The End of Capitalism, Again? An institutional-evolutionary view

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 was the most severe since 1929. In the years that followed, a major debate on the future of global capitalism emerged. Within this debate a number of studies have argued that the crisis is a symptom of a deeper structural decline. This 'capitalism is ending' argument is derived from analysis focussed exclusively on the developmental contradictions of the capitalist system. Against that approach, I argue that institutional regulation plays a central role in managing capitalist development, and thus adequate analysis must include contradictions and institutional regulation. In this thesis I use institutional-evolutionary theory to critically assess the limitations of key arguments in the debate on capitalism's future. Institutional-evolutionary theory is based on a contemporary revival of Thorstein Veblen's work. I argue the theory contains the resources for investigating the historical specificity of capitalism. Following critique of existing debates on the future of capitalismpost-2008, I develop an original analysis of the evolution of bank bailout policy since the 18th century. This policy was crucial to avert systemic risk in 2008, as well as in many previous crises. In this thesis, I argue that the global diffusion of bailout policy is a case of Darwinian institutional evolution, involving a process of variation, selection, and retention of institutions. Furthermore, I argue that bailout policy is a case of evolutionary sub-optimal lock-in. This finding has implications for banking regulation, and the political economy of future banking crises. Understanding the future of capitalism requires knowledge of its institutional logic, how this generates a specific historical trajectory, and the possibilities and limits of agency to regulate this pattern of development in desired ways. In this thesis I address each of these elements, and in doing so contribute to knowledge of capitalism as an evolving social system.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• McDonagh, Naoise

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Jones, C
• Matthewman, S

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/47267

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/47267