New Imperialists : Ideologies of Empire

HANIEH: Praising Empire 191
needs becomes – unlike any other point in human history – a problem of
too much production, not too little.
The huge capital outlays required for production and technological
innovation, combined with the relatively speedy obsolescence of technology
in an environment of over-accumulation, increase the risks
involved in capitalist production. Neoliberals have attempted to
circumvent this spatial fixity of the productive moment in the circuit of
capital by distributing the burdens of relocation across a network of
suppliers located across the globe. In this way, competitive pressures
operate across different nation-states, leading to a process of “competitive
austerity” as states and firms become embroiled in encouraging
investment to settle within their borders. 70 The burdens of the spatial
fixity of productive capital are thus carried by smaller suppliers, the state,
and workers rather than internationally mobile capital. As Harvey and
others have stressed, the human social geography is shaped by the waves
of valorization/devalorization around these spatial structures as well as
the social struggles that inevitably coalesce around them.
The accelerating velocity with which capital moves throughout its
circuit brings forth a number of important contradictions. As Marx
pointed out, while “circulation time in itself is a barrier to realization,” it
is, at the same time, “the circulation of capital [that] realizes value.” 71
These pressures are all too evident today. The recurrent financial crises
caused by speculative capital moving rapidly in and out of regions has led
some economists to warn of the dangers of floating exchange rates and
no capital controls. At the level of the individual, the increased speed
with which capital moves through its circuit produces effects such as an
ever-present reinforcement of consumerism through the relentless frenzy
of advertising, a fast-food culture, a shrinking of product lifecycles with
continual innovation, the ubiquitous nature of disposable commodities,
the phenomena of a permanent sales culture, speed ups at work, and a
general malaise of “not having enough time.”
One of the mechanisms through which capitalism has historically
attempted to mediate these tendencies towards crisis has been through
the use of credit. Credit is a means of bridging the barriers presented by
weak demand and over-accumulation through obtaining an advance on
value that has not yet been realized. 72 The increasing cost of outlays for
labor-saving machinery and new technology also provides an impetus
for the growth in credit. For this reason, finance takes on an important