In
political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
, particularly
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), du ...
critical theory, advanced capitalism is the situation that pertains in a society in which the
capitalist model
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
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 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 infrastru ...
; of the
post-industrial age; of
finance capitalism; of
post-Fordism
Post-Fordism is the dominant system of economic production, consumption, and associated socio-economic phenomena in most industrialized countries since the late 20th century. It is contrasted with Fordism, the system formulated in Henry Ford's au ...
; 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
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.[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 ...]
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 ...
. ''
Legitimation Crisis
Legitimation crisis refers to a decline in the confidence of administrative functions, institutions, or leadership. The term was first introduced in 1973 by Jürgen Habermas, a German sociologist and philosopher. Habermas expanded upon the conc ...
''. 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
Late capitalism, late-stage capitalism, or end-stage capitalism is a term first used in print by German economist Werner Sombart around the turn of the 20th century. In the late 2010s, the term began to be used in the United States and Canada t ...
*Post-Fordism
Post-Fordism is the dominant system of economic production, consumption, and associated socio-economic phenomena in most industrialized countries since the late 20th century. It is contrasted with Fordism, the system formulated in Henry Ford's au ...
*State capitalism
State capitalism is an economic system in which the state undertakes business and commercial (i.e. for-profit) economic activity and where the means of production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises (including the processes of capit ...
*State monopoly capitalism
The theory of state monopoly capitalism (also referred as stamocap) was initially a Marxist thesis popularised after World War II. Lenin had claimed in 1916 that World War I had transformed laissez-faire capitalism into ''monopoly capitalism'' ...
*'' White Collar: The American Middle Classes''
References
Capitalist systems
{{Economics-stub