Abstract
Social evolution is discussed on two different levels in Marx’s writings. In The German Ideology, the Preface to The Critique of Political Economy and elsewhere, Marx attempted to account for the broad sweep of human history from the pre-class societies of the distant past to the post-class societies of the future. A second theoretical concern of Marx’s was to grasp the direction of evolution in capitalism and the mechanisms underlying this evolution. These two areas of investigation are obviously connected; capitalism is a part of human history. Nonetheless, it is possible to consider historical developments in capitalism on their own terms, apart from their place in the grand scheme of human history. And it is possible to ask whether evolution in capitalism enables a transition to socialism without invoking transhistorical principles.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Bibliography
Adler, Paul (1987) ‘Automation and Skill: New Directions’ International Journal of Technology Management, vol. 2
Adler, Paul (1988) ‘Automation, Skill and the Future of Capitalism’ Berkeley Journal of Sociology, vol. XXXIII
Adler, Paul (1990) ‘Marx, Machines, and Skill’ Technology and Culture, vol. 31, no. 4
Adler, Paul (1995) ‘“Democratic Taylorism”: The Toyota Production System at NUMMI’ in Babson (ed.) Lean work: Exploitation and Empowerment in the Global Auto Industry
Adler, Paul and B. Borys (1989) ‘Automation and Skill: Three Generations of Research on the NC Case’ Politics and Society, vol. 17, no. 3
Adorno, Theodor (1974) Minima Moralia Verso, New York
Aoki, Masahiko (1988) Information, Incentives, and Bargaining in the Japanese Economy Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Aronowitz, Stanley and W. DiFazio (1994) The Jobless Future: Sci-Tech and the Dogma of Work University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis
Babson, Steve (ed.) (1995) Lean Work: Exploitation and Empowerment in the Global Auto Industry Wayne State University Press, Detroit
Best, Michael (1990) The New Competition: Institutions of Industrial Restructuring Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Braverman, Harry (1974) Labor and Monopoly Capital Monthly Review Press, New York
Davidow, William and M. Malone (1992) The Virtual Corporation: Structuring and Revitalizing the Corporation for the 21st Century Edward Burlingame Books/Harper Business, New York
Davis, Stanley (1987) Future Perfect Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.
Dertouzos, Michael, R. Lester and R. Solow and the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity (1991) Made in America: Regaining the Productive Edge The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Fine, Ben and Ellen Leopold (1990) ‘Consumerism and the Industrial Revolution’ Social History, vol. 15, no. 2
Forester, John (ed.) (1989) Computers and the Human Context MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Fucini, Joseph and S. Fucini (1990) Working for the Japanese: Inside Mazda’s American Auto Plant The Free Press, New York
Glick, Mark and R. Brenner (1991) ‘The Regulation Approach: Theory and History’ New Left Review, no. 188
Greenbaum, Joan (1995) Windows on the Workplace: Computers, Jobs, and the Organization of Office Work in the Late Twentieth Century Cornerstone Books, New York
Hapoienu, Spencer (1990) ‘The rise of Micromarketing’ The Journal of Business Strategy, December
Harrison, Bennett (1994) Lean and Mean: The Changing Landscape of Corporate Power in the Age of Flexibility Basic Books, New York
Harvey, David (1982) The Limits to Capital Oxford University Press, New York
Hirschhorn, Larry (1984) Beyond Mechanization: Work and Technology in the Post-Industrial Age MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Ichiyo, Muto (1988) Class Struggle and Technological Change in Japan since 1945 International Institute for Research and Education, Amsterdam
Imai, Masaaki (1986) Kaizen McGraw-Hill, Cambridge, Mass.
Kenney, Martin and R. Florida (1993) Beyond Mass Production: The Japanese System and Its Transfer to the U.S. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Koike, Kazuo (1988) Understanding Industrial Relations in Japan St. Martin’s Press, New York
Levine, Andrew, E. Sober and E.O. Wright (1987) ‘Marxism and Methodological Individualism’ New Left Review, no. 162
Maleki, Reza (1991) Flexible Manufacturing System Prentice-Hall, New York
Marx, Karl (1976) Capital: Volume I Penguin, New York
Marx, Karl (1977) Karl Marx: Selected Writings, editor David McLellan Oxford University Press, New York
Marx, Karl (1978) Capital: Volume III Penguin, New York
Marx, Karl (1981) Capital: Volume III Penguin, New York
Matsu, Kono (1994) ‘From Advertising to Subvertising’ Adbusters, Winter
McDonough, John (1988) ‘A Culture of Choice’ Advertising Age, 9 November
McKendrick, Neil, John Brewer and J.H. Plumb (1982) The Birth of Consumer Society Europa Publications Limited, London
Murray, Fergus (1983) ‘The Decentralisation of Production — the Decline of the Mass-Collective Worker?’ Capital and Class, no. 19
Ohno, Taiichi (1988) Toyota Production Systems Productivity Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Parker, Mike and J. Slaughter (1988) Choosing Sides: Unions and the Team Concept South End Press, Boston
Parker, Mike and J. Slaughter (1994) Working Smart: A Union Guide to Participation Programs and Reengineering Labor Notes, Detroit
Pollert, Anna (1988) ‘Dismantling Flexibility’ Capital and Class, no. 34
Rank, Hugh (1994) ‘Serious Ads and Other Channel Grazing Hazards’ Adbusters, Winter
Reich, Robert (1991) The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism Knopf, New York
Rifkin, Jeremy (1995) The End of Work Tarcher/Putnam, New York
Runciman, W.G. (1995) ‘The ‘Triumph’ of Capitalism as a Topic in the Theory of Social Selection’ New Left Review, 210
Shaiken, Harley (1990) Mexico in the Global Economy: High Technology and Work Organization in Export Industries Center for U.S.–Mexican Studies Monograph Series, San Diego, 33
Smith, Tony (1994a) ‘Flexible Production and the Capital/Wage Labor Relation in Manufacturing’ Capital and Class, no. 53
Smith, Tony (1994b) Lean Production: A Capitalist Utopia? International Institute for Research and Education, Amsterdam
Tapscott, Don and A. Caston (1993) Paradigm Shift: The New Promise of Information Technology McGraw-Hill, New York
Warner, Timothy (1989) ‘Information Technology as a Competitive Burden’ in John Forester (ed.) Computers and the Human Context
Watanabe, Ben (1992) ‘Sudden Death From Overwork’ Labor Notes, June
Williams, Karel, C. Haslam, J. Williams, T. Cutler, A. Adcroft and S. Johal (1992) ‘Against Lean Production’ Economy and Society, August
Winger, Richard and D. Edelman (1990) ‘The Art of Selling to a Segment of One’ Business Month, January
Womack, James P., D. Jones and D. Roos (1990) The Machine that Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Zuboff, Shoshana (1988) In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power Basic Books, New York
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2002 Tony Smith
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smith, T. (2002). Lean Production and Economic Evolution in Capitalism. In: Blackledge, P., Kirkpatrick, G. (eds) Historical Materialism and Social Evolution. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403919977_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403919977_9
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-43256-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4039-1997-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)