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...

"Starting in the late 1970s, tens of thousands of American industrial workers lost jobs in factories and mines. Deindustrialization had dramatic effects on those workers and their communities, but its longterm effects continue to ripple through working-class culture. Economic restructuring...

Losing a job has always been understood as one of the most important causes of downward social mobility in modern societies. And it's only gotten worse in recent years, as the weakening position of workers has made returning to the labor market even tougher. The Impact of Losing Your Job builds...

Der Autor W. König ist Professor für Technikgeschichte an der TU Berlin. Er beleuchtet in seinem anregend zu lesenden Buch die historischen Hintergründe und sozialen Zusammenhänge der modernen Konsumgesellschaft, die ein Phänomen des 20. Jahrhunderts sind. Dabei vergleicht er...