No end in sight for global capitalism: the sinews of US structural power in the 21st century

Sean Kenji Starrs and Robert Hunter Wade

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The future of global capitalism is tied to the future of the US’s economic dominance. We argue that many commentators greatly exaggerate US economic decline because they rely on outdated conceptualizations of national economic power from before the post-1990s age of globalization. Once we understand how American power has globalized, the virtually insurmountable nature of US hegemony in global capitalism becomes clear, for the foreseeable future. This is partly because of—not despite—China’s capitalist rise and integration into this system. Here we spell out the several distinct mechanisms, or sinews, by which the US sustains its economic dominance, with particular attention to the global concentration of power and wealth in the hands of US corporations, and to the US control over advanced semiconductors. This structural power will likely endure despite Trump’s behaviors in the diplomatic realm of relational power (including wars), as long as there is no rival that can compete economically and counterbalance militarily. Only anti-capitalist forces could threaten capitalism, and since none are currently on the horizon, there is a greater chance of ecocide and interplanetary colonization than the end of global capitalism in this century.

JEL-codes: J1 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2026-05-22
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Published in The Japanese Political Economy, 22, May, 2026. ISSN: 2329-194X

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