The collection brings together proponents and critiques of the post- Fordist thesis. The debate focuses on the relation between crisis and societal as well as political restructuring. The collection provides an introduction to, and a critique of, the post-Fordist debate. The articles represent the fields of political economy, state theory, value theory, Marxist philosophy, and general questions of Marxist methodology. The volume includes, alongside the original debate between Werner Bonefeld, Bob Jessop and John Holloway, hitherto unpublished material by a wide range of authors.

Part analysis of contemporary change and part vision of the future, post-Fordism lends its name to a set of challenging, essential and controversial debates over the nature of capitalism's newest age. This book provides a superb introduction to these debates and their far-reaching implications, and includes key texts by post-Fordism's major theorists and commentators.

The paradigm of mass production has given way to radically new forms of organizing industrial production based primarily on the need to foster continuous redesign of products and processes in the face of intensified competition. This change, which is designed to engender continuous adaptive learning in production systems, requires considerable organizational flexibility. The mass production systems constructed in the early post-war period foundered in the face of new forms of competition which put a premium on learning and flexibility.

Revisiting Gramsci’s Notebooks offers a rich collection of historical, philosophical, and political studies addressing the thought of Antonio Gramsci, one of the most significant intellects of the twentieth century. Based on thorough analyses of Gramsci’s texts, these interdisciplinary investigations engage with ongoing debates in different fields of study. They are exciting evidence of the enduring capacity of Gramsci’s thought to generate and nurture innovative inquiries across diverse themes. Gathering scholars from different continents, the volume represents a global network of Gramscian thinkers from early-career researchers to experienced scholars. Combining rigorous explication of the past with a strategic analysis of the present, these studies mobilise underexplored resources from the Gramscian toolbox to confront the actuality of our ‘great and terrible’ world. Contributors include: F. Antonini, A. Bernstein, D. Boothman, W. Buddharaksa, T. Chino, R. Ciavolella, C. Conelli, A. Crézégut, V. Cuppi, Y. Douet, A. Freeland, F. Frosini, L. Fusaro, R. Jackson, A. Loftus, S. Meret, S. Neubauer, A. Panichi, I. Pohn-Lauggas, R. Roccu, B. Settis, A. Showstack Sassoon, A. Suceska, P.D. Thomas, N. Vandeviver, M.N. Wróblewska.

There is no doubt that significant socio-economic changes have occurred over the last twenty years in the UK and other advanced capitalist societies. Consequently, Fordism, a bureaucratic, hierarchical model of industrial development has matured into Post-Fordism, with its greater emphasis on the individual, freedom of choice and flexibility, generating fresh debate and analysis. Towards a Post-Fordist Welfare State represents leading authors from a number of disciplines - social policy, sociology, politics and geography - who have played a key role in promoting and criticising Post-Fordist theorising and presents a thorough examination of the implications of applying Post-Fordism to contemporary restructuring of the British welfare state. The work will appeal to a wide-ranging readership providing the first social policy text on Post-Fordism. It will be key reading for undergraduates, postgraduates and lecturers in social policy and administration, sociology, politics and public sector economics

The 1990s promise to be a period of rapid political change, as old political boundaries dissolve and new political forces emerge. These changes throw into question our understanding of capitalism and socialism, of the character of the nation state, and of the relationship between the economy and the state. However, these changes are only the culmination of developments which have been unfolding over the past two decades. This book includes a comprehensive introductory survey, which sets the contributions collected here within the context of the wider debate.