Flexible accumulation and the global economy: contemporary prospects for late industrializers

According to some writers, global capitalism has entered a new era of “disorganization”, “flexible accumulation” or “post-Fordism” (Lash & Urry 1987; Harvey 1989; Lipietz 1992). This chapter examines these claims, and more importantly the implications for late industrializers in the developing world. My principal concern is therefore to examine the constraints and opportunities faced by late industrializers in the so-called “post-Fordist” world.