A polycentric world will only be possible by the intervention of the “sixth great power”

Abstract

The intervention of popular forces — what Marx called the “sixth great power”, referring to the five European great powers of his time — remains fundamental to the ongoing systemic transition. This article aims to clarify the nature and evolution of the contradiction between imperialism and the working people of the Third World. Drawing on Samir Amin’s notion of polycentrism, it argues that the current transition, marked by the prolonged decline of the capitalist system, still requires a “delinking” from the global law of value and a pursuit of sovereign, popular-based development paths. Such a transition can only be achieved through the active participation of workers and peasants in the pe- ripheries of the system. To illuminate the challenges of this transformation, the article examines key elements of contemporary systemic rivalry, with particu- lar emphasis on the expansion of labor reserves and the current character of peripheral social formations.