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Post-Fordism: Production and the Labor Process in Japan

김왕식 1

1공주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper the discusses epochal transition of the structure and organization of the modern economy and society from one distinct phase of capitalist development to a new phase focusing on post-Fordism. There is a great deal of debate about how to characterize these changes, the mechanisms at work, and the policy implications for different groups of economic and political actors. This paper reassesses the concept of post-Fordism in light of the experience of the Japan. It systematically analyzes the differences among the three theoretical positions lying at the heart of the post-Fordist debate: the neo-Schumpeterian approach, the flexible specialization approach, and the regulation approach. The preoccupation with techno-economy found in the neo-Schumpeterian approach tends to be too technologically deterministic, failing to adequately explain the formation and development of a long wave. The dualism of the flexible specialization approach is criticized as it caricatures each industrial paradigm and reduces diverse changes on either side of the defined paradigms. This paper finds that the regulation approach is the best model to explicate the changes revolving around us because of its breadth and tight conceptual structure. It is also proven to be most effective in terms of understanding the situation in Japan, where social organization and economic restructuring processes clearly show that the country has moved beyond Fordism.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.