...Chapter 3, Flexible, by Richard Sennett, “The Corrosion of Character” * As a whole, Richard Sennett’s book The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism discusses the effect of the flexible capitalist economy on the lives of workers during the 1990s. * Chapter 3 focuses mainly on flexibility. Sennett compares the flexibility of a human being to that of a tree, whereby, the tree has the capacity both to yield and to recover, from both the testing and the restoration. * Theoretically, a flexible person ought to have the same tensile strength as the tree. That is, the person should be able to adapt himself to changing circumstances and resist to tension. Sennett states that routine is an evil of the old capitalism, and that in recent times, the workplace has been made "flexible" by means of the restructuring of time (flex time, part time jobs, increased use of swing and graveyard type shifts, etc.). However, in practical and in today’s society, the practices of flexibility focus mainly on the forces that bend people. (Today, “Flexible capitalism” describes the goal of most modern companies, to be able to continuously change to fit the market. Companies no longer provide job descriptions or long term contracts, but rather an opportunity to compete in a winner-takes-all market.) * Many modern philosophers such as Locke and Hume have associated the bending aspect of flexibility with a person’s self powers of sensations....
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter and Creative Destruction, by Thomas K. McCraw, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 719 pages, $35. In Joseph A. Schumpeter’s (1883-1950) encyclopedic History of Economic Analysis, Schumpeter began by proclaiming that histories of economics should confine themselves to economic analysis, which he defined as “the analytic or scientific aspects of economic thought" (1954: 1). Schumpeter then proceeded to ignore his own edict, for over 1000 small-print pages. Having preached analysis-only Schumpeter practiced more ecumenically, weaving together intellectual history, biography, and economic sociology. Indeed, Schumpeter spent most of his last decade writing the 800,000 words of the ferociously erudite History, and thereby failing to complete a long-planned work of economic analysis. Thomas McCraw’s splendid new book brilliantly illuminates this Schumpeterian paradox, and the many others that made Schumpeter, as Phillip Mirowski put it, “a living, breathing contradiction” (1994: 5). Prophet of Innovation is not just a beautifully drawn portrait of Schumpeter’s life and times, it is also a distinguished business historian’s meditation on the two opposed cultures of political economy post-1870: history and theory. The Prophet of Innovation, among its other accomplishments, tells the story of how a great and productive intellect wrestled with the two-cultures problem in political economy. In the work of Schumpeter, McCraw finds the very personification...
Words: 2820 - Pages: 12
...This article is a copy of the one published in New Society Magazine No.237, January-February 2012, ISSN 0251-3552, www.nuso.org A major transition for a great transformation Reflections from the Yasuní-ITT Initiative René Ramírez Gallegos1 When discussing the development of a political project from the Left there are two opposing positions or aspects: those which promote the idea of better managing and regulating capitalism – that is, striving for “good capitalism” – and those who hold anticapitalist positions. The author of this article argues that a Left that does not give up on the generation of alternatives to capitalism but at the same time is responsible for governing, should think about a “great transition” without losing sight of the horizon of a “great transformation”. This article analyzes the Yasuní-ITT Initiative and presents it as an example of how to merge concrete and innovative proposals (transition) and utopias which go beyond capitalist development (transformation). Key words: Left, Capitalism, Good Living/Sumak Kawsay, Yasuní-ITT The world does not need alternatives for development, but alternatives to development. The world does not need to “better” use capitalism, but to transform it. That is the great historical challenge that the Left should take on, both intellectually and politically. The concept of “development” has been recycled and reborn again and again for all its critics and detractors. However, in a strict sense it has never been questioned...
Words: 7238 - Pages: 29
...to explain the growth of capitalism solely on factors and conditions in Europe? STUDENT ID: 377170tm The term capitalism has been a center of a heated debate from many scholars in the discourses of politics, economy, law and academia for a long time. There is no straight forward definition of that term. However, in a context of this work, capitalism has four distinctive characteristics (Ellen, Wood: 2002).In the capitalist society, the economy is highly controlled by the market. By large the government is supposed to put no restriction in the markets and it lets an intense competition to drive the economy. The other characteristic of capitalism is that all the goods produced by capitalist are sold for profit. The primary purpose of capitalist society is to maximize profit by any means especially through exploitation of labour. Apart from that in capitalism, labour is considered to be a commodity like any other commodities and it can be sold and purchased in the market. In addition to that, all the means of production such as land, tools, machinery etc belong to the appropriators and not the producers. The producer can only render his expertise and labour power in exchange of the meager wages. Different approaches have been used by scholars to explain the reasons for the rise and growth of capitalism in Europe. Some scholars argue that the growth of capitalism was a result of conditions in Europe only while others explain that the growth of capitalism grew due to a combination...
Words: 1554 - Pages: 7
...is an Austrian economist mid twentieth century, known for his theories of economic fluctuations, creative destruction and innovation . He is the author of a History of Economic Analysis, published in 1954 and still refers. Neither Keynesian nor neoclassical, is often close to the Austrian School of Economics. It is considered economist excitement and it is called heterodox economist for his theories on the evolution of capitalism in democracy, he believes doomed to disappear for social and political reasons. Schumpeter leaves hardly classify an economic school. Whether it was Austrian , he has never been part of the Austrian School with which he was familiar with the teachings of Eugen von Böhm- Bawerk at the University of Vienna. The economist he admired most was undoubtedly Leon Walras , but his analysis goes beyond the neoclassical framework . He was also heavily influenced by the writings of the German sociologist Max Weber. And if he shared some conclusions with Karl Marx, his analysis was very far from Marxist economic designs. Is actually the founder of general economic evolutionism . It is therefore listed in the circle called "heterodox" economists. He believes that the foundation and spring dynamics of the economy are innovation and technical progress. The history of capitalism is a permanent moult. Technology evolves, turns pushing swathes of economic activity to wither and disappear after being dominant. Structural change is prior to quantitative. The...
Words: 1911 - Pages: 8
...which deviates from the normal expectations of society and is viewed as ‘wrong’ and ‘bad’ but does not necessarily break the law however, some deviant acts may also be criminal. Crime is any activity that breaks the law of the land and is consequently subject to official punishment. Marx himself wrote very little about crime, but a Marxist theory of crime was first developed by Bonger as early as 1916 and then developed by writers such as Chambliss (1975). The overall background to the Marxist approach to crime was based on the Marxist analysis of society, which argues that society is best understood by examining the process by which the majority of the population are exploited by the owners and controllers of commerce and industry. The traditional Marxist approach to crime and deviance argues that the fundamental fact of exploitation provides the key to unlock the explanations for the workings of society. The beginning of the Marxist analysis is that all laws are essentially for the benefit of the bourgeoisie, and that criminal law reflects their interests. For example, property ownership laws largely concern those with significant amounts of property i.e. the ruling class. For those who are poor, there is little to steal. Personal violence is a dangerous act and the ruling class wants to control the right to use violence within society through their agents of control such as the police and the army. As a result of this criminal law operates to protect the rich and powerful...
Words: 1875 - Pages: 8
...Chris Hedges. “The Future of Global Capitalism”. The Munk Debates. May 22, 2015. In this interview, Chris Hedges is discussing the future for global capitalism, as he sees it. As he sees it, global capitalism is failing to engage the imaginations of the poor, and working class people because it continues to fail at helping them. The ideas of trickledown economics are just so contrary to the reality, that a small group of elites has been able to concentrate huge amounts of wealth, that people have had enough. Movements like Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter are a response to this. As the state moves further away from the social welfare, people are pushed to take radical stances. Hedges predicts that if corporate power continues to dominate political institutions, and continues to...
Words: 437 - Pages: 2
...Journal of Business Ethics (2007) 74:303–314 DOI 10.1007/s10551-007-9517-y Ó Springer 2007 Stakeholder Capitalism R. Edward Freeman Kirsten Martin Bidhan Parmar ABSTRACT. In this article, we will outline the principles of stakeholder capitalism and describe how this view rejects problematic assumptions in the current narratives of capitalism. Traditional narratives of capitalism rely upon the assumptions of competition, limited resources, and a winner-take-all mentality as fundamental to business and economic activity. These approaches leave little room for ethical analysis, have a simplistic view of human beings, and focus on value-capture rather than valuecreation. We argue these assumptions about capitalism are inadequate and leave four problems in their wake. We wish to reframe the narrative of capitalism around the reinforcing concepts of stakeholders coupled with value creation and trade. If we think about how a society can sustain a system of voluntary value creation and trade, then capitalism can once more become a useful concept. KEY WORDS: capitalism, stakeholder, ethics, economics, free market Introduction1 We live in the age of markets. While markets have been around for thousands of years, we are just beginning to understand their power for organizing society and creating value. In the last 200 years markets have unleashed a tremendous amount of innovation and progress in the West. The industrial revolution, the rise of consumerism, and the dawn...
Words: 7519 - Pages: 31
...not a Marxist conception of international relations. For pedagogical issues we talk about it, but what we will try to analyze is what has been the contribution that the Marxist theory has done in this field. This leads us to the study of the Marxist theorists: Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburgo... Their methodological contributions to international analysis and the confrontation between the "official" theoretical statements of the Communist Party from the Soviet Union, personified in Stalin and the Trotsky's permanent revolution, that was silenced for years by the Soviet authorities. Finishing this topic with the contributions from authors in the Marxist sector that have given rise up to what is known as the dependency theory. It is important to understand that Marxism as theory and method has created a new paradigm in the study of international relations, since it led to overcome the traditional state-centric conception. For Marxism the state shouldn't be the center, the basic thing is the concept of the class struggle, and they make emphasis on the contradictions and antagonisms of the existing classes, based on the analysis of the production relations (who controls the production means and who don't). This involves considering the world is not divided into states but into antagonistic classes. Marxist defend the idea of historical materialism, as well as they defend that the economic problems transcend the others, so this way people will focus on trying to make each time...
Words: 1203 - Pages: 5
...PARCEL SERVICE, INC. Synopsis and Objectives • Set in June 2004 • To assess the financial performance of FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service, Inc (UPS). The two firms have competed intensely for dominance of the overnight express package industry. • This case is intended for use in an introductory discussion of corporate value creation and its sources. It requires no numerical computations; rather, the tasks are to interpret the results and to reflect upon their implications. The contrasting record of the two firms affords a platform to: • Assess economic profit analysis (also known as Economic Value Added) and, more generally, the measurement of financial performance and health. The case provides a complete historical economic profit analysis for both firms, and permits comparison with other classic approaches to historical performance analysis. This comparison affords the opportunity to discuss the attributes of healthy and successful companies, and to explore the strengths and weaknesses of economic profit. Key learning points about economic profit include its dependence on the conventions of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and its ignorance of strategic option value. • Evaluate the financial implications of rigorous competition and corporate transformation. Questions 1. What are the enabling and inhibiting factors facing the two firms as they pursue their goals? Do you think that either firm can attain a...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...online discussion we discussed whether "capitalism benefits everybody". Purpose of this discussion was to analyse the importance of sociological imagination and ethical reasoning for better understanding of business, society and government relationship under capitalism, it was valuable to know each other's opinions, knowledge and understanding on the topic. Sociological imagination can be defined as the social analysis of behaviour and traits of business, society and government that assist us in representing images from our previous experience and knowledge, because of each other's uniqueness it was interesting to discuss about this topic and to get a broader response. After participating in the online discussion I can define capitalism as an economic and political system in which a county's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than by the government. There are both advantages and disadvantages to capitalism in Australia but it truly benefits everyone including the Business sector, Government and Society. Since the economic and political systems are controlled by the private sector to gain profit, it'll encourage the owners and the employees to be efficient and produce quality goods and services. This will increase GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Australia, and therefore it will also increase the country’s economy which will benefit both the government and the society. As most of us have discussed capitalism definitely benefits the society, because...
Words: 792 - Pages: 4
...Max Weber “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” Max Webers “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” is an analysis as to the relationship between the emergence of the spirit of capitalism in the west and the ethics of Calvinism. He argues that Calvinism catalysed this creation of the capitalist spirit. His study arose when he asked himself why capitalism had emerged out of Western Europe before anywhere else in the world, even though the economic conditions seemed identical in many of these places. In this essay I will argue that this relationship between the two isn’t as paramount as Weber suggests, and in fact may be completely arbitrary. I believe this for a number of reasons including the distorting effect Webers use of a “ideal type” has and the fact that some areas where Calvinism was practiced heavily Capitalism developed a lot later in, while others with no Calvinist beliefs still did develop Capitalism. Weber starts his analyse looking at the intrinsic relationship between religion and business. He emphasises how sect membership is a sign that you are trustworthy and will be a good business partner, as admission to one of these congregations only happens after a careful probation, where your conduct, back to early childhood, is assessed and checked for any kind of frivolity. Admission therefore is a guarantee of the moral qualities of someone, it is a badge of honour showing you have those qualities that are required in business matters...
Words: 1590 - Pages: 7
...Chapter 4 Society I. Society. Society refers to people who interact in a defined territory and share culture. This chapter explores four important theoretical views explaining the nature of human societies, focusing on the work of Gerhard Lenski, Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. II. Gerhard Lenski: Society and Technology. Gerhard Lenski (Nolan & Lenski, 2010) focuses on sociocultural evolution, the changes that occur as a society acquires new technology. According to Lenski, the more technological information a society has, the faster it changes. New technology sends ripples of change through a society’s entire way of life. Lenski’s work identifies five types of societies based on their level of technology. A. Hunting and gathering societies use simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation. Until about twelve thousand years ago, all humans were hunter-gatherers. At this level of sociocultural evolution, food production is relatively inefficient; groups are small, scattered, and usually nomadic. Society is built on kinship, and specialization is minimal, centered chiefly around age and gender. These societies are quite egalitarian and rarely wage war. B. Horticultural and pastoral societies employ a technology based on using hand tools to raise crops. In very fertile and also in arid regions, pastoralism, technology that supports the domestication of animals, develops instead of horticulture. In either case, these strategies encourage much larger societies to emerge...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
...minority is self-caused when its source lies not in a lack of understanding but in a lack of determination and courage to use it without the assistance of another. Dare to use your own understanding.” From the Christian dialectic, human Enlightenment decline. It is characterized by the existence of a war against the accumulation of wealth, which is considered as an obstacle to the development of capitalism. In catholic paternalism, it is seen the pressure internally and externally. Internally, there was hypocrisy of economic in the body of the Church, where they prohibit lending practices and interest rates, but the Church itself there is excess wealth. Externally, the secularization of Church function in the form of God monarchy or God monopoly, faced with land acquisition monarchy that led to growing speculation, rents, and rising land prices. In Addition, the English revolution in the form of agricultural technology push declining Catholic morality. The exploitation of export trade wool from England and cost inflation at home led to the seizure of land for profitable redeployment to new forms of industry. Public Fields and forest previously used for collective farming...
Words: 2287 - Pages: 10
...Boeing and Capitalism in the United States of America Abstract This study investigates American capitalism in a historic perspective. The paper then proceeds to examine the issue on a meso-level with its relation to the company Boeing. Finally it discusses the various entrepreneurial decisions and their impact on the success and failures of the corporation. The approach has been reading relevant historical books, finding articles on the Internet and interpreting different views and opinions such as the theories of Schumpeter and Fligstein. The research shows that the American capitalism has changed towards a greater use of intervention that differs from the very laissez fare conditions that were dominating in the beginning of American capitalism, though it is still not comparable with the European conditions. The company Boeing is being subsidized by the government, which can be characterized as crony capitalism, since the cooperation between these organizations helped Boeing develop a monopoly in the market of aircraft manufacturing. The entrepreneurial decisions in corporate strategy and structure have led Boeing to both peaks and disappointments. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Phases of American capitalism 3 Characteristics of the American capitalism 4 The Corporation and the State 5 Globalization 6 The 1992 EU-US Agreement 7 The technological development 8 Analysis of the abovementioned development and its reflection on American capitalism 9 Boeing...
Words: 7319 - Pages: 30
