Capitalism

About: Capitalism is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 27714 publications have been published within this topic receiving 858042 citations.

Building Capitalism: The Transformation of the Former Soviet Bloc

Abstract: A most comprehensive empirical analysis of the economic transformation of the former Soviet bloc during the first decade after communism. It debunks many myths, seeing transition as a struggle between radical reformers and those thriving on rent seeking. People have gained from fast and comprehensive reforms, but several countries have gotten stuck in corruption. Economic decline and social hazards have been greatly exaggerated, since people have forgotten how awful communism was. Swift liberalization of prices and foreign trade, as well as rapid and profound fiscal adjustment, have been vital for growth, institutional reforms, legality and greater equity. Privatization has been beneficial, and its effects will grow over time. The main problem has been the continuation of unregulated and ubiquitous state apparatuses living on corruption, while no country has suffered from too radical reforms. Where malpractices of the elite can be checked, market reforms and democracy have proceeded together.

Flint, Environmental Racism, and Racial Capitalism

Abstract: In this essay, I argue that the recent poisoning in Flint, Michigan, is a powerful example of both environmental racism and the everyday functioning of racial capitalism. As a journal devoted to le...

THE ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY OF CONVENTIONS: Habit, Custom, Practice, and Routine in Market Order

Abstract: ▪ Abstract Economic sociology and economics have tried to explain the organization and stability of market capitalism mostly by arguing for the effects of social structure on the patterning of relations, or for the role of the price system in balancing the demands of individual economic actors. In North America, the primary alternative to structural and individualist theories of market order has been network theory, a meso-level attempt to bridge over- and undersocialized views of actors. In Europe, the primary attempt to develop more realistic economics has centered on the role of conventions in shaping economic activity. We describe theories of market order, show how convention theory and related approaches represent a novel alternative, and suggest how convention theory can supplement network theory and institutional approaches to understanding market order.

The New Way of the World: On Neo-Liberal Society

Abstract: Exploring the genesis of neoliberalism, and the political and economic circumstances of its deployment, Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval dispel numerous common misconceptions Neoliberalism is neither a return to classical liberalism nor the restoration of "pure" capitalism To misinterpret neoliberalism is to fail to understand what is new about it: far from viewing the market as a natural given that limits state action, neoliberalism seeks to construct the market and make the firm a model for governments Only once this is grasped will its opponents be able to meet the unprecedented political and intellectual challenge it poses

The rise of accounting controls in British capitalist enterprises

Abstract: This paper represents an attempt to understand the historical factors which have led to the comparative pre-eminence of accountants in British management hierarchies and the emphasis on financial modes of control within British companies. It is argued firstly that the nature of British capital markets exaggerated the significance of the audit, thus establishing a power-base for the profession from which it was able to sponsor its own preferred modes of internal control and so strengthen its position in management structures. Secondly, the mode of wartime state intervention in this country favoured “external” accounting controls as a means of avoiding more directive forms of industrial mobilisation, in line with the policy of maintaining the operation of laisser-faire capitalism as far as possible. Thirdly the profession has played some part in the successive waves of merger which have occured in British industry and has proposed on the basis of offering financial solutions to the control problems of the resulting large organisations.