Abstract
Regulation School and Social Structures of Accumulation periodizations of capitalism switched the course of Marxist theory away from theorizing stages of capitalism based upon a historical teleology. By combining research strategies of systematizing empirical history and elaborating upon a constant of capitalism each approach arrived at the idea of intermediate theory as a “level” of theory mediating between abstract economic theory and historical studies. Intermediate or mid-range theory operates as a form of institutional analysis capturing non-economic supports capital relies upon to avert crises and sustain decades of accumulation. Concern of these theories with factors stabilizing accumulation also brings to bear analysis of crises tendencies of capitalism. Of particular interest in this chapter are debates among Marxist and non-Marxist theories of the specific crises tendencies which led to the demise of the post-WWII golden age of capitalism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Michel Aglietta’s book may be taken as the foundational work of RS. Yet, as Jessop explains in his “Preface” to a five-volume edited research survey of Regulation theory writings (Jessop 2001: xiv–xv), Aglietta and other prominent RS theorists such as Robert Boyer and Alain Lipietz are pegged as members of the “Parisian” variant of the theory. Other French “schools” of the theory exist as do other European genres of RS. Nevertheless, given that the conceptual infrastructure was initially set out by Aglietta and followed up on by Boyer and Lipietz, the discussion of RS in this chapter will largely treat only the writings of the foregoing along with commentaries and critical reviews of that work.
- 2.
For interested readers, the best schematic summary I am aware of for the main positions of debate on the demise of the post-WWII golden age is found in Webber and Rigby (1996: 76–80).
References
Aglietta, M. 1987. A Theory of Capitalist Regulation. London: Verso.
Albritton, R. 2001. Regulation Theory: A Critique. In The Parisian Regulation School: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 1, ed. B. Jessop. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Bowles, S., D. Gordon, and T. Weisskopf. 1984. Beyond the Wasteland. London: Verso.
———. 1990. After the Wasteland. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe.
Boyer, R. 2002. The Origins of Regulation Theory. In Regulation Theory: The State of the Art, ed. R. Boyer and Y. Saillard. London: Routledge.
Boyer, R., and Y. Saillard. 2002. A Summary of Regulation Theory. In Regulation Theory: The State of the Art, ed. R. Boyer and Y. Saillard. London: Routledge.
Brenner, R., and M. Glick. 2001. The Regulation Approach: Theory and History. In The Parisian Regulation School: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 1, ed. B. Jessop. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Davis, M. 2001. Fordism in Crisis. In The Parisian Regulation School: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 1, ed. B. Jessop. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Glyn, A. 2001. Productivity and the Crisis of Fordism. In Regulationist Perspectives on Fordism and Post-Fordism: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 3, ed. B. Jessop. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Glyn, A., A. Hughes, A. Lipietz, and A. Singh. 1990. The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age. In The Golden Age of Capitalism, ed. S. Marglin and J. Schor. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Gordon, D., R. Edwards, and M. Reich. 1982. Segmented Work, Divided Workers: The Historical Transformation of Labor in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hirst, P., and J. Zeitlin. 1991. Flexible Specialization versus Post-Fordism: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications. Economy and Society 20 (1): 1–56.
Jessop, B., ed. 2001. The Parisian Regulation School: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 1. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Lipietz, A. 2001. Accumulation Crises, and Ways Out: Some Methodological Reflections on the Concept of ‘Regulation’. In The Parisian Regulation School: Regulation Theory and the Crisis of Capitalism 1, ed. B. Jessop. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Marx, K. 1977. Capital Volume I. New York: Vintage Books.
McDonough, T. 1994. The Construction of Social Structures of Accumulation in US History. In Social Structures of Accumulation: The Political Economy of Growth and Crisis, ed. D. Kotz, T. McDonough, and M. Reich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———. 2014. The Resolution of Crisis in American Economic History. In Social Structure of Accumulation Theory: Volume I, ed. T. McDonough, D. Kotz, and M. Reich. Northampton: Edward Elgar.
Webber, M., and D. Rigby. 1996. The Golden Age Illusion: Rethinking Postwar Capitalism. London: Guilford Press.
———. 2001. Growth and Change in the World Economy Since 1950. In Phases of Capitalist Development: Booms Crises and Globalizations, ed. R. Albritton, M. Itoh, R. Westra, and A. Zuege. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Westra, R. 2009. Political Economy and Globalization. London: Routledge.
———. 2012. The Evil Axis of Finance: The US-Japan-China Stranglehold on the Global Future. Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Westra, R. (2019). Regulation School, Social Structures of Accumulation, and Intermediate Theory. In: Periodizing Capitalism and Capitalist Extinction. Palgrave Insights into Apocalypse Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14390-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14390-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14389-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14390-9
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)