capitalism

is not just one thing, but takes many forms, has been through many phases, and keeps changing, from early capitalism with a supportive government, to post-war 'organized capitalism' with a state-interventionary government, to neo-liberalism of the 1970s and 1980s with decreased state regulation and the centrality of markets.

Capitalism takes many forms, has been through many phases and keeps changing. In the early and middle nineteenth century liberal capitalism involved a free market with a supportive government and legal framework to help maintain it. But by the start of the 20th century, mass assembly line production had emerged (often called Fordism), with ever increasing profits, investments and scale as work became more and more monotomous for the masses. After the Second World War, a pattern of organized capitalism emerged which involved an administered market and a more 'directive state'. There was, for example, in the UK between 1946 and 1979 much more 'state' intervention as governments often shaped economic policies. But during the 1970s and 1980s, a neo-liberalism was ushered in by Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in the United states. Here state intervention was decreased and the centrality of markets grew with more global and dispersed operations.

Ken Plummer

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Ken Plummer