Wolfgang Streeck

The provocative political thinker asks if it will be with a bang or a whimper After years of ill health, capitalism is now in a critical condition. Growth has given way to stagnation; inequality is leading to instability; and confidence in the money economy has all but evaporated. In How Will Capitalism End?, the acclaimed analyst of contemporary politics and economics Wolfgang Streeck argues that the world is about to change. The marriage between democracy and capitalism, ill-suited partners brought together in the shadow of World War Two, is coming to an end. The regulatory institutions that once restrained the financial sector’s excesses have collapsed and, after the final victory of capitalism at the end of the Cold War, there is no political agency capable of rolling back the liberalization of the markets. Ours has become a world defined by declining growth, oligarchic rule, a shrinking public sphere, institutional corruption and international anarchy, and no cure to these ills is at hand.

Essays on a Failing System

How Will Capitalism End?

The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Buying Time

How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System

the delayed crisis of democratic capitalism

Buying time

Este livro analisa a crise financeira e orçamental do capitalismo democrático dos dias de hoje à luz das teorias da crise da Escola de Frankfurt de finais dos anos 60 e inícios de 70. As teorias em que o autor se baseia constituíram tentativas de compreender as mudanças radicais que se iniciavam «então na economia política do pós-guerra como momentos do processo histórico de evolução da sociedade no seu todo, sendo que recorriam, de forma mais ou menos eclética, à tradição teórica marxista». «(...) Os ensaios teóricos daqueles anos em Frankfurt revelam a inevitabilidade da associação dos conhecimentos das ciências sociais a determinado período. Apesar disso, ou precisamente por isso, é que, ao debruçarmo-nos sobre os acontecimentos atuais, é aconselhável partir das teorias da crise do "capitalismo tardio" dos anos 70». As análises da crise financeira e orçamental do capitalismo atual que Wolfgang Streeck propõe tratam esta crise numa perspetiva de continuidade e como um momento da evolução geral da sociedade com início no final dos anos 60 e que descreve, a partir da perspetiva atual, como o processo de dissolução do regime do capitalismo democrático do pós- guerra. Na tradição da economia política, «a economia da sociedade acabou por ser entendida como um sistema de ação social, portanto, não só como um sistema puramente técnico ou regido pelas leis da Natureza, constituído por interações de poder entre partes com interesses e recursos diversos».

Tempo Comprado

Joel Rogers

As the influence of labor unions declines in many industrialized nations, particularly the United States, the influence of workers has decreased. Because of the need for greater involvement of workers in changing production systems, as well as frustration with existing structures of workplace regulation, the search has begun for new ways of providing a voice for workers outside the traditional collective bargaining relationship. Works councils—institutionalized bodies for representative communication between an employer and employees in a single workplace—are rare in the Anglo-American world, but are well-established in other industrialized countries. The contributors to this volume survey the history, structure, and functions of works councils in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, Canada, and the United States. Special attention is paid to the relations between works councils and unions and collective bargaining, works councils and management, and the role and interest of governments in works councils. On the basis of extensive comparative data from other Western countries, the book demonstrates powerfully that well-designed works councils may be more effective than labor unions at solving management-labor problems.

Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations

Works Councils

Wolfgang Streeck has written extensively on comparative political economy and institutional theory. In this book he addresses some of the key issues in this field: the role of history in institutional analysis, the dynamics of slow institutional change, the limitations of rational design and economic-functionalist explanations of institutional stability, and the recurrent difficulties of restraining the effects of capitalism on social order. In the classification of the 'Varieties of Capitalism' school, Germany has always been taken as the chief exemplar of a 'European', coordinated market economy. Streeck explores to what extent Germany actually conforms to this description. His argument is supported by original empirical research on wage-setting and wage structure, the organization of business and labor in business associations and trade unions, social policy, public finance, and corporate governance. From this evidence, Bringing Capitalism Back In traces the current liberalization of the postwar economy of democratic capitalism by means of an historically-grounded approach to institutional change. This is an important book in comparative political economy and key reading across the social sciences for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Political Economy, Sociology, comparative business systems.

Institutional Change in the German Political Economy

Re-Forming Capitalism

Co-determination, the Forth [sic] Decade

Jelle Visser

Volker Schneider

Jurgen Grote

In the current period of globalization, Governing Interests presents new research on the impact of internationalization on the organization and representation of business interests through trade and employer associations. By exploring ongoing, gradual, but nevertheless profound changes in the structures and functions of business interest associations, the book develops a precise understanding of the relationship between the national and the international. Both conceptual and empirical, some papers included in this significant volume adopt a ‘bird's eye view’ of the topic, whilst others concentrate on individual industries or countries, and several, through examination and analysis, consider the effects on interest representation and the repercussions on effective governance. Contributed to and edited by leading academics, the diversity of research questions and methods used in this volume provide the reader with an excellent understanding of the subject and, importantly, caution against rash simplifications. Comprehensive and scholarly, this text will be of particular relevance to political scientists and sociologists.

Business Associations Facing Internationalism

Governing Interests

Colin Crouch

This is an important volume by authoritative authors that raises important questions about democracy. It demands extended attention and will stimulate debate. Wyn Grant, Political Studies Review This timely book fills a void in the literature on interest group representation in democracies. Contributors address various topics in democratic development and interest group representation in a manner that is both broadly comparative and attentive to in-depth case studies. . . . Overall, this is a great addition to the literature on democratic consolidation with a neo-corporatistic focus. Highly recommended. B.A Yesilada, Choice At a time when democratization and the state of democracy are at the forefront of attention in many parts of the world, this book examines the state-of-the-art on this vital political issue. Revisiting the now classical literature on neo-corporatism in light of current research and theory, the contributors illustrate the enormous influence of the neo-corporatist debate on modern political science, political sociology, and political economy. Reflecting on a major part of the recent history of social science, they shed light on some of its current core concepts, such as governance, policy networks, and varieties of capitalism. The book traces the evolution of political conflicts concerning social order; from the class conflicts in Europe in the of 1970s Europe to the subsequent Latin American and Eastern European battles over democratization and democratic transition, to the debate on the democratic deficit of the European Union. Paying tribute to the work of Philippe Schmitter, which bridges the themes discussed in the book and which has provided inspiration to an entire generation of social scientists, The Diversity of Democracy will be invaluable to academics, students and researchers with an interest in political science, democratic theory, European integration and the study of democratic transitions as well as Latin American and Eastern European studies.

Corporatism, Social Order and Political Conflict

The Diversity of Democracy

Kōzō Yamamura

Kozo Yamamura and Wolfgang Streeck have gathered an international group of authors to examine the likelihood of convergence - to determine whether the global forces of Anglo-American capitalism will give rise to a single, homogeneous capitalist system. The chapters in this volume approach this question from five directions: international integration, technological innovation, labor relations and production systems, financial regimes and corporate governance, and domestic politics.

Prospects for German and Japanese Capitalism

The End of Diversity?

Armin Schäfer

In a world of increasing austerity measures, democratic politics comes under pressure. With the need to consolidate budgets and to accommodate financial markets, the responsiveness of governments to voters declines. However, democracy depends on choice. Citizens must be able to influence the course of government through elections and if a change in government cannot translate into different policies, democracy is incapacitated. Many mature democracies are approaching this situation as they confront fiscal crisis. For almost three decades, OECD countries have - in fits and starts - run deficits and accumulated debt. As a result, an ever smaller part of government revenue is available today for discretionary spending and social investment and whichever party comes into office will find its hands tied by past decisions. The current financial and fiscal crisis has exacerbated the long-term shrinking government discretion; projects for political change have lost credibility. Many citizens are aware of this situation: they turn away from party politics and stay at home on Election Day. With contributions from leading scholars in the forefront of sociology, politics and economics, this timely book will be of great interest to students and scholars throughout the social sciences as well as general readers.

Politics in the Age of Austerity

An anthology of long-read book reviews by one of the European left’s foremost political economists From the acclaimed author of How Will Capitalism End? comes an omnibus of long-form critical essays engaging with leading economists and thinkers. Critical Encounters draws on Wolfgang Streeck’s inimitable writing for the London Review of Books and New Left Review, among other publications. It opens with treatments of two contrasting historical eras—factory capitalism and financialization—and three of the world’s major economies: the United States, France and Germany. A middle section surveys the hollowing out of Western democracies and reviews Yanis Varoufakis’s “strange but indispensable” memoir of the eurozone crisis. Delving into the world of ideas, Streeck discusses the work of Quinn Slobodian, Mark Blyth, Jürgen Habermas and Perry Anderson. Finally, he zooms out to compare his home discipline of sociology to natural history, giving a remarkable and non-deterministic reading of Charles Darwin. In the preface, Streeck reflects on the art (or craft) of book reviewing and the continuing merits of the book form. Critical Encounters also includes a series of “Letters from Europe,” penned as the coronavirus descended upon the Continent.

Capitalism, Democracy, Ideas

Critical Encounters

Gary Marks

Fritz W Scharpf

Philippe C Schmitter

A fresh alternative to traditional state-centred analyses of the process of European integration is presented in this book. World-renowned scholars analyze the state in terms of its component parts and clearly show the interaction of subnational, national and supranational actors in the emerging European polity. This `multi-level politics' approach offers a powerful lens through which to view the future course of European integration. The contributors' empirical exploration of areas such as regional governance, social policy and social movements underpins their broad conceptual and theoretical framework providing significant new insight into European politics.

Governance in the European Union

Tariq Ali

Heiner Flassbeck

Rainer Mausfeld

Peter Wahl

Nach dem Fall des Eisernen Vorhangs im Jahr 1989 fegte ein kapitalistischer Sturm über die Welt. Was mit Ronald Reagan und Margaret Thatcher begonnen hatte, erfasste schließlich ganz Europa: das Ende des Sozialstaats, eine umfassende Privatisierungswelle und die weitgehende Selbstausschaltung parlamentarischer Opposition. Die Sozialdemokratie beging Selbstmord, indem sie sich dem neoliberalen Ansturm fügte, und die Grünen wurden zu Helfershelfern imperialistischer Kriege. Das war die Geburtsstunde der "extremen Mitte", der Parteien an der Macht und ihrer wirtschaftlichen Antreiber. Extrem sind die Folgen ihrer Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik ebenso wie die politische Zementierung eines gesellschaftlichen Konsenses. Der bekannte britisch-pakistanische Autor und Historiker Tariq Ali schreibt dazu: "Zeitgenössischer Kapitalismus verlangt (...) Schiedsrichter, die im Streit zwischen Unternehmen und über Eigentumsrechte entscheiden, aber eine wirkliche Notwendigkeit für eine demokratische Struktur besteht nicht, außer für die Schaufenstergestaltung. Wie lange sich unsere Herrscher noch die Mühe machen werden, die Formen der Demokratie zu wahren, während sie sie eines jeden wahren Inhalts berauben, ist ein Thema für eine ernsthafte Debatte." Mit diesem Buch soll diese Debatte angestoßen werden. Zwei Beiträge von Tariq Ali aus seinem Buch "The Extreme Centre" bilden den Rahmen des Bandes. Davon ausgehend haben vier bekannte Kritiker der gegenwärtigen Herrschafts- und Wirtschaftsordnung ihre Texte verfasst. Heiner Flassbeck ortet auf der europäischen Ebene die deutschen Staatenlenker als "extreme Mitte" in Europa und ihr Beharren auf der Austeritätspolitik als Spiel mit fatalen Folgen. Rainer Mausfeld zeigt, wie der Aufstieg der Elitenherrschaft und der Abbau von Demokratie möglich ist, indem diese von einer gewaltigen Propagandaindustrie und einer systematischen Beeinflussung des gesellschaftlichen Bewusstseins flankiert werden. Wolfgang Streeck erläutert die Verdrängung der Kosten der sogenannten Globalisierung durch die "extreme Mitte" und ihre katastrophalen Folgen am Beispiel der Maßnahmen zur Corona-Epidemie. Und Peter Wahl geht dem "Fetisch Europa" auf den Grund und stellt fest, dass eine radikale Reform der EU unausweichlich wäre, um der Herrschaft der "extremen Mitte" etwas entgegenzusetzen.

Wer die westliche Welt beherrscht. Eine Warnung

Die extreme Mitte

Fallstudien zur Abwicklung der Deutschland AG

Alle Macht dem Markt?

Kathleen Ann Thelen

Debates surrounding institutional change have become increasingly central to Political Science, Management Studies, and Sociology, opposing the role of globalization in bringing about a convergence of national economies and institutions on one model to theories about 'Varieties of Capitalism'. This book brings together a distinguished set of contributors from a variety to examine current theories of institutional change. The chapters highlight the limitations of these theories, finding them lacking in the analytic tools necessary to identify the changes occurring at a national level, and therefore tend to explain many changes and innovations as simply another version of previous situations. Instead a model emerges of contemporary political economies developing in incremental but cummulatively transformative processes. The contributors shoe that a wide, but not infinite, variety of models of institutional change exist which can meaniingfully distinguished and analytically compared. They offer an empirically grounded typology of modes of institutional change that offer important insights on mechanisms of social and political stability, and evolution generally. Beyond Continuity provides a more complex and fundamental understanding of institutional change, and will be important reading for academics, researchers, and advanced students of Political Science, Management Studies, Sociology and Economics.

Wolfgang Streeck

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