The Historical Sociology of Capitalism

Inbunden, Engelska, 2027

1 769 kr

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Capitalism is sometimes praised, often indicted, and rarely defined. The Historical Sociology of Capitalism seeks to provide a robust definition with a narrative and an analysis of capitalism over the past 350 years. Starting with the basic definition of capitalism as an individual behavior in which profit is pursued for its own sake, the authors identify capitalist societies as those in which this behavior has a certain legitimacy, and in which most individuals either adopt it or are directly affected by it.From there, François and Lemercier build a narrative, beginning in the second half of the seventeenth century and centering on three global ages, each of which had specific ways of doing and seeing things. First came the Age of Commerce (ca. 1680–1880), which was dominated by merchants; then the Factory Age (ca. 1880–1980), during which wage labor became a reference, associated with large integrated companies and the scientific organization of work; and finally, the Age of Finance (ca. 1980–present), dominated by the ways of doing and seeing of financial actors. Opening with a discussion of the original expansion of capitalism, the authors then discuss consumption, work, firms, capitalists, finance, and the State. Along the way, the book examines and questions the main classic hypotheses put forward to explain changes in capitalism: problem-solving (the functionalist hypothesis); technology; and political events considered as external forces, such as elections, wars, and colonization. The authors propose that there is a better explanation, arguing that change has been driven primarily by the competitive increase in the division of labor and by class conflicts—not only between workers and capitalists, but among social groups, and quite often among different groups of capitalists.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2027-01-27
Mått156 x 235 x undefined mm
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor328
FörlagOUP USA
ISBN9780197805282
ÖversättareMiranda Richmond-Mouillot

Tillhör följande kategorier

Sociologi inom Samhälle och politik
Ekonomisk politik inom Ekonomi och Ledarskap
Historia inom Historia och arkeologi

Pierre François is a CNRS Research Professor affiliated with Sciences Po and the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations. An economic sociologist by training, his early work focused on the arts (music, contemporary art, and poetry), before turning to the sociological theory of markets. Over the past fifteen years, his research has examined large corporations and economic elites in France, with particular attention to their financialization since the 1980s, as well as the European insurance sector.Claire Lemercier is a historian of modern France (1750–present) whose work focuses on the relationships between merchants/firms and the state (administrations and courts). Among other topics, her publications have focused on comparisons between the state from the perspective of France and the U.S.A., French economic elites, and apprenticeship. She is also a specialist in quantitative methods and the digital humanities, and a member of the editorial boards of Past & Present andEnterprise & Society.Miranda Richmond-Mouillot is an author and translator specialized in history and the social sciences. Her translation of Romain Gary's The Kites won a Pen-Heim award and was named one of the top 100 books of the year by the New York Times. Her bestselling first book, A Fifty-Year Silence: Love, War, and a Ruined House in France (Penguin Random House, 2015) has been translated into multiple languages, and her graphic novel Hé Patron! Pour une révolution dans l'entreprise (Le Seuil, 2023) was a finalist for La Tribune's book prize.