Energy Parameters of Global Capital Accumulation

The ongoing transformation of the world economy represents (according to Arrighi) a transition to a new “centennial” cycle of global capital accumulation. For building effective economic strategies in this period, it is especially important to identify key trends based on reliable data. Business practices and empirical studies indicate the relevance of energy indicators. However, in economic theory, the problem of energy as a phenomenon of capital value movement has not been sufficiently developed. The purpose of this article is to substantiate the role of energy as the basis for the accumulation of global and national capital based on the fundamental laws of evolution and thereby provide a basis for the use of energy parameters to analyze the current “systemic chaos”. The object of study is the economy as an open nonequilibrium system that is changing in the direction of structural complication due to an increase in energy exchange with the external environment. Universal laws of evolution are manifested in it through the progress of productive forces and the growth of energy equipment. The evidence is the coincidence of energy and economic revolutions in human history; a significant correlation between the complexity of the economy and the consumption of primary energy. Using energy statistics, the author assesses the potential of the United States and the BRICS countries in the emerging system cycle. Additional evidence is provided in favor of Arrighi's hypothesis about the end of American economic hegemony and the rise of China. At the same time, the article puts forward certain questions about Russia's place which require further research.