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The End of Organized Capitalism.
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1989
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Classical SociologyDisorganized CapitalismEconomic HistoryEconomic InstitutionsSocial SciencesPolitical EconomyComparative EconomicsGeopoliticsClass ConflictEconomic LiberalizationNational DisparitiesGlobalizationOrganized CapitalismBusiness HistoryPolitical GeographySociologyBusinessCapitalist EconomiesPolitical ScienceWorld-systems TheorySocialism
The book argues that, contrary to Marxist and Weberian expectations of increasing order, contemporary capitalist societies are experiencing disorganized capitalism, a claim that will interest scholars across multiple disciplines. The authors conduct a systematic analysis of the shift to disorganized capitalism across Britain, the United States, France, West Germany, and Sweden, using spatial, class, and cultural lenses to map the restructuring of capitalist social relations. They find that each nation is moving toward deconcentration of capital, greater separation of banks, industry, and the state, and redistribution of productive relations and residential patterns, with national disparities explained by how and when capitalism was historically organized.
End of Organized Capitalism argues that despite Marx s and Weber s insistence that capitalist societies become increasingly more ordered we now live in an era of disorganized capitalism. The book is devoted to a systematic examination of the shift to disorganized capitalism in five Western nations (Britain, the United States, France, West Germany, and Sweden). Through the analysis of space, class, and culture, Lash and Urry portray the restructuring of capitalist social relations that has resulted from this disorganization. They adduce evidence for the claims that in each of the nations there is a movement toward a deconcentration of capital within nation-states; toward the increased separation of banks, industry and the state; and toward the redistribution of productive relations and class-relevant residential patterns. The authors also show that national disparities in contemporary, disorganized capitalism can be understood through close examination of the extent to which, and mode in which, capitalism became historically organized in each of the five countries under consideration. The lucid arguments and judicious comparisons in this book will be of great interest to political scientists, sociologists, geographers, economists, and historians.