Regulation school

As regulation theory political-economic approaches are referred to, which go back to the French Regulation School to Michel Aglietta and try to explain phases of stability amid the immanent crisis-like mode of production of capitalism.

The resulting mid -1970s approaches are based on the neo-Marxist structuralist Louis Althusser, but try this for dynamic updating. Formative influence in this case had the theory of cultural hegemony Antonio Gramsci, the socio- historical tradition of the Annales school, as well as institutionalist currents.

Since the 1970s, the regulation school has diverged into two major currents. While the stronger institutionalist embossed branch to Robert Boyer port found on the mainstream of French institutional economics, which emerged from the early representatives of Michel Aglietta and Alain Lipietz branch took an important influence on the Marxist theory and is used today by in Germany by Joachim Hirsch, UK Bob Jessop represented.

Starting point and origin

In the 1970s, the world oil crisis following stagflation of France presented the prevailing assumption into question, a crisis- free development of capitalism could be maintained by Keynesian control. A recourse to the liberal economic theories of neoclassical economics or the winning in the U.S. in importance monetarism was in France very big influence in the way Althusser.

However, the structuralist Marxism could not explain why form stable structures depending on the one hand and hold it over a long time, and regularly collapse this on the other hand, in the form of profound crises again. A fortiori found no explanation of why these structures in different countries and epochs assumed a variety of forms, and yet perceived a very similar role to stabilize. It was therefore necessary to investigate the stabilizing moments, regardless of their form in more detail.

This led to the fundamental question of regulation theory, in the words of Joachim Hirsch: ". How is a society held together, which is threatened structurally consisted threatening crises and social disintegration processes due to their economic reproduction mechanism " explanations found the circle around Aglietta and Lipietz in Antonio Gramsci's theory cultural hegemony, according to which " the life of the state is to be taken as an ongoing transforming and overcoming unstable equilibria " and stability through the internalization of the power relations created.

Essential features of the regulation theory Aglietta recorded as early as 1976 in his dissertation Régulation et crises of Capitalism. L' expériences des Etats- Unis. With ' régulation ' he developing a coined by Gérard de Bernis Anne least term.

Central concepts

Accumulation regime

The regulation theory sees here the following Marxism, given a clause requiring the accumulation of capital in capitalism; but this can take different forms at different times, which can be ex post assign a certain type, the accumulation regime. A regime of accumulation is the organization of production and of capital flows, including the mode of payment, the value-added production and distribution, the government's share and their flexibility.

The accumulation regime describes the growth periods of the development of a capitalist economic system with the interplay of transformation, standards of production and consumption as well as the organization of the economy and society. It aims to ensure the satisfaction of needs of people over a certain mode of production of goods.

Historically example is the Fordist regime of accumulation, where standardized products (eg the car model " T5 " ) were associated with full employment and high wages. Workers with high wages could be a "Ford" easily afford; their consumption boosted the production continues to rise ( positive feedback). Even in the times of the economic miracle, the production was a guarantee of prosperity; Workers were even rewarded proportionally to the profit.

Since today many needs are breastfed were shaped in the industrialized countries ( television, refrigerator, telephone, car), is found difficult to a new regime of accumulation. Needs in the social that exist beyond reasonable doubt as pensions, care, education and child care, can not by itself lead to a new regime of accumulation without intervention from outside the market. Incalculable is the importance of biotechnology as a possible key technology of a new accumulation regime, which is vaguely referred to as post-Fordism. Changing an accumulation regime was a crisis so far ahead.

Mode of regulation

At the interface between economic and social sphere forming material production, state domination, and ideological forms of thought from one mode of regulation that stabilizes the accumulation regime. This consists of state institutions, apparatuses, social networks, forms of mass consumption and lifestyle as well as other standards. The design of the mode of regulation is in principle open and subject to the social power relations and cultural hegemony. The stabilization of Fordism as would have been unthinkable in this manner without the state model of the welfare state in transition Along with influential trade unions (see also: corporatism ).

Hegemonic structure

The historically now out each forming concrete connection of accumulation and mode of regulation - that is, the kind of utilization of capital and the way in which this exploitation is backed politically and ideologically - is eventually referred to as the particular hegemonic structure.

Historical sequence of regulation theory perspective

Advanced according to the design: H. H. Blotevogel 1998