Politics, Regulation and the Modern Welfare State

This book presents an alternative theoretical approach to the study of the transformation of the modern welfare state. It draws upon the undogmatic Marxism of Gramsci in order to deconstruct the Marxist tradition and develop a general theory of capitalist regulation which emphasizes the primacy of the political. In so doing, it seeks to integrate French regulation theory and British state theory within the broader framework of discourse analysis. This theoretical framework is applied in an empirical analysis of the Danish variant of the Scandinavian welfare state model. The book is written for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and professionals within the field of political theory, institutional economics and sociology.

Autorentext

Jacob Torfing is Assistant Professor at Roskilde University in Denmark.

Inhalt
Foreword Introduction PART ONE: FROM THE PROBLEMS OF MARXISM TO THE PRIMACY OF POLITICS The Disappearance of Politics within Marxism Deconstructing Marxism The Primacy of Politics PART TWO: A HEGEMONY APPROACH TO CAPITALIST REGULATION Discourse Analysis Revisited Towards a Theory of Capitalist Regulation Regulation Theory and the State PART THREE: THE MODERN WELFARE STATE How Should we Analyse the Modern Welfare State? The Expansion of the Modern Welfare State The Present Crisis and Strategies for Renewal Conclusion References Index