Citation:

Dr. Amajit Basu. "Synergy and Conflict Within the Transnational Capitalist Class and its Geo-economic Significance" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 3, No. 7, pp. 31-46, 2024.

Abstract:

Following the neoliberal globalization, a Transnational Capitalist Class (TCC) has emerged. The richest class of different countries with plutocratic practices belong to this TCC. The synergy and conflicts within the TCC have geopolitical and geo-economic significance. Taking a cue from these earlier observations, this study tries to investigate empirically whether the richest 1% of different countries, as the plutocrats, belong to the TCC and have any synergy or conflict with geo-economic significance. Data on the share of the richest 1% in pre-tax national income for 107 countries and the period 1980-2022 is used from WID.world and then a correlation matrix of the fluctuations in the variable across these countries is prepared. Investigating the correlation matrix, it is found that – (1) the richest 1% of different countries may be taken as belonging to the TCC, (2) they are well-integrated into the TCC, (3) there is both strong synergy and conflict within the TCC, and (4) when the countries are divided into different blocks as per sign and strength of the correlations against the USA, the block structure revealed some geopolitical geo-economic features in line with the expectations. Despite different limitations, this study will be helpful for a country to understand the relation of its plutocrats within the TCC.

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Keywords:

Institutional Economics, Geo-Economics, Geopolitics, Plutocracy, Political Economy, Richest 1%, Transnational Capital Class.