Towards a New Economic Order - Alain Lipietz

Towards a New Economic Order is a concise and critical introduction to what has become known as 'regulation theory' in political economics. Regulation theory argues that the state may influence markets and industries through taxation, legislation, and subsidisation. Also, that companies may compete for regulation through political influence and help.Lipietz analyses the 'Fordist' model of economic development dominant in the post-war years. Fordism is the economic development based on assembly line production, clear division of labour, and a hierarchy of authority. In opposition to this, post-Fordism concentrates on more flexible and smaller production units. He shows how Fordism can be seen to account for the political and economic crisis of the latter decades of the twentieth century.Drawing on examples from the recent history of Europe, the Third World and North America, Lipietz argues that there are two intersecting economic reasons for the crisis: the changing international economy and the experience of reaching the limits of Fordist forms of production.;In doing so, he charts the responses of governments and businesses to the weaknesses of Fordism and their proposals for a post-Fordist future.