In
political philosophy, particularly
Frankfurt School critical theory, advanced capitalism is the situation that pertains in a society in which the
capitalist model has been integrated and developed deeply and extensively and for a prolonged period. The expression ''advanced capitalism'' distinguishes such societies from the historical previous forms of capitalism,
mercantilism
Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce a ...
and
industrial capitalism, and partially overlaps with the concepts of a
developed country
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
; of the
post-industrial age; of
finance capitalism; of
post-Fordism; of the
spectacular society
The spectacle is a central notion in the Situationist theory, developed by Guy Debord in his 1967 book ''The Society of the Spectacle''. In the general sense, the spectacle refers to "the autocratic reign of the market economy which had acceded t ...
; of
media culture; and of "developed", "modern", and "complex" capitalism.
Various writers identify
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , , ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosopher, journalist, linguist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, political theory, sociology, history, and linguistics. He was a ...
as an influential early theorist of advanced capitalism, even if he did not use the term himself. In his writings Gramsci sought to explain how capitalism had adapted to avoid the revolutionary overthrow that had seemed inevitable in the 19th century. At the heart of his explanation was the decline of raw coercion as a tool of class power, replaced by use of
civil society institutions to manipulate public ideology in the capitalists' favor.
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere.
Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wor ...
has been a major contributor to the analysis of advanced-capitalistic societies. Habermas observed four general features that characterize advanced capitalism:
* Concentration of industrial activity in a few large firms
* Constant reliance on the state to stabilize the economic system
* A formally democratic government that legitimizes the activities of the state and dissipates opposition to the system
* The use of nominal wage increases to pacify the most restless segments of the work force
[Habermas, 1988: 37, 75.]
Bibliography
*
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas (, ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere.
Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas's wor ...
. ''
Legitimation Crisis''. Trans. by T. McCarthy. Boston: Beacon, 1973
from google books
* Sombart, Werner (1916) ''Der moderne Kapitalismus. Historisch-systematische Darstellung des gesamteuropäischen Wirtschaftslebens von seinen Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart.'' Final edn. 1916, repr. 1969, paperback edn. (3 vols. in 6): 1987 Munich: dtv. (Also in Spanish; no English translation yet.)
*Ian Gough
State Expenditure in Advanced Capitalism
' New Left Review
*Fredric Jameson (1991) '' Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism''
*Ernest Mandel ''Late Capitalism''
See also
* Capitalist mode of production
* Late capitalism
* Post-Fordism
* State capitalism
* State monopoly capitalism
*'' White Collar: The American Middle Classes''
References
Capitalist systems
{{Economics-stub