92 Stephen Hymer which means that many large corporations have 30,40,or 50 percent and more of their labor force outside the United States. International government refers to the erosion of the traditional pow- ers of nation-states and the emergence of international economic policy instruments in line with the tendency of the multinational corporation to internationalize capital and labor.When a corporation invests abroad,it not only sends capital and management out,but also establishes a system for drawing foreign capital and labor into an integrated world network.When many firms from many countries do this together on an expanded scale,as has been true over the last decade and will be increasingly true in the next,they are forming a new world system.They are unifying world capital and world labor into an interlocking system of cross penetration that completely changes the system of national econo- mies that has characterized world capitalism for the past three hundred years.This process reduces the independence of nation-states and re- quires the formation of supranational institutions to handle the increased interdependence.To create a world market where state frontiers dis- appear,a world system is needed in which the separate interests,laws, governments,and systems of taxation and regulation are lumped togeth- er into a unified code of laws on the rights and limits of international private property. This three-pronged process is far from complete and is anything but smooth,but it has moved further and faster than is commonly realized. The outlines of a new international system already can be discerned, and,it must be quickly added,so can its cracks.American firms have been in the vanguard,but European corporations are close on their heels;Japanese corporations,who have just started,are moving very quickly.International capital markets and international banking also are growing by leaps and bounds,and the combined movement of these forces is rapidly reducing the autonomy of governments.The pressure for international governmental agencies is very great and a start has been made on many fronts,but the process has been zigzagging and is far from off the ground. The Argument In this essay I wish to concentrate on the political economy of the process,that is,the political consolidations accompanying the multina- tionalization of business.In the last analysis,markets come out of the barrel of a gun,and to establish an integrated world economy on capital- ist lines requires the international mobilization of political power. The central image of my analysis is the pyramid of power,and the focus of study is the merging of the separate pyramids of nation-states This content downloaded from 202.120.14.154 on Mon,04 Jan 2016 03:31:29 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions92 Stephen Hymer which means that many large corporations have 30, 40, or 50 percent and more of their labor force outside the United States. International government refers to the erosion of the traditional pow￾ers of nation-states and the emergence of international economic policy instruments in line with the tendency of the multinational corporation to internationalize capital and labor. When a corporation invests abroad, it not only sends capital and management out, but also establishes a system for drawing foreign capital and labor into an integrated world network. When many firms from many countries do this together on an expanded scale, as has been true over the last decade and will be increasingly true in the next, they are forming a new world system. They are unifying world capital and world labor into an interlocking system of cross penetration that completely changes the system of national econo￾mies that has characterized world capitalism for the past three hundred years. This process reduces the independence of nation-states and re￾quires the formation of supranational institutions to handle the increased interdependence. To create a world market where state frontiers dis￾appear, a world system is needed in which the separate interests, laws, governments, and systems of taxation and regulation are lumped togeth￾er into a unified code of laws on the rights and limits of international private property. This three-pronged process is far from complete and is anything but smooth, but it has moved further and faster than is commonly realized. The outlines of a new international system already can be discerned, and, it must be quickly added, so can its cracks. American firms have been in the vanguard, but European corporations are close on their heels; Japanese corporations, who have just started, are moving very quickly. International capital markets and international banking also are growing by leaps and bounds, and the combined movement of these forces is rapidly reducing the autonomy of governments. The pressure for international governmental agencies is very great and a start has been made on many fronts, but the process has been zigzagging and is far from off the ground. The Argument In this essay I wish to concentrate on the political economy of the process, that is, the political consolidations accompanying the multina￾tionalization of business. In the last analysis, markets come out of the barrel of a gun, and to establish an integrated world economy on capital￾ist lines requires the international mobilization of political power. The central image of my analysis is the pyramid of power, and the focus of study is the merging of the separate pyramids of nation-states This content downloaded from 202.120.14.154 on Mon, 04 Jan 2016 03:31:29 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions