Capitalism and Power

It is important to emphasize that sovereignty and government are wholly distinct forms of power.  They have independent origins, distinct spatial organizations, and different mechanisms of operation.  Capitalism, however, links sovereign, territorially-based and governmental, transnational forms of power.


Since value, under capitalism, has come to be based on labor, this provides a point of intersection between sovereignty and government.  Territory, resources and other material forms of wealth are still significant components of capitalist accumulation; thus, sovereignty retains its importance (even as material wealth and circulation patterns become de-linked from, or increasingly crosscut, territorial boundaries - consequently creating new, conflicting zones of sovereignty).  Yet, as all material forms of wealth now ultimately derive from labor, as the primary form of value, life itself has come under the purview of sovereignty (supported by human rights discourses and Enlightenment philosophy, which establishes "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as the foundation of the state).  At the same time, sovereignty, as a form of power, is not well equipped to regulate and manage life, beyond taking it away, defining its boundaries, and protecting it to a limited extent.  Thus, government has emerged as a form of power better able to cultivate life and productivity.