Politics 216:
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF ADVANCED CAPITALISM
Chris Howell
Spring 2014
Class: King 243, Tuesday & Thursday 1:30pm-2:45pm.
Office: Rice 226
Office phone: 775-8649; email: chris.howell@oberlin.edu
Office hours: After each class, Mondays 10:30am-noon, or by appointment. Please sign
up for office hours online at: http://tinyurl.com/nuyrq3u
Introduction
Political economy, broadly speaking, involves the study of the relationship between the
state and the market. It is concerned with the ways in which politics affects the structure
and performance of the economy, and the economy affects the structures, institutions and
practices of politics. Defined in such a way, a course in the political economy of
advanced capitalism is ambitious because practically every aspect of the politics of the
industrialized world is deeply influenced by the state of the economy. That is why the
primary concern of governments, after national security, is the "management" of their
economies, and national security itself is heavily constrained by the economy. Political
economy, in short, concerns the capacity of states to carry out their political programs,
and hence the degree to which political choice matters in capitalist democracies.
This course will look selectively at a set of important topics in political economy. A
central argument of the course is that there is no one “ideal” model of how a market
economy should operate. Actually existing political economies diverge in countless ways
from the models found in economic textbooks, and there is no clear relationship between
market conformity and economic success. Thus, the study of political economy must be
comparative; that is to say, it must examine the range of concrete forms of political
economy among capitalist societies. As a result, almost half of the course will be taken
up with the study of a range of types of contemporary political economy, each illustrated
by particular countries. These types are laissez-faire political economies (Britain and the
United States), organized or coordinated political economies (Sweden and Germany), and
state-led political economies (France and Japan – though Japan is a hybrid of this and the
previous type).
The course, both as part of its study of varieties of capitalism, and as discrete topics, will
focus upon a number of important themes such as poverty and welfare, the political
economy of gender, economic integration and globalization. There will be heavy
emphasis upon the transformation in the political-economic landscape facing advanced
capitalist societies in the period since about 1980, and discussion of the causes and
consequences of the recent (and continuing) “Great Recession.”
Requirements
The main obligation of students is to do the assigned reading (of which there is a great
deal, about 175 pages a week), come to class, and be prepared to participate in class
discussions. Whenever possible this class will be conducted like a seminar. Occasionally
students will make oral presentations about some of the readings.
Each student must write comments (anywhere from a paragraph or two to a page or two)
on the readings each week. The purpose of the comments is to identify the main issues,
questions and criticisms so that we can incorporate them into class discussion. The
written comments must be posted to the “Discussion” section of Blackboard by 6.00am
(in the morning!) before class. I will let you know in the “Announcements” section of
Blackboard, on which days comments are due and which readings should be covered in
those comments. A description of what I expect from these comments is available on the
Blackboard web site for this class (at the “Assignments” tab) and at the end of this
syllabus. It should be read carefully. These comments, plus class participation, will be
worth one-third of the grade.
There will be a take home mid-term exam, in the form of essay questions, worth onethird of the grade, due just before spring break. The final one-third of the grade will come
from a short research paper (about 10-15 pages long), on a topic chosen by the student,
due by Saturday May17 at 11:00am. This research paper can be one of two types: i) an
individual research paper chosen by the student; ii) a collective research paper, involving
up to four students, on a topic chosen by the group. I would prefer that the research
papers explore topics or countries that we have not had a chance to cover in class. In
addition each student or group must hand me a one-page proposal for the research paper
(the topic plus a preliminary bibliography) by Friday April 4. These are all requirements
and late work will be penalized for reasons of equity.
Finally, there will inevitably be some changes to the course readings and assignments as
the semester that are not included on this syllabus. I will provide regular updates in the
“Announcements” section of the Blackboard web site for this course. Always check the
Blackboard site before each class. In the unlikely event that you miss a class, you should
always check the web site in case I have announced something of importance.
Course readings
All the readings are available electronically, and can be found at the “Course Readings”
tab on Blackboard. You can then read (and print, if you wish) this material. The readings
are organized alphabetically rather than in the order in which you read them. Check page
numbers carefully, so that you read the correct section of each reading at the correct time.
In many cases I have had some sections of a book scanned that you do not need to read,
or that you read at different points in the semester, so do be aware of page numbers.
CLASS SCHEDULE:
February 4, 6, 11, 13 & 18
States and Markets
Albert Hirschman, Rival Views of Market Society, chapter 5 (pages 105-141).
Milton Friedman, “The Relation Between Economic Freedom and Political
Freedom” (pages 7-21), in his book, Capitalism and Freedom.
F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom, chapters 5 & 7 (pages 42-53 & 66-75).
Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, chapter 4 (pages 104131).
Robert Kuttner, Everything for Sale, chapters 1 and 2 (pages 11-67).
Michael Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, chapter 3
(pages 93-130).
Karl Marx, Wage-Labour and Capital, chapters 1, 2, 4, 6-9 (pages 15-20, 26-27,
and 31-48).
Erik Olin Wright, “Understanding Class” (pages 101-116), in New Left Review
[2009].
Marianne Ferber and Julie Nelson, “Introduction” (pages 1-22) in Ferber &
Nelson, eds., Beyond Economic Man.
Nancy Folbre, The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values, chapters 1 & 2
(pages 3-52).
Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation, chapters 11-12 (pages 130-150).
Charles Lindblom, “The Market as Prison” (pages 3-11), in Journal of Politics
[1982].
February 20 & 25
The Rise and Fall of Fordism
David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, chapters 7 & 8 (pages 121-140).
Peter Gourevitch, Politics in Hard Times, chapter 4 (pages 124-180).
Wolfgang Streeck, “The Crises of Democratic Capitalism” (pages 5-29), in New
Left Review [2011].
Jeffry Frieden, Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century,
chapter 12 (pages 278-300).
Anthony Messina, The Logics and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western
Europe, chapter 2 (pages 19-53).
February 27 & March 4
Varieties of Capitalism
Peter Hall and David Soskice, Varieties of Capitalism, chapter 1 (pages 1-68).
Hadas Mandel and Michael Shalev, “Gender, Class, and Varieties of Capitalism”
(pages 161-181), in Social Politics [2009].
Jonas Pontusson, Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe vs. Liberal America,
chapters 1 & 2 (pages 1-31).
Chris Howell, “Arguing for Neoliberal Convergence” (pages 1-35) in Lucio
Baccaro and Chris Howell, European Industrial Relations: Trajectories of
Neoliberal Transformation [Forthcoming].
March 6, 11 & 13
Laissez-Faire Political Economies
Peter Hall, Governing the Economy, chapters 2 and 5 (pages 25-47 & 100-136).
Andrew Gamble, The Free Economy and the Strong State, chapter 2 (pages 2760).
Desmond King and Stewart Wood, “The Political Economy of Neoliberalism”
(pages 371-397) in Kitschelt, Lange, Marks and Stephens, eds., Continuity and
Change in Contemporary Capitalism [1999].
James Cronin, “Embracing Markets, Bonding with America, Trying to Do Good:
The Ironies of New Labour” (pages 116-140), in Cronin, Ross and Shoch, eds.,
What’s Left of the Left? Democrats and Social Democrats in Challenging Times.
Sven Steinmo, The Evolution of Modern States, chapter 4 (pages 149-205).
Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, “Winner-Take-All-Politics” (pages 152-204) in
Politics & Society [2010].
March 18, 20 & April 1
Organized Political Economies
Leo Panitch, Working Class Politics in Crisis, chapter 5 (pages 132-159).
Sven Steinmo, The Evolution of Modern States, chapter 2 (pages 30-87).
Jonas Pontusson, “Once Again a Model: Nordic Social Democracy in a
Globalized World” (pages 89-115) in Cronin, Ross and Shoch, eds., What’s Left
of the Left? Democrats and Social Democrats in Challenging Times.
Jane Jenson and Rianne Mahon, "Representing Solidarity: Class, Gender and the
Crisis of Social-Democratic Sweden" (pages 76-100) in New Left Review
[September-October 1993].
Wolfgang Streeck, “German Capitalism: Does it Exist? Can It Survive?” (pages
33-54), in Crouch & Streeck, eds., Political Economy of Modern Capitalism.
Gregory Jackson and Arndt Sorge, “The Trajectory of Institutional Change in
Germany, 1979-2009” (pages 1146-1167), in Journal of European Public Policy
[2012].
Christopher Allen, “Institutions Challenged: German unification” (pages 139-156)
in Lowell Turner, ed., Negotiating the New Germany.
April 3, 8 & 10
State-Led Political Economies
Peter Hall, Governing the Economy, chapters 6 & 8 (pages 139-163 & 192-226).
Jonah Levy, “From the Dirigiste State to the Social Anaesthesia State” (pages
417-435), in Modern & Contemporary France [2008].
Sven Steinmo, The Evolution of Modern States, chapter 3 (pages 88-148).
T. J. Pempel, Policy and Politics in Japan, chapter 3 (pages 90-109).
Larry Carney and Charlotte O’Kelly, “Women’s Work and Women’s Place in the
Japanese Economic Miracle” (pages 113-145), in Kathryn Ward, ed., Women
Workers and Global Restructuring.
April 15, 17 & 22
Poverty and Welfare
William Wilson, More Than Just Race: Being Black and Poor in the Inner City,
chapters 1-3 (pages 1-94).
Mike Davis, "Who Killed Los Angeles? A Political Autopsy" (pages 3-28) in New
Left Review [January-February 1993].
Mike Davis, "Who Killed LA? Part Two: The Verdict is Given" (pages 29-54), in
New Left Review [May-June 1993].
Adolph Reed, “The Black Urban Regime” (pages 79-115) in Adolph Reed,
Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era.
Claus Offe, Contradictions of the Welfare State, chapter 6 (pages 147-161).
Janet Gornick and Marcia Meyers, “Creating Gender Egalitarian Societies: An
Agenda for Reform,” (pages 313-349) in Politics & Society [2008].
Joel Handler, “Reforming/Deforming Welfare” (pages 114-136) in New Left
Review [2000].
Jacob Hacker, “Yes We Can? The New Push for American Health Security”
(pages 3-32) in Politics & Society [2009].
Watch T.R. Reid documentary for Frontline, “Sick Around the World” (60
minutes). Available at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view/
April 24 & 29, May 1 & 6
Post-Fordist Political Economy and The Great
Recession
Colin Crouch, “Privatised Keynesianism: An Unacknowledged Policy Regime”
(pages 382-399) in British Journal of Politics and International Relations [2009].
David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, chapter 9 (pages 141-172).
Wolfgang Streeck, “Citizens as Customers” (pages 27-47) in New Left Review
[2012].
Nelson Lichtenstein, “Wal-Mart: A Template for Twenty-First Century
Capitalism” (pages 3-30) in Lichtenstein ed., Wal-Mart: The Face of Twenty-First
Century Capitalism.
John Pinder and Simon Usherwood, The European Union, chapters 2 & 4 (pages
9-35 & 65-79).
Wolfgang Streeck, “Markets and Peoples: Democratic Capitalism and European
Integration” (pages 63-71), in New Left Review [2012].
Mark Blyth, Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, chapters 2 & 3 (pages
21-93).
This American Life, “Continental Breakup” (#455, January 20, 2012). Available
at: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/455/continentalbreakup
This American Life, “Giant Pool of Money” (#355, May 9, 2008). Available at:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/355/the-giant-pool-ofmoney
Peter Hall, “The Mythology of European Monetary Union” (pages 508-513) in
Swiss Political Science Review [2012].
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, introduction
(pages 3-21).
[Showing of sections of Inside Job.]
May 8
Conclusion
Fred Block, “Crisis and Renewal: The Outlines of a Twenty-First Century New
Deal” (pages 31-57), in Socio-Economic Review [2011].
John Vail, “Decommodification and Egalitarian Political Economy” (pages 310346) in Politics & Society [2010].
Gerald Davis, “After the Corporation” (pages 283-308) in Politics & Society
[2013].
How To Do The Weekly Reading Comments Assignment
This assignment is not complicated, but it is easy to misunderstand. The purpose of these
sets of comments is threefold. First, I want to know that you have read the assigned
material ahead of class so that I can structure the class on the assumption that we have a
shared starting point, and so that we can set about discussing the reading rather than
having me simply lecture on it. The class is reading-driven because I am trying to expose
you to a wide range of different viewpoints and approaches to the topic, and that requires
that I do everything I can to encourage you to do the reading. Second, I need to know
ahead of time if some part of the reading was consistently misunderstood so that I can
concentrate on going over that material in class. It is often the case that one author or
piece of reading is open to multiple interpretations, and if several students interpret it
differently from me, we will need to discuss that. I may be expecting you to get
something from the reading when you in fact take away something quite different. There
may also be language and concepts that you don’t understand, so the written comments
are an opportunity to let me know what you would like me to explain in class. Third, your
reaction to the reading plays a central role in helping me decide how to organize class
discussion. I am particularly interested in which readings resonated with you, and why,
and which readings you found weak, irritating, ignorant, or whatever, and why. The
critiques of the readings are the best place to start a class discussion – and it means I can
call on you to explain your reaction.
What does this mean for the comments you write? It means that, at a minimum, I want
the comments to demonstrate that you did the reading. That means a brief summary of the
main themes and arguments presented in the reading. You can do this by writing a
paragraph on each reading, or by drawing out some themes and using your comments to
illustrate how each reading addressed those themes. You do not need to summarize
and/or discuss every reading if you do not want to. I want a sense that you have done all
the reading, but if you found some of the readings particularly insightful or heinous, then,
by all means, focus on them in your comments. Do identify terms or concepts that you
would like me to go over in class. Finally, along with your summary and questions,
please offer comments, critiques and reactions to the readings. Again, you can do this for
every reading, or just a few; you might organize your comments around a general critique
of the readings for that week, or point to surprising similarities or differences.
The “product” should be written comments ranging from a couple of paragraphs to a
couple of pages. They should be posted to Blackboard at the ‘Discussion Board’ tab by
the deadline listed on the syllabus. Please write and post your comments before reading
those of other students in the class. I want your reactions to the reading, not your
reactions to the comments of other students. You are welcome to respond to student
comments after posting your own.
Here is how I grade the comments. I DO NOT make comments on them. If you post
comments that demonstrate that you have done the reading, or the great bulk of it,
regardless of the quality of those comments, you get one point. If you post no comments,
or your comments appear to be about reading for another class, you do not get a point. On
rare occasions your comments may be so impressive that I give you two points. In the
past this has been true for only about 10% of students each week, and it only happens for
comments that go well beyond summary and questioning to offer insightful reaction and
critique. You can check that I read and graded your comments by going to the
Blackboard gradebook each week. I’m also happy to meet with you to give you some
further feedback on your written comments.