ABSTRACT
Aglietta’s book is very heavy going. Much more accessible is the work of Lipietz, who also pays more attention to policy questions. LIPIETZ (1987) takes a global view of the crisis of Fordism, from the perspective first of the core capitalist economies and then of the periphery. In Towards a New Economic Order (LIPIETZ 1992) Lipietz attacks the paradigm of “liberal-productivism”, which fragments social existence, undermines solidarity, and causes great environmental damage but is unable to solve the Fordist labour management problems or to avoid severe macroeconomic difficulties at both the national and international levels. He proposes a new wages pact with greater worker control of production and increased leisure time, and calls for the establishment of a self-managed community work sector. Lipietz also argues for the introduction of a new world order with international credit money, debt relief for poor countries, and social restrictions on free trade and capital movements. He envisages a much greater ecological focus in development choices, both locally and globally.
