University of Sussex
Browse
CapitalismRevised.pdf (114.06 kB)

The future of capitalism: trends, scenarios and prospects for the future

Download (114.06 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 15:25 authored by Gerard Delanty
The article provides a framework for thinking about how the question of the future of capitalism might be addressed. One of the problems resides in the very definition of capitalism and of what its defining features consist of and whether we should be talking about ‘capitalist society’ or the ‘capitalist economy’ or some kind of post-capitalist condition. Following Polanyi, Castoriadis and Habermas, it is argued that capitalism and democracy together constitute the defining dynamics of modernity and that the resulting tensions will provide momentum for the main circuits of potential change. Five scenarios for looking at the future are discussed. These will form the main substance of the article: varieties of capitalism, systemic crises of capitalism, catastrophic collapse, low growth capitalism and post-capitalism. In conclusion, it is argued that there are various possibilities that can be understood in terms of transitions, breakdown or transformation, but a likely future trend will be less the end of capitalism than the harnessing of ‘super-capitalism’ and that there are limits to the accumulation of capital.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Journal of Classical Sociology

ISSN

1468-795X

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Issue

1

Volume

19

Page range

10-26

Department affiliated with

  • Sociology and Criminology Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sussex European Institute Publications
  • Centre for Social and Political Thought Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-10-09

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-10-11

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-10-11

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC