Leslie Sklair

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I AM A SOCIOLOGIST WORKING ON HOW THE CONCEPT OF THE ANTHROPOCENE IS CHALLENGING THE CONCEPT OF GLOBALIZATION IN THE WORLD OF IDEAS. AND HOW THE ANTHROPOCENE IS ACTUALLY CHALLENGING THE SURVIVAL OF LIFE ON PLANET EARTH IN PRACTICE.

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Alexandra Chavarria Arnau

Università degli Studi di Padova

Serpil Oppermann

Kapadokya Üniversitesi

David Seamon

Kansas State University

Elena Loizidou

Birkbeck College, University of London

Volodymyr Ishchenko

Freie Universität Berlin

University of Genova

Brunel University

Yeditepe University

University of Iceland

Dimitris P. Drakoulis

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

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Papers by Leslie Sklair

World revolution or socialism, community by community, in the Anthropocene?

Routledge eBooks, Mar 24, 2021

The idea of a Fifth International has been around for some time and the historical record is not ... more The idea of a Fifth International has been around for some time and the historical record is not encouraging. We have all been wrestling with the contradictions the Left faces. The transnational capitalist class has taken setbacks in its stride, while the Left flounders almost everywhere. No communist revolution has resulted in the capture of power by the working class. Now we are all confronted by a new, rapidly unfolding ecological crisis, the Anthropocene. I argue that the most effective response is to exit rather than attempt to overthrow capitalism and the hierarchical state by international revolution. Socialists in positions of authority in state institutions and capitalist enterprises can facilitate this process by enacting legislation that helps people to transition to new smaller-scale non-statist social units, such as producer-consumer co-operatives producing their own food and other essential services over time. Mobilizing the ideas of degrowth, anarching, and consumer-producer cooperatives in the digital age, I argue that under Anthropocene conditions democratic socialism is best constructed from the bottom up, community by community, networked in mutually nurturing relationships.

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La clase capitalista transnacional y el discurso de la globalización

Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Apr 6, 2002

Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto En este ... more Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto En este artículo, el autor analiza las corporaciones transnacionales, la clase capitalista transnacional y la ideología-cultura del consumismo como los tres cimientos de lo que se conoce como Teoría del Sistema Global. Es ésta un intento por conceptualizar la globalización capitalista. En su escrito, el autor se enfoca sobre la clase capitalista transnacional y sus cuatro fracciones, a saber, los propietarios y controladores de TNCs y sus afiliadas locales; los burócratas y políticos globalizadores; los profesionales globalizadores y las elites consumistas (comerciantes y media). El propósito de este documento es el de explicar cómo combinaciones de estas fracciones de la clase capitalista transnacional han usado el discurso de las competitividades nacionales y del desarrollo sostenido para superar los intereses del capital global. Por lo tanto, la globalización se explica no como "de occidente", sino como una ideología capitalista globalizadora.

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Participation and Movement Orientation: Foundations of a Theory of Change in Voluntary Associations

v 6 groups." Robert Angell in his "Integration of American &>ciety" presents the role of the volu... more v 6 groups." Robert Angell in his "Integration of American &>ciety" presents the role of the voluntary association as one of filing in the gaps that the 7 planners of the great society did not (or could not) foresee. The comepraaivr autonomy for independent action of such groups is noted here by 8 ArnpU, "these groups are the mot ^^^^61^ units in our society". An early research report indicates just how imjportant voluntary groups could be for the demmccaaic processes. In 1930 W. Denis showed not only that the membbrs of a Dauuhhers of the A^eeican Revvoution group had an appreciably higher percentage of voter registration and voting in a primary election than a control group, but also a group of neighbours of the former wen significantly higher on both counts than the control group. Denis concludes that "the voting strength of the DAR is much greater than that of 9 an equal-sizea group of the average poppl-lHon.1' The genera validity of this statement has been subsequently tested and largely corroborated many 10 times since then. Several studies were carried out in the analytically connected field of social pirticipation during the late thirties and early forties. 11 Larson, for example, in a study of participation in rural commiities, made two impotent points that were to be taken up again and again in later years. First, he showed that, generally speaking, the rate of participation (measured here by attendance) was low. Second, institutoonal religion accounted for a very high proportion of the total participation; 83% of 12 farmer and 63.1 of villager participation. At this time Chapin was developing his 'Sooc-al Participation S^c^le * and was relating this to what he called social inirllheencr A3 teaher, in a survey of 708 people in Indiana,

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The Icon Project: The Transnational Capitalist Class in Action

Globalizations, Oct 1, 2013

This article—a product of current research on iconic architecture and capitalist globalization—ar... more This article—a product of current research on iconic architecture and capitalist globalization—argues that iconicity in general, and in architecture and urban design in particular is a telling case study of how the four fractions of the transnational capitalist class (corporate, political, professional, and consumerist) act to sustain and enlarge their hegemony through the use of both intangible and tangible objects that foster the global diffusion of the culture-ideology of consumerism. Iconicity is defined in terms of (a) fame and (b) symbolic/aesthetic significance, and while many different interpretations can be and have been applied to iconic phenomena (e.g. celebrities of various types, products, images, buildings, architects) this article will emphasize the uses of iconicity in the conscious construction of transnational capitalist class projects at various levels of action. The article concludes with an analysis of the ways in which the transnational capitalist class in and around architecture, urban design, and other iconic modalities manufactures iconicity for buildings and objects even before they are built, notably through the global dissemination of images of what they might look like—their aesthetic significance—and what they might signify—their symbolic significance. Este artículo—un producto de una investigación actual sobre la arquitectura icónica y la globalización capitalista—plantea que la iconicidad en general y en arquitectura y diseño urbano en particular, es un caso de estudio sobre cómo las cuatro fracciones de la clase capitalista trasnacional (corporativa, política, profesional y consumista) actúan para sostener y engrandecer su hegemonía a través del uso de objetos tanto intangibles como tangibles que fomentan la difusión de la ideología-cultura de consumismo. La iconicidad se define en términos de (a) fama y (b) importancia simbólica/estética, y mientras muchas interpretaciones pueden y han sido aplicadas al fenómeno icónico (verbigracia las celebridades de varios tipos, productos, imágenes, edificios, arquitectos), este artículo enfatizará los usos de la iconicidad en la construcción consciente de proyectos de la clase capitalista trasnacional, en varios niveles de acción. El artículo concluye con un análisis de las formas en las cuales la clase capitalista trasnacional, dentro y alrededor de la arquitectura, el diseño urbano y otras modalidades icónicas elaboran iconicidad para los edificios y objetos, inclusive antes de que se hayan construido, concretamente mediante la diseminación global de imágenes de cómo se vería—su importancia estética— y lo que pueden llegar a significar—la trascendencia simbólica. 本文是目前的关于偶像架构和资本主义全球化的研究结果，认为，偶像性，尤其是建筑和城市设计，告诉我们跨国资本主义阶级的四个组成部分（公司、政治、专业人士和消费者）如何通过使用有形和无形的助长消费主义的文化意识形态的扩散的物体来支撑和扩大他们的霸权。偶像性依据（a）名声和（b）象征/美学的重要性来定义，同时，许多不同的解读能被用于和已经用于偶像现象（各种类型的名人、产品、形象、建筑、设计师）。本文强调，在各种行动层次上的跨国资本主义阶级的项目的有意识的建筑方面偶像性的使用。最后，本文得出了一种关于各类方式的分析，说明跨国资本主义阶级甚至在这些东西被建造以前，就在和围绕着建筑结构、都市设计和其它物体的偶像形式制造偶像性，尤其是通过它们可能期待的——它们的美学重要性——和它们可能代表的意义——它们的象征性重要性的形象的全球传播。 يذهب هذا المقال- وهو نتاج لبحث جارٍ على المعمار الأيقوني والعولمة الرأسمالية- إلى أن الأيقونية بوجه عام والتصميم الحضري بشكل خاص يمثلان دراسة حالة مفيدة لكيفية عمل الأقسام الأربعة للطبقة الرأسمالية متعدية القوميات (الشركة، العنصر السياسي، العنصر المهني، والعنصر الاستهلاكي) للحفاظ على هيمنتها وتوسيعها من خلال استخدام كل الأشياء المادية وغير المادية التي تعزز النشر العالمي لثقافة- أيديولوجية النزعة الاستهلاكية. وتتحدد الأيقونية بمصطلحي (أ) الشهرة ؛ (ب) المغزى الرمزي/الجمالي. وهناك كثير من التفسيرات التي يمكن تطبيقها، والتي طُبقت بالفعل، على الظواهر الأيقونية (مثل نجوم المشاهير من مختلف الأنواع، والمنتجات، والصور، والأبنية، والطرز المعمارية) إلا إن هذا المقال يركز على استخدامات الأيقونية في البناء الواعي لمشروعات الطبقة الرأسمالية متعدية القوميات على مختلف مستويات العمل. ويُختتم المقال بتحليل الطرق التي تستخدمها هذه الطبقة في المعمار وحوله، والتصميم الحضري وغيرها من الأشكال الأيقونية في إقامة البنايات وغيرها حتى قبل أن تُقام، وعلى وجه الخصوص من خلال النشر العالمي للصور لما هي عليه- أي مغزاها الجمالي- ولما يمكن أن تكون دلالة عليه- أي مغزاها الرمزي. 이 논문은 상징적인 건축과 자본주의적 세계화에 관한 현행 연구 결과이다. 이 논문은 일반적으로 건축에서 특히 도시 디자인에서 4가지 초국적 자본가 분파들(기업, 정치, 전문, 소비자)이 소비주의라는 문화이데올로기를 지구적으로 확산시키기 위해 어떻게 만질 수 없거나 혹은 만질 수 있는 상징성을 이용하여 그들의 헤게모니를 유지하거나 확산시키고자 행동하는지에 대해 말해주는 사례 연구이다. 상징성은 (a) 유명함과 (b) 상징적/심미적 의미에 의해서 정의되고 그리고 상징적 현상(다양한 형태의 유명인, 산물, 이미지, 건물과 건축)에 다양한 해석이 적용될 수 있고 또 적용되었지만, 이 논문은 다양한 수준에서 초국적 자본가계급 프로젝트를 의식적으로 구축하는데 있어서 상징성을 이용한다는 점을 강조한다. 이 글은 건축물, 도시 디자인과 다른 상징적 양식을 중심으로 해서 그들이 지어지기 전에도 초국적 계급이 미학적인 의미와 지어진 이후 그것의 상징적 의미를 전지구적으로 전파해서 건축과 오브제의 상징성을 만드는 방식을 분석하여 결론을 맺는다.

Review article: Do cities need architectural icons?

Book reviews of: MILES GLENDINNING, "The Last Icons: Architecture Beyond Modernism" (Gl... more Book reviews of: MILES GLENDINNING, "The Last Icons: Architecture Beyond Modernism" (Glasgow: Graven Images, 2004) The Lighthouse Scottish Architecture and Design Series Issue 1. ISBN 0 780954 710323 ; CHARLES JENCKS, "The Iconic Building: The Power of Enigma" (London: Frances Lincoln, 2005)ISBN 9 780711 224261 and DEYAN SUDJIC, "The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World" (London: Penguin/Allen Lane, 2005) ISBN 9 780713 997620

Two Types of Iconic Architecture

The Icon Project, 2017

The debate around iconic architecture has been undermined by the general failure to recognize tha... more The debate around iconic architecture has been undermined by the general failure to recognize that there are and probably always have been two forms of iconicity in terms of fame and symbolic/ aesthetic significance. These are (1) unique icons (buildings recognized as works of art in their own right) and (2) typical icons (buildings successfully copying elements of unique icons). My argument in this book is that the transnational capitalist class mobilizes these two distinct but related forms to promote an ideological message, identified here as the culture-ideology of consumerism. This is what I mean by the Icon Project. The rise of iconic architecture can be explained in parallel with the decline of monumental architecture. Since the end of the Second World War and the defeat of the fascist dictatorships in Europe and Japan, debate around monumentality as a public expression of architectural representation has moved on to new ground. Although it has by no means disappeared (confla...

Communal luxury: the political imaginary of the Paris Commune

Modern & Contemporary France, 2016

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The Architecture of Neoliberalism

Introduction: Architecture, Neoliberalism and the Game of Truth 1. The Art of Neoliberal Governme... more Introduction: Architecture, Neoliberalism and the Game of Truth 1. The Art of Neoliberal Governmentality 2. The Spatial Constitution of the Neoliberal Subject 3. Architecture Theory: From May '68 to the 'Real' of the Market 4. Labour Theory: Architecture, Work and Neoliberalism 5. Festivals of Circulation: Neoliberal Architectures of Culture, Commerce and Eduction 6. Neoliberalism and Effect: Architecture and the Patterning of Experience Conclusion: The Necessity of Critique Bibliography.

Research Ethics

Nature, 1970

The objective of this study is to explore the current practices of an application of ethical prot... more The objective of this study is to explore the current practices of an application of ethical protocol in qualitative research conducted by Ph.D. candidates in Thailand and the USA. To guide the study three questions were posed: (1) has the researcher explicitly identified ethical issues in the research? (2) Is literature related to ethics reviewed and presented? (3) What ethical protocol are identified and applied? To answer these questions the concept and theories of ethics, research ethics, research protocol, ethical protocol, and the application of ethical protocol in qualitative dissertations are reviewed. Ten qualitative dissertations each conducted by Ph.D. candidates from 2001-2010 in Thailand and the USA were selected for review and evaluation. Discussions, conclusions and recommendations were then made. The findings of this study reveal that the conduct of qualitative research in the USA is more advanced than those conducted in Thailand in terms of research ethics. At the same time major improvement is needed in the conduct of qualitative research in Thailand. This indicates that there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the importance of ethics in conducting research especially in qualitative research. There is also a lack of knowledge and understanding of ethical issues, research ethics, research protocol, ethical protocol and how to apply them in qualitative research. To improve the current situation in Thailand the following recommendations are made: (1) all research training courses should include research ethics; (2) university research courses should be revised to include research ethics; (3) research ethics awareness programs should be developed and implemented to create awareness of all research stakeholder groups; (4) promotion programs should be developed and implemented to encourage all universities in Thailand to establish their own Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and practice IRB processes; (5) a piece of legislation on research on human beings should be enacted and enforced.

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Sociology of the Global System

Contemporary Sociology, 1992

... Sociology of the global system. Post a Comment. CONTRIBUTORS: ...

The Maquilas in Mexico: A Global Perspective

Bulletin of Latin American Research, 1992

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears... more Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Society for Latin American Studies and Blackwell Publishing are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Bulletin of Latin American Research.

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Book Review:The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. Robert K. Merton

American Journal of Sociology, 1976

The Transnational Capitalist Class

Contemporary Sociology, 2002

Page 1. I,(&amp;amp;#x27; I 1 Blackwell Publishing Leslie Sklair Page 2. Page 3. The Transnat... more

Globalization and the Challenge of the Anthropocene

Challenges of Globalization and Prospects for an Inter-civilizational World Order, 2020

Just as globalization was a leading idea in the social sciences from the 1990s to the first decad... more Just as globalization was a leading idea in the social sciences from the 1990s to the first decade of the new millennium, the Anthropocene is now a serious contender to be a leading idea in the social sciences and humanities. Controversies around the origins and implications of the Anthropocene mirror those around those of globalization—are they ancient or modern phenomena, are they sustainable or leading us into disaster? Mobilizing ideas on the “silent qualifiers” of globalization (generic, capitalist, and alternative globalizations) I argue that it is fruitful to theorize generic, capitalist, and alternative Anthropocenes. With the mantra of endless growth integral to the survival of both global capitalism and the state system, it seems obvious that these systems are incompatible with planetary survival in the long term, necessitating an engagement with the emerging degrowth movement. Given the failure of governments and corporations to seriously engage with the risks of the Anthropocene, smaller democratically organized communities at different geographic and socio-political scales offer prospects for simpler less ecologically destructive living. Fortunately, the Anthropocene is also a digital era, facilitating cooperative networking between such communities.

2. Towards an Understanding of Architectural Iconicity in Global Perspective

Aspects of Urbanization in China, 2012

Despite the fact that architecture and the built environment confront all of us in our daily live... more Despite the fact that architecture and the built environment confront all of us in our daily lives, they have received relatively little attention in discussions of globalization, capitalism, or postcolonialism. Certain types of architecture can be hegemonic in a class sense, serving specific class interests alongside their recognized aesthetic qualities. Until the middle of the twentieth century, this idea was discussed mainly in terms of monumentality and political power. However, in recent decades, with the spread of the culture-ideology of consumerism around the world, notably in the cities of the postcolonial newly independent countries of East Asia, iconic architecture is becoming increasingly important in understanding how capitalist globalization works.

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Capitalist Globalization: Fatal Flaws and Necessity for Alternatives

The article elaborates a specific application of global system theory to describe capitalist glob... more The article elaborates a specific application of global system theory to describe capitalist globalization. It is said that global system theory bases its analysis in transnational practices that occur across borders and do not originate with state actors or agencies. Spheres where transnational practices operate include the economic, the political and the cultural.

Democracy and the Transnational Capitalist Class. The Annals of the American

ABSTRACT: While globalization means many different things to many different people, there is grow... more ABSTRACT: While globalization means many different things to many different people, there is growing consensus that capitalist globalization is its most powerful contemporary form. This article ar-gues that capitalist globalization, and thus effective power in the global system, is increasingly in the hands of a transnational capital-ist class (TCC) comprising four fractions: those who own and control the major corporations and their local affiliates, globalizing bureau-crats and politicians, globalizing professionals, and consumerist elites. The TCC engages in a variety of activities that take place at all levels, including community, urban, national, and global politics, and involve many different groups of actors. Two sets of questions are ad-dressed: (1) What forms do these activities take? and (2) Do they en-hance or undermine democracy? The role of the TCC is analyzed through brief case studies on Codex Alimentarius and the global to-bacco industry.

THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYDEMOCR CY AND THE TRANSNATIONAL CAPITALIST CLASS Democracy and the Transnational Capitalist Class