Perhaps no word today is used and misused more than globalization. It generally serves to refer to worldwide epoch-defining changes in the organization of societies, economies and politics. But as Petras and Veltmeyer demonstrate, the term globalization obscures much more than it reveals. In practice, globalization provides a cover for a new form of imperialist exploitation and the institution of US hegemony over a global process of capital accumulation. In the last decade, capitalists in Europe and the United States have created favourable conditions for the takeover and recolonization of economies across the developing world. International capital has managed to restore highly profitable returns on investments and operations as never before, creating islands of opulent prosperity within a sea of growing poverty and misery. In effect, this book argues that the terms globalization and imperialism are widely used as alternative frameworks for understanding the dynamics of the same worldwide developments and trends. Employing an imperialist analytical framework over that of globalization not only provides a better understanding but also points towards forces of resistance and opposition that through political action may bring about necessary change.

‘A rich, revealing, and powerful exploration of the ideology of "globalization" and the free-market imperialism behind it. A vital in-depth education for both advanced students and laypersons.‘ Michael Parenti, author of To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia 'Protestors at future WTO meetings will wave well-thumbed copies.' CHOICE

James Petras is emeritus professor of sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is author of over 30 books on Latin American and world affairs, including Poverty and Democracy in Chile (1997) and The Dynamics of Social Change in Latin America (2000). Henry Veltmeyer is professor of sociology and international studies at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Canada and adjunct professor of political science at the Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Mexico. He is author of numerous scholarly articles and books on Canadian political economy and Latin American development, including Neoliberalism and Class Conflict in Latin America (1997) and The Labyrinth of Latin American Development (1999).