As should be clear by now, I am quite interested in Negri's thesis and so am researching this move by Big Capital towards "statelessness". I mean, that is what eurodollars are, this stateless money, that defies any central bank's regulation. Daniel and Allesandro, since you have done a lot of research into this: I am wondering what ,if any, influence the eurodollar "experience" had upon the development of the sort of capitalism unencumbered by states that we are seeing in something like the WTO? Isn't it true that the first benefactors of eurodollars were the multinationals who found themselves restricted in the amount of dollars they could export (the US Gov had placed restrictions because they were afraid they could not be repatriated)? I am not knowledgeable enough to prove it, but it would seem logical to me that capitalists would draw the conclusion, "hey, working outside the confines of the state is pretty profitable...not tax, no restrictions, etc".
Seeing as this money is for the most part "unensured"...though dont HAVE To put a share of the eurodollar away in a reserve...I am interested in the instances of crises.
Perhaps you would care to comment, in light of your knowledge about eurodollars, on Negri and Hardt's position that <<at a certain point the boundaries created by imperialist practices obstruct capitalist development and the full realization of its world market. Capital must eventually overcome imperialism and destroy the barriers between inside and outside.>>
Daniel, thanks for the reference to Garber. I will check out his books.
One comment I would like to add about the discussion on Negri (some of the comments and critiques have been really good, others have been uninformed and just silly) to bear in mind. Negri and Hardt do not argue that the nation-state is dissolved, but that Empire is an EMERGENT tendancy. We are not dealing with a case of "black and white" but one of extreme complexity when we dealing with the subject of the relation between Empire and the nation-state.
I found a quotation from Wachtel that lucidly sums upthe relation between Big Capital and the nation-state:
<<The supranationals are like children who run away from home because they do not want to submit themselves to Mommy and Daddy's authority but return home when they become hungry and want a meal.>>
Thomas
===== "The tradition of all the dead generations
weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living"
-Karl Marx
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