This course explores the relationship between market capitalism and political democracy. We will frame our investigation of institutions and behavior with market paradigms. Three major paradigm shifts have characterized industrial society: artisanal to craft production; craft to mass production (Fordism); mass production to post-Fordist production (flexible specialization?). The shifts have resulted from new technologies and new forms of organization. We analyze the response of economic actors to economic change within the context of these shifts. We look at firm strategy, labor response and public policy in an explicitly comparative framework. What is the interaction between political institutions and market structures? That relation is particularly important in a changing environment and outcomes vary according to national patterns of interest aggregation and institutional configurations. We will draw examples from the United States, Western Europe and Japan.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion
Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS GOVT
Prerequisites: None
Last Updated on MAR-10-1997
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