THE AGE OF OPEN MARXISM For open Marxism,the worldwide adoption of monetarist policies of targeting in the 1970s represented the first manifestation of neo- liberalism(Van der Pijl,1989).Monetarism was the expression in the field of money of an emerging transnational neo-liberal discipline,and spec- tacular instances of national adjustment(for example Dennis Healey's 1976'Letters of Intent'to the IMF stipulating the terms of Labour's turn to monetarism)were seized upon as evidence that 'international capitalist discipline had been imposed upon the British Labour government, which would henceforth recognize the "realities"of capitalism'(Over- beek,1990:172). Monetarism,of course,lends itself easily to this transnational instru- mentalist analysis.Its theoretical rootedness in the classical liberal tradi- tion,and the unifying influence of Milton Friedman's 1956 Studies in the Quantity of Money,under whose guidance monetarism has become the dominant bourgeois theory of money(De Brunhoff,1979:35),have left the impression that monetarism was part of a coherent neo-liberal plan of action,centered on a few simple axioms:the velocity of money is relatively stable over time;fiscal policy has no independent effects on price levels;and the expansion of money has only a short-term impact on output and a relatively permanent effect on prices. These axioms largely defined the terms of what the Bank for Interna- tional Settlements called a 'collective mea culpa'in the world economy (BIS Annual Report,1974:16).At the level of simple axioms then,the BIS's general case for...keeping aggregate demand on a taut rein'(BIS Annual Report,1976:33),and the call made to central banks around the world to fix loose but realistic'monetary targets(Lamfalussy,1981:47) were indeed a clear expression of the money-centered discipline that neo- liberal concepts of control have emphasized. Integration and restructuring in western Europe are also captured by open Marxism as parts and parcels of the neo-liberal world order.For Gill, the '1992 programme'set out by the Single European Act,the accom- panying discourse of 'new constitutionalism'as well as the emerging European-wide notions of protectionism,efficiency and rationalism,are part of an effort to discipline social forces and construct an integrated economic space moving to the rhythms of neo-liberalism (Gill,1992).In this respect,the apolitical nature of the dynamics of European integra- tion,resting on price stability,the curtailment of deficit financing,and ERM discipline,is also evidence of a neo-liberal concept of control at work(Holman,1992:7). For Robert Cox,the neo-liberal revolution from above was also applied in eastern Europe,where it has shaped the transition to market capital- ism.In the age of neo-liberalism,perestroika is globalization(Cox,1992). Again,this emphasis on transnational coherence captures well certain 115 This content downloaded from 202.120.14.129 on Mon,01 Feb 2016 23:51:55 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsTHE AGE OF OPEN MARXISM For open Marxism, the worldwide adoption of monetarist policies of targeting in the 1970s represented the first manifestation of neo￾liberalism (Van der Pijl, 1989). Monetarism was the expression in the field of money of an emerging transnational neo-liberal discipline, and spec￾tacular instances of national adjustment (for example Dennis Healey's 1976 'Letters of Intent' to the IMF stipulating the terms of Labour's turn to monetarism) were seized upon as evidence that 'international capitalist discipline had been imposed upon the British Labour government, which would henceforth recognize the "realities" of capitalism' (Over￾beek, 1990: 172). Monetarism, of course, lends itself easily to this transnational instru￾mentalist analysis. Its theoretical rootedness in the classical liberal tradi￾tion, and the unifying influence of Milton Friedman's 1956 Studies in the Quantity of Money, under whose guidance monetarism has become the dominant bourgeois theory of money (De Brunhoff, 1979: 35), have left the impression that monetarism was part of a coherent neo-liberal plan of action, centered on a few simple axioms: the velocity of money is relatively stable over time; fiscal policy has no independent effects on price levels; and the expansion of money has only a short-term impact on output and a relatively permanent effect on prices. These axioms largely defined the terms of what the Bank for Interna￾tional Settlements called a 'collective mea culpa' in the world economy (BIS Annual Report, 1974: 16). At the level of simple axioms then, the BIS's 'general case for .. . keeping aggregate demand on a taut rein' (BIS Annual Report, 1976: 33), and the call made to central banks around the world to fix 'loose but realistic' monetary targets (Lamfalussy, 1981: 47) were indeed a clear expression of the money-centered discipline that neo￾liberal concepts of control have emphasized. Integration and restructuring in western Europe are also captured by open Marxism as parts and parcels of the neo-liberal world order. For Gill, the '1992 programme' set out by the Single European Act, the accom￾panying discourse of 'new constitutionalism' as well as the emerging European-wide notions of protectionism, efficiency and rationalism, are part of an effort to discipline social forces and construct an integrated economic space moving to the rhythms of neo-liberalism (Gill, 1992). In this respect, the apolitical nature of the dynamics of European integra￾tion, resting on price stability, the curtailment of deficit financing, and ERM discipline, is also evidence of a neo-liberal concept of control at work (Holman, 1992: 7). For Robert Cox, the neo-liberal revolution from above was also applied in eastern Europe, where it has shaped the transition to market capital￾ism. In the age of neo-liberalism, perestroika is globalization (Cox, 1992). Again, this emphasis on transnational coherence captures well certain 115 This content downloaded from 202.120.14.129 on Mon, 01 Feb 2016 23:51:55 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions