] project.
Various versions have been put forward regarding predictions of a post-capitalist future, including the possibility of a much more rigid, almost caste-like system.
Andrei Fursov shared his perspective on this issue and on the role of nation-states in the new era. “In the broadest terms, the post-capitalist world will differ from the capitalist one in that the object of appropriation will be fundamentally different. The fact is that every social system has an object of appropriation. In slave-owning societies, it was the slave’s body; under feudalism, it was land; under capitalism, it is reified labor. But slavery, feudalism, and capitalism all share a common trait: the main object of appropriation is material. The immaterial factors, however, are social behavior, human needs, and information flows. Those who control these will be the masters of post-capitalist society - not reified labor, but precisely these processes,” he said.
The analyst also addressed the question of the fate of nation-states. “The nation-state emerged alongside capitalism, and naturally, it must somehow transform. The question is: in which direction? The nation-state finds it very difficult to exist; it must take on some new forms. Much here will depend on what position the ruling class - the elite - takes and how much it identifies with the population. From the perspective of ultra-globalists, no national interests exist. And the European Union is not a nation-state. The EU is the heir to the Third Reich. There, neither national nor state interests concern anyone at all,” Andrei Fursov emphasized.
According to the expert, the early phase of any new society or system differs from its predecessor in two ways. “First, there is typically much stricter social control. Second, there is a decline in consumption standards for the majority of the population. That is exactly how early capitalism was - the degree of harshness of the upper classes over the lower classes in the 16th–18th centuries was significantly greater than under feudalism. And the consumption levels of the majority of the population only returned to mid-16th-century standards at the very end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries,” he said.
The historian emphasized that the emergence of any new social system is a very serious trial. “Much here depends on how capable people are of resisting the formation of this new ‘man-eater’ and, so to speak, how many teeth they manage to pull out of it during the emergence of this new society,” Andrei Fursov concluded.
Follow us on:
