Hardt and Negri's Empire : A New Communist Manifesto or a Reformist Welcome to Neoliberal Globalisation?

Abstract

Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's Empire (Harvard University Press, 2000) has generally been characterised by the establishment press, but also by some in the Left, as a kind of new 'Communist Manifesto'. However, a careful examination of the content of the book makes it clear that, far from having any radical implications similar to those of the original Manifesto , Empire should better be characterised as an 'objective' welcome to neoliberal globalisation.