The Future of Capitalism After the Financial Crisis: The Varieties of Capitalism Debate in the Age of Austerity

256 Pages·2015·3.1 MB·English

by  Richard Westra

The Future of Capitalism After the
Financial Crisis
The Future of Capitalism After the Financial Crisis: The Varieties of Capital-
ism Debate in the Age of Austerity contains thirteen world leading political
economistswritingfromwithineightdifferentcountrieswhocriticallyanalyze
the current crisis tendencies of capitalism both globally and in particular
countries. Given the likelihood of an increasingly crisis prone future for
capitalism, it is important not only to rethink capitalism in its current mani-
festations or varieties, it is also important to rethink research methods and
conceptual frameworks in preparation for understanding an increasingly
rocky future in which capitalism itself could go the way of the many species
that in the past were endangered only to become extinct.
More and more titles of books and articles are suggesting that capitalism
or perhaps civilization itself is endangered if we do not make radical changes
in the near future. This book breaks with academic path dependency and
attempts to open new vistas of political economy and of multidisciplinary
analysisthat are crucially important ifourthoughtprocessesare tobe effective
for aworld in jeopardy.
Thevarietiesofcapitalism(VoC)debateitselfcameintobeingastheSoviet
Union unraveled. It drew in scholarship from a cross-section of Marxian and
heterodox political economy. The key argument of VoC was that if capitalism
was the onlyglobal option then those on the Left must get involved in policy
discussions on how capitalist economies can be fashioned to become compe-
titive as well as progressive. However, the financial crisis has seen policy
across the advanced economies veer toward competitiveness coupled with
austerity. The lesson for the Left is that alternatives to capitalism must be
sought in the here and now.
Richard Westra is Designated Professor, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya
University, Japan.
DennisBadeenisInstructor,BusinessAdministration,TrentUniversity,Canada.
Robert Albritton is Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, York
University, Canada.
Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy
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