Abstract

The current capitalist form of globalization is challenged from various directions, both from the left and from the right, and for a range of motives, both progressive and conservative, democratic as well as authoritarian. This widespread rejection of capitalist globalization has encouraged activists and scholars to contemplate the idea of unity between various ideological positions above the differences that set them apart. On the basis of a comparison between three socialist currents I argue that this project is unrealistic. Opposition to capitalist globalization does not provide sufficient ground for the formulation of a consensual alternative. Models and countermodels of globalization exist within wider ideologies, where they are determined by the core concepts and ultimate priorities of their hosts. Consequently, they compete to the extent to which their host ideologies are themselves in competition to establish differing interpretations of political and social processes.