Human life cannot be reduced to market transactions and human beings cannot only be treated as economic actors. When the power of the market increases, human beings will always try to protect themselves. Given the differences that exist in social and cultural traditions, these protective responses are likely to differ from one society to the other. This is why, even in a global market, diversity is always likely to persist. This book investigates the question of whether economic globalization is likely to lead to full convergence between political models and ways of life, or whether " even in a completely globalized world economy " there is likely to be scope for alternative solutions. Ringmar argues that this is a question of the extent to which the market has the power to recreate the rest of society in its own image. Neo-classical economists and radical critics alike tend to believe that markets have this power, but looking at the question in a historical perspective, it is clear that this is not the case. Individuals and social groups have been very clever in protecting themselves against encroachments by market forces. The author speculates alternative kinds of protective responses that might appear in the future and what society would be like without any kinds of protection at all.
Stimmen zum Buch:
"Clearly and gracefully written, it presents an interesting and fertile thesis about the nature of capitalism and how different societies have learnt to cope with it.’ (John Gray, Author of Straw Dogs
‘Surviving Capitalism presents a highly literate cost-benefit analysis of the history of capitalism … fresh, fascinating, relevant, and, yes, humane.’ (Jeff Madrick, Editor, Challenge Magazine) /
/ AUS DEM INHALT: / / /
Acknowledgements vii
Theoretical Preliminaries
1The Inevitability and Inhumanity of Capitalism 1
The Power of Markets - Division of Labour -
Commodification - Mechanisms of Convergence
2How Society Protects Itself 17
Protective Arrangements - Limits to Convergence - Families,
Associations, The State - This Book
In the Bosom of the Family
3The European Idea of the Home 31
At Home in Commercial Society - At Home in Industrial
Society - At Home in Consumer Society
4The Chinese Family 43
The Family in Imperial China - The Family in the Chinese
Diaspora - The Family in Post-Mao China
Among Brothers, Friends and Colleagues
5European Sects, Guilds and Trade Unions 57
Religious Sects - Guilds and Trade Unions - A Contrasting Case:
Guanxi Networks
6Japanese Business Corporations 71
The Japanese EmploymentSystem - The le - A Contrasting Case:
American Corporations
7Personal Thais, and How They Survived the Boom 83
The Thai Village - The Years of the Boom - Comrnodified Labour
The State
8Versions of the European State 95
The Rechtsstaat - The Nation-State - The Welfare State
vi Contents
9The State in China and Japan 109
The Imperial Chinese State - The Imperial State in
Corporate fapan - Post-war States in Japan and China
Conclusions
10How We Survived Capitalism 123
Nests, Colonies and Shells - The Politics of Social
Grammars - Good Enough?
11The Coming Crisis 135
The Extent of the Damage - The Question of Economic
Viability - In Our Future Shells
Notes 147
Bibliography and Websites 167