THE AGE OF OPEN MARXISM and identities(Gill,1991a:296),the exigencies and possibilities of capital accumulation on a global scale are exposed. For open Marxism,elite cybernetics is useful in revealing the essential history made behind the backs of key actors.It also exposes the active making of history.Indeed,in the writings of open Marxism,transna- tional elites not only share a particularly meaningful position in the structures of accumulation,they are also structurally literate.They read structural dynamics,constraints and imperatives,and invent fitting political projects.The assumption of elite literacy takes as its starting point Gramsci's notion of intellectuals as 'an organic category of every fundamental social group'equipped with a special function of cohesion (Gramsci,1971:15).For Stephen Gill,international organizations fulfil the function of organic intellectuals of the world economy:'the TC's [Trilateral Commission]perspective to a large extent reflects the interests and world-view of the more dynamic and internationally mobile forms of capital,as well as the interests of the liberal "internationalist"elements within the state bureaucracies of the major capitalist states'(Gill,1986: 212).Again:'trilateralism can be defined as the project of developing an organic...alliance between the major capitalist states,with the aim of promoting...a stable form of world order which is congenial to their dominant interests'(Gill,1990a:1).Global elites are'vanguard forces'of internationalization (Gill et al.,1992:10).Similarly,for Cox the 'transna- tional managerial class'is not only the contemporary expression of bourgeois conquerants,it also a class 'both in itself and for itself'(Cox, 1985:234). Particularly revealing of the significance given by open Marxism to the structural literacy of elites is the idea of 'comprehensive concepts of control'developed at the University of Amsterdam,an institutional center of transnational historical materialism (Burnham,1991:87).De- fined by Henk Overbeek as ..coherent formulations of the 'general interest'which transcends narrowly defined fractional interests and which combine mutually compatible strategies in the field of labour relations,socio- economic policy and foreign policy on the basis of a class compromise. (Overbeek,1990:26,178) Concepts of controls are hegemonical strategies reflecting an organic sense of direction.In the postwar period,two such transcendent for- mulas have shaped the parameters of accumulation.First,the Keynesian concept of control,articulated in institutions such as the US Council on Foreign Relations,and projected onto western Europe from the American Fordist heartland(Van der Pijl,1989:9-13).Second,after the crisis of the mid-1970s,a neo-liberal concept of control emerged to guide global 109 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 and identities (Gill, 1991a: 296), the exigencies and possibilities of capital accumulation on a global scale are exposed. For open Marxism, elite cybernetics is useful in revealing the essential history made behind the backs of key actors. It also exposes the active making of history. Indeed, in the writings of open Marxism, transna￾tional elites not only share a particularly meaningful position in the structures of accumulation, they are also structurally literate. They read structural dynamics, constraints and imperatives, and invent fitting political projects. The assumption of elite literacy takes as its starting point Gramsci's notion of intellectuals as 'an organic category of every fundamental social group' equipped with a special function of cohesion (Gramsci, 1971: 15). For Stephen Gill, international organizations fulfil the function of organic intellectuals of the world economy: 'the TC's [Trilateral Commission] perspective to a large extent reflects the interests and world-view of the more dynamic and internationally mobile forms of capital, as well as the interests of the liberal "internationalist" elements within the state bureaucracies of the major capitalist states' (Gill, 1986: 212). Again: 'trilateralism can be defined as the project of developing an organic . . . alliance between the major capitalist states, with the aim of promoting ... a stable form of world order which is congenial to their dominant interests' (Gill, 1990a: 1). Global elites are 'vanguard forces' of internationalization (Gill et al., 1992: 10). Similarly, for Cox the 'transna￾tional managerial class' is not only the contemporary expression of bourgeois conque6rants, it also a class 'both in itself and for itself' (Cox, 1985: 234). Particularly revealing of the significance given by open Marxism to the structural literacy of elites is the idea of 'comprehensive concepts of control' developed at the University of Amsterdam, an institutional center of transnational historical materialism (Burnham, 1991: 87). De￾fined by Henk Overbeek as ... coherent formulations of the 'general interest' which transcends narrowly defined fractional interests and which combine mutually compatible strategies in the field of labour relations, socio￾economic policy and foreign policy on the basis of a class compromise. (Overbeek, 1990: 26, 178) Concepts of controls are hegemonical strategies reflecting an organic sense of direction. In the postwar period, two such transcendent for￾mulas have shaped the parameters of accumulation. First, the Keynesian concept of control, articulated in institutions such as the US Council on Foreign Relations, and projected onto western Europe from the American Fordist heartland (Van der Pijl, 1989: 9-13). Second, after the crisis of the mid-1970s, a neo-liberal concept of control emerged to guide global 109 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