Globalization and Corporatism: The Growth and Decay of Organized Labor in Venezuela, 1900–1998

2001 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 180-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trudie Coker

The contradictory goals of state capital accumulation and redistribution eventually led to the demise of corporatism in Venezuela and probably in much of Latin America. When the Venezuelan state was at its zenith of intervention in the economy, it globalized accumulation via foreign debt. Rather than emphasize accumulation and redistribution as it had during the 1960s and 1970s, accumulation to service the debt became the state's central goal by the 1980s. Declining oil prices by the early 1980s highlighted the weakness of a state caught in the grips of antithetical demands from labor and an increasingly impoverished population, on the one hand, and private capital demanding debt repayment, on the other hand. By definition, corporatism creates a dependency between the state and organized labor. Historically, labor depended on the state for economic subsidies, and the state relied on labor to maintain legitimacy. By the late 1990s, lack of labor autonomy literally dragged labor down with a state drowning in debt and incapacitated by lack of legitimacy. While corporatism is more a relic of things past, the positive implications of increasing labor autonomy are dismal as organized labor has been disarticulated and the democratic state is all but a skeleton.

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan James Randall

The growth of business classes in Africa has attracted much interest since the 1980s when, in the context of severe economic malaise, the impact of the state on development was subjected to critical reappraisal.1 Out of this emerged a consensus that the abysmal economic record of the 1960s and 1970s could, to a large degree, be ascribed to the debilitating effect of an overstretched and swollen state. Official development thinking took this argument the furthest: at the core of the problem, it was asserted, was the expansion of the state's rôle from the preferred minimalist function of providing the legal and macro-economic regulatory framework for capital accumulation, to a more profound intervention in the productive process. As a remedy, the state would have to be restrained from usurping the primary rôle which the market's invisible hand ought to be playing.2


Author(s):  
Andy Sumner

This chapter reviews currents in theory with a focus on modernization and neoclassical statements of comparative advantage on the one hand, and structuralism, dependency, and other theories of underdevelopment on the other. The latter theories of underdevelopment hit their zenith in the policies of the import-substitution industrialization of the 1960s and 1970s. They were largely dismissed in the 1980s as the limits of import-substitution industrialization became apparent and as East Asia industrialized, undermining any argument that structural transformation was problematic in the periphery. This chapter theorizes that neither orthodox nor heterodox theories of structural transformation adequately explain the development of late developers because of the heterogeneity of contemporary capitalism. That said, heterodox theories, which coalesce around the nature of incorporation of developing countries into the global economy, do retain conceptual usefulness in their focal point, ‘developmentalism’, by which we mean the deliberate attempts at national development led by the state.


Author(s):  
Aled Davies

The aim of this book has been to evaluate the relationship between Britain’s financial sector, based in the City of London, and the social democratic economic strategy of post-war Britain. The central argument presented in the book was that changes to the City during the 1960s and 1970s undermined a number of the key post-war social democratic techniques designed to sustain and develop a modern industrial economy. Financial institutionalization weakened the state’s ability to influence investment, and the labour movement was unable successfully to integrate the institutionalized funds within a renewed social democratic economic agenda. The post-war settlement in banking came under strain in the 1960s as new banking and credit institutions developed that the state struggled to manage. This was exacerbated by the decision to introduce competition among the clearing banks in 1971, which further weakened the state’s capacity to control the provision and allocation of credit to the real economy. The resurrection of an unregulated global capital market, centred on London, overwhelmed the capacity of the state to pursue domestic-focused macroeconomic policies—a problem worsened by the concurrent collapse of the Bretton Woods international monetary system. Against this background, the fundamental social democratic assumption that national prosperity could be achieved only through industry-led growth and modernization was undermined by an effective campaign to reconceptualize Britain as a fundamentally financial and commercial nation with the City of London at its heart....


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pun Ngai ◽  
Jenny Chan

In 2010, a startling 18 young migrant workers attempted suicide at Foxconn Technology Group production facilities in China. This article looks into the development of the Foxconn Corporation to understand the advent of capital expansion and its impact on frontline workers’ lives in China. It also provides an account of how the state facilitates Foxconn’s production expansion as a form of monopoly capital. Foxconn stands out as a new phenomenon of capital expansion because of the incomparable speed and scale of its capital accumulation in all regions of China. This article explores how the workers at Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, have been subjected to work pressure and desperation that might lead to suicides on the one hand but also open up daily and collective resistance on the other hand.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-263
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Surovell

In their assessments during the 1960s and 1970s of the state of affairs of Third World “revolutionary democracies” and nations that had taken the “non-capitalist road to development,” the Soviets employed a mode of analysis based on the “correlation of forces.” Given the seeming successes of these “revolutionary democracies” and the appearance of new ones, Moscow was clearly heartened by the apparent tilt in favor of the Soviets and of “progressive” humanity more generally. These apparently positive trends were reflected in Soviet perspectives and policies on the Third World, which focused confidently on such “progressive” regimes. Nonetheless, so-called “reactionary” regimes continued to be a thorn in the side of Soviet policy makers. This study offers a fresh examination of the Soviet analyses of, and policies towards three “reactionary” Third-World regimes: the military dictatorship in Brazil, the Pinochet dictatorship of Chile, and Iran during the reign of the Shah. The article reveals that Soviet decision makers and analysts identified the state sector as the central factor in the “progressive” development of the Third World. Hence the state sector became the focal point for their analyses and the touchstone for Soviet policies; the promotion of the state sector was regarded as a key to the Soviet objective of promoting the “genuine independence” of Third World countries from imperialist domination.


1978 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. V.K. Fitzgerald

The economic activities of the state have rightly been regarded as a crucial factor in the remarkably rapid process of capitalist expansion experienced by Mexico in the two decades after the Second World War, and must also be seen as such in the imbalance that has emerged over the last ten years –an imbalance that itself led to an accelerated growth of the public sector. State intervention in the process of capital accumulation during the period of dependent import-substituting industrialization is common to the experience of Latin America as a whole, but in Mexico the scale and scope of this intervention appear to have been greater than elsewhere, generating an important debate over the size of the Mexican public sector in the 1960s, and now providing a significant case to be examined in the light of current discussions as to the relative autonomy of the state in capitalist economies.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1005-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Brettschneider

Hate groups are often thought to reveal a paradox in liberal thinking. On the one hand, such groups challenge the very foundations of liberal thought, including core values of equality and freedom. On the other hand, these same values underlie the rights such as freedom of expression and association that protect hate groups. Thus a liberal democratic state that extends those protections to such groups in the name of value neutrality and freedom of expression may be thought to be undermining the values on which its legitimacy rests. In this paper, I suggest how this apparent paradox might be resolved. I argue that the state should protect the expression of illiberal beliefs, but that the state (along with its citizens) is also obligated to criticize publicly those beliefs. Distinguishing between two kinds of state action—coercive and expressive—I contend that such criticism should be pursued through the state's expressive capacities in its roles as speaker, educator, and spender. Here I extend the familiar idea that law, to be legitimate, must be widely publicized; I contend that a proper theory of the freedom of expression obligates the legitimate state to publicize the reasons that underlie rights, in particular reasons that appeal to the entitlement of each citizen subject to coercion to be treated as free and equal. My theory of freedom of expression is thus “expressive” in two senses: it protects the entitlement of citizens to express any political viewpoint, and it emphasizes a role for the state in explaining these free-speech protections and persuading its citizens of the value of the entitlements that underlie them.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 165-185
Author(s):  
Rafał Niedźwiadek ◽  
◽  
Andrzej Rozwałka ◽  

The aim of the article is to present the state of the research conducted on the remains of a medieval stronghold on Grodzisko Hill, also known as Kirkut Hill (due to the Jewish cemetery from the late Middle Ages and early modern period located on its top), as well as to show the latest approach to dating the remains of the stronghold and its role in the medieval Lublin agglomeration. Archaeological research carried out on the hill and at its foot in the 1960s and 1970s was of limited range due to the existence of the Jewish cemetery. However, it can be considered that they provided an amount of data that enables the reconstruction of stratigraphy of the stronghold and recognition of the structure of its rampart running along the edge of the hill. After many discussions, both among historians and Lublin archaeologists, a certain consensus regarding the chronology and the function of the former stronghold on Grodzisko Hill has now been reached. It seems that it was in the 13th century that the stronghold was built and, then, before the century ended, it was destroyed. It coexisted with an older structure – probably built in the 12th century – namely the castellan stronghold on Zamkowe Hill. Recent research indicates that during the second half of 13th century, or at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, a new line of ramparts was built on Staromiejskie Hill. This is how three parts of the Lublin agglomeration were distinguished. Perhaps, in this structure, the stronghold on Kirkut Hill could have functioned as a guard post for a part of the long-distance route located in the area of today’s Kalinowszczyzna Street. The 13th century, and especially its second half, was the time of numerous Yotvingian, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Ruthenian and Tatar invasions.


Author(s):  
Ivonaldo Leite

El artículo trata de la conexión entre relaciones de poder, sociedad, Estado y medio ambiente. Tiene como objetivo presentar el abordaje contrahegemónico de la cuestión ambiental desarrollada por los movimientos que, en diferentes países, constituyen lo que, en los últimos tiempos, ha sido denominado ecosocialismo. Para ello, metodológicamente, el artículo se apoya en dos premisas: una revisión bibliográfica y un análisis de documentos fundacionales (como manifiestos) del ecosocialismo. Entre los resultados alcanzados, pueden ser resaltados, por ejemplo, los siguientes: i) el ecosocialismo concibe al Estado como un campo de disputa; ii) los problemas ambientales se derivan, sobre todo, de la lógica capitalista de producción y acumulación; iii) la crisis ecológica no puede superarse en los marcos de la acumulación de capital; iv) la Educación Ambiental Ecosocialista propone romper con los esquemas de pensamiento tradicionales, así como llevar a cabo una batalla cultural para descolonizar el imaginario popular de fenómenos como el consumo de productos perjudiciales e inútiles. En forma de consideraciones conclusivas, se enfatiza, por ejemplo, una doble inferencia analítica: Por un lado, el ecosocialismo adecuadamente no rechaza al Estado como esfera de disputa hegemónica, y, por otro, su base teórica carece de más formulaciones en lo que se refiere a la transición hacia una nueva organización económica. O artigo trata da conexão entre relações de poder, sociedade, Estado e meio ambiente. Tem como objetivo apresentar a abordagem contra-hegemônica da questão ambiental desenvolvida pelos movimentos que, em diferentes países, constituem o que nos últimos tempos, tem sido denominado ecossocialismo. Para tanto, metodologicamente, o artigo apoia-se em dois pressupostos: uma revisão bibliográfica e uma análise de documentos fundacionais (como manifestos) do ecossocialismo. Dentre os resultados alcançados, podem ser realçados, por exemplo, os seguintes: i) o ecossocialismo concebe o Estado como um campo de disputa; ii) os problemas ambientais resultam, sobretudo, da lógica capitalista de produção e acumulação; iii) a crise ecológica não pode ser superada nos marcos da acumulação de capital; iv) a Educação Ambiental Ecossocialista propõe romper com os esquemas de pensamento tradicionais, bem como levar a cabo uma batalha cultural para descolonizar o imaginário popular de fenômenos como o consumo de produtos prejudiciais e inúteis. Em forma de considerações conclusivas, enfatiza-se, por exemplo, uma dupla inferência analítica: Por um lado, o ecossocialismo adequadamente não recusa o Estado como esfera de disputa hegemônica, e, por outro, a sua base teórica carece de mais formulações no que diz respeito a transição para uma nova organização econômica. The article focuses on the connection among relations of power, society, State and the environment. It aims to present the counter-hegemonic approach to the environmental issue developed by the movements that, in different countries, constitute what, in recent times, has been called ecosocialism. To achieve this, the article is based on two presuppositions: a bibliographical review and an analysis of foundational documents (like manifestos) of ecosocialism. Some of the results found out are as follows: 1) ecosocialism conceives the State as a field of political dispute; 2) the environmental problems result mainly from the capitalist logic of production and accumulation; 3) the ecological crisis cannot be overcome within the framework of capital accumulation; 4) the Ecosocialist Environmental Education proposes to break with traditional thinking schemes, as well as carry out a cultural battle to decolonize the popular imaginary of phenomena such as the consumption of harmful and useless products. In conclusive way, it’s emphasized, for example, a double analytical inference: On the one hand, correctly, ecosocialism does not reject the State as a sphere of hegemonic dispute, and, on the other hand, its theoretical basis needs more formulations regarding the transition to a new economic organization. Keywords: Environment, ecological crisis, ecosocialism, environmental education.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073527512110548
Author(s):  
Thomas Olesen

Democracy has been characterized from its outset by an autonomy dilemma. On the one hand, we think it vital that organizations work according to their own codes and logics. On the other hand, we insist that autonomy must never be complete, that citizens have a right to transgress boundaries to expose wrongdoing. With their insider position in the organizations where wrongdoing occurs, whistleblowers hold a unique place within this democratic politics of disclosure, which has so far not been sociologically theorized. This article takes four steps to address this lacuna: First, I situate whistleblowing within the democratic landslides that took place during the 1960s and 1970s; second, I disentangle it from practices such as journalism and activism; third, I argue that whistleblowers are particularly well positioned to detect normalized wrongdoing within organizations; and fourth, I discuss how whistleblowers’ most pronounced effect is the disclosure of gray areas that have gone under the democratic radar.


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