ABSTRACT
In the second half of the 1980s, hopes were kindled about the emergence of a new and seemingly progressive model of capitalist development. Post-Fordism appeared as a candidate for the way out of the crisis of dominant postwar economic model, Fordism. These new hopes emerged from old fears about what seemed to be the dominant (and regressive) solution in the first half of the decade, “neo-Fordism.” This change in mood among radical economists and geographers relies upon the fact that in the world battle between two ways out of the crisis of Fordism, the countries that seem to be victorious (e.g. Japan, Germany, the Nordic countries) have developed more positive forms of compromise between capital and labor than the losers in competition (e.g. USA, UK, France). Moreover, this change in the mood expresses a more constructive attitude: instead of complaining that things are getting worse and worse, propositions are addressed to unions, communities, political forces, and “enlightened” managers designed to promote a positive-sum compromise.
