Business Civilization in Decline (Paperback)

Capitalism is slated to disappear, contends Heilbroner, echoing the theme of his 1974 Inquiry into the Human Prospect; and in five chapters reworked from 1971-1975 essays he undertakes to describe the stages of its decline. In the immediate future, the need for planning to preserve capitalist economies will cause an enlargement of political power; in the long run - i.e., within a century - capitalism will give way to "an enlightened and humane 'socialism'" capable (he hopes) of reconciling bourgeois individualism with a collective consciousness "perhaps foreshadowed by the kind of religious politicism we find in China." In 1974 Heilbroner foresaw "planned 'state' capitalism" on the Japanese model as the successor of "private" capitalism - a position presumably formulated before soaring oil prices exposed the vulnerability of the Japanese economy. It is still the likelier, if drabber, prospect. But all such prognostications are notoriously vulnerable. More to the point: is capitalism doomed? Heilbroner's intimations to the contrary, this is neither a radical proposition (foreword) nor a foregone conclusion (chapter five); and the besetting problems - whether environmental, social, or technological in nature - are, as he ultimately acknowledges, "at least as much rooted in the nature of industrial society as they are rooted in capitalism proper." That is, they are endemic to industrial socialism too. Repeatedly, Heilbroner erects straw men only to demolish them, an irritant to the informed reader but a useful teaching device; and this small book, which benefits from Heilbroner's accustomed simplicity and clarity, is best seen as a position paper for the uninitiated. (Kirkus Reviews)

General

Imprint:	Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Open Forum S.
Release date:	1980
Authors:	Robert L. Heilbroner
Dimensions:	220 x 140 x 13mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	128
ISBN-13:	978-0-7145-2559-4
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history
LSN:	0-7145-2559-6
Barcode:	9780714525594

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