ABSTRACT
The current period of capitalism has previously been characterised as one of state monopoly capitalism. What implications does this have in particular for the British labour-market and for women within it, given the social subordination of the family? Elsewhere, Fine and Harris (1985) have argued that the British economy is itself characterised, within the advanced capitalist countries, by the ‘three lows’. It is a low wage, low investment and low productivity economy. These are all intimately connected to each other. Low productivity is a consequence of low investment, and wages must remain low in order for products to be costcompetitive.
