The Transnational Capitalist Class

Abstract

Since the late 1960s, social scientists have been studying the development of the capitalist class beyond national borders. In the 1990s, a group of researchers studying globalization began to document and theorize the rise of a transnational capitalist class associated with the spread of transnational corporations and the rise of a globally integrated production and financial system. This chapter summarizes the foundational works of sociologists Leslie Sklair and William I. Robinson in developing the concept of a transnational capitalist class and explores recent research and ongoing debates on the topic. It discusses the formation of the Network for Critical Studies of Global Capitalism as an international forum for shared research and debate.