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Varieties of Capitalism and Capitalism « tout court »

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Dorothee Bohle  and
Béla Greskovits
Dorothee Bohle
Affiliation:
Political Science Department, Central European University, Budapest [[email protected]].
Béla Greskovits
Affiliation:
Departement of International Relations and European Studies, Central European University, Budapest [[email protected]].
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Abstract

The article reviews the “Varieties of Capitalism” (VoC) approach and its large impact on the field of comparative political economy. It situates the approach within the field, and stresses its specificities. The article argues that VoC's firm-centeredness, parsimony, and reliance on conceptual tools borrowed from economics, fit better than other approaches to a Zeitgeist formed in the context of the demise of Western capitalism's alternatives, and the globalization-induced shift of societies’ center of gravity away from politics towards firms and markets. The article then revisits major debates that have followed the publication of the seminal Hall-Soskice book. The debates have revealed that VoC's greatest strengths, in the end, turn out to be obstacles when it comes to analyzing problems of contemporary capitalism.

Résumé

L'article revient sur les textes de l'approche Variétés du capitalisme qui a eu un impact important en économie politique comparative. La focalisation sur l'entreprise, le caractère rudimentaire et l'emprunt d'outils conceptuels aux économistes conviennent bien à l'esprit d'un temps (Zeigeist) où l'on a renoncé à chercher une alternative au capitalisme occidental et où, globalisation aidant, le centre de gravité des sociétés se déplace du politique vers la firme et le marché. Vient ensuite une revue des grands débats qui ont suivi la publication du livre pionnier de Hall et Soskice. Finalement, les éléments forts de l'approche VoC se sont révélés des obstacles à l'analyse des problèmes du capitalisme contemporain.

Zusammenfassung

Der Artikel gibt einen Überblick über den einflussreichen „Varieties of Capitalism” (VoC) Ansdentz. Er verortet ihn im Feld der vergleiche den politischen Ökonomie und argumentiert, daß der Fokus auf Unternehmen, die scheinbare Einfachheit und Eleganz der Argumentation, und die breite Anwendung von aus der Ökonomie entliehenen Konzepten einem wissenschaftlichen Zeitgeist entspricht, der von dem Zusammenbruch der Alternativen zum westlichen Kapitalismus und von Globalisierung und der mit ihr einhergehenden Verschiebung gesellschaftlicher Machtzentren in Richtung Unternehmen und Märkte geprägt ist. Im zweiten Teil befaßt sich der Artikel mit einigen Debatten, die der Ansatz ausgelöst hat. Der Artikel fragt auch, inwieweit VoC in der Lage ist, Globalisierung, europäische Integration und neu entstehende Kapitalismusvarianten zu erfassen. Diese Debatten machen deutlich, daß die Stärken des VoC Ansatzes sich in Hindernisse verwandeln, wenn Probleme des gegenwärtigen Kapitalismus analysiert werden sollen.

Keywords

Varieties of capitalismGlobalizationSocial dynamicsPost-communist capitalismInstitutionalismVarietés du capitalismeMondialisationDynamique socialeCapitalisme postcommunisveSpielarten der KapitalismusGlobalisierungSoziale DynamikPostkommunistischer KapitalismusInstitutionalismus
Type
Research Articles
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 50 , Issue 3 , December 2009 , pp. 355 - 386
Copyright
Copyright © A.E.S. 2009

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