“Capitalist World-Economy, Globalization, and Violence: Implications for Criminology and Social Justice”

Source: (2006) International Criminal Justice Review. 16(1):24-44.

During the past two decades, neoliberal economic policies have been enacted in many peripheral
regions of theworld. Neoliberalism promotes free trade, deregulation, privatization, and welfare
reduction; however, it does not call for state rescission of social control and legal coercion.
Global capitalism has asserted itself as the dominant force in modernity. It transcends the nationstate
system. For example, the United States was the primary hegemon throughout much of the
20th century. Yet since the appearance of global capitalism, transnational corporations now
dominate the world-economy. Wealth is heavily concentrated in the hands of an elite capitalist
class. The resultant income inequality, coupled with increased state surveillance and formal control,
increases structural violence throughout the periphery. The purpose of this article is to
examine the structural inequalities in the Americas, while presenting possible solutions to the
neoliberal crisis from a social justice perspective.