Der Soziologe Sennett arbeitet, dabei bis ins 18. Jahrhundert zurückgehend, die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung und damit die historischen Hintergründe unserer heutigen "postindustriellen" Gesellschaft auf. Angesichts der Kurzlebigkeit heutiger Wirtschaftorganisationen bzw. ihrer Strukturen kommt...

The fundamental mechanism that shapes the social order of welfare societies is the functional antagonism between the capitalist economy, on the one hand, and democratic politics on the other. This mechanism, with its mixed blessings, has been an unchanging feature of western welfare societies...

Flexible markets require flexible societies; humans, however, need a stable social order. According to received wisdom, when capitalist development razes traditional social structures, society fights back, and welfare state policies organize new stability to replace the old. More market produces...