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The problems with capitalism are not the same everywhere. After Capitalism focuses on what many are calling late-stage capitalism. In other words, it’s nearing the end of its life span. But not everywhere. The problems with capitalism are much different in the US than in say Mexico or Panama, because the stage of capitalism that these countries are in is much different. The stage of capitalism reflects the level of development that a country is at.
The development theory of social change says that there is change in a consistent direction over time toward greater complexity and choice. It is not necessarily better. Progress theory takes the position that things indeed get better over time, but development is neutral. It suggests that some societies will be at a more advanced stage of development than others, that is, they will be in more complex societies with more choices available. The notion of “more advanced” bothers some people. Those with postmodern values tend to not like levels or hierarchies of any kind. The “mean green” postmoderns in particular abhor even a whiff of levels and will often seek to deny their very existence. Or they will attack the theory, the case, or even the author of such ideas as hegemonizers, colonizers, or pick your disparaging term. To be fair, I am not suggesting there are not hegemonizers or colonizers out there, but it is not an inherent feature of development. So let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water!
Development theory is a useful way to understand what is happening with capitalism. In early stages of capitalism, the key challenge is stimulating growth and getting enough resources. In late-stage capitalism, the key challenge is dealing with all of the consequences of that growth, such as climate change and carrying capacity limits, and inequality. Nations at earlier stages of development do not have the same growth challenges … yet! Development theory suggests they are likely to follow the same path as their predecessors. If they have the opportunity, they too will grow and consume, and eventually get to the too-much-growth problem of late-stage capitalism. There is some confusion that less-developed nations are inherently better behaved and more noble than more developed nations. That may be true in some cases. But development theory suggests that they will probably act in similar ways to their predecessors. We developed a scenario about a dozen years ago called “Our Turn” that suggested emerging markets would indeed grow and consume at high levels once they had the opportunity, and would turn a deaf ear to the more developed nations beseeching them to forego their turn.
This is a rather longish way of saying that the focus on more developed nations is a focus on the leading edge of the problem. And that problem is only going to get worse as more countries develop. What is happening right now is not an anomaly, but where capitalism “ends up.” And it’s not going to go away unless we choose to do something different. – Andy Hines
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