[Part I] With a world balance of forces in tension, this volume slices the political map in two dimensions, the geographical dimension and the imperialism?socialism dimension ("socialism", of course, having widely varying meanings). As a region, Latin America is in the forefront of resistance to imperial schemes, particularly those by the United States. Venezuela and Cuba represent leading edges of resistance, and Colombia, a leading edge of U.S. hegemony. Chapters addressing the political economies of these countries form the first part of the volume. [Part II] Poland has led the anti-Soviet transition into a pro-market realignment, a realignment of this country which is particularly oriented toward the United States. Syria, on the other hand and even as it moves into a pro-market orientation, is subject to particular U.S. hostility. Both cases are analyzed in Part II, with the chapter on Poland having considerably broader applicability. Also included here is the continued deeper penetration of capitalist relations within the United States, represented by analysis of the transition of its medical sector. [Part III] For almost a century, stages of capitalism has been an important theme within Marxism. The theme is analyzed at the beginning of Part III, and connects to the more empirical work represented by the prior six chapters. The volume concludes with translation from Japanese of an important critique of the classical political economy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, who, in a certain sense, were the leading proponents, historically, of the market, of capitalism. Most poignantly, this chapter argues that Ricardian value theory opens the door to a vulgar system of economic thought.
