Transition and Labour in the United States: Industry and Employment in the Changing Political Economy of Knowledge Capitalism

Abstract

The history of capitalism in the United States since the crisis of the 1970s is marked by a process of global scope: the decline of industrialism. This represents the transition to a new era of capitalism as a mode of production. The US has experienced a set of interlocked processes, three of which are of fundamental interest for this article: the structural change from industrial to knowledge-based economy; the making of neoliberal policies that allowed for the financialisation of the economy and the weakening of unions; the transformation of the corporate model. Consequently, there is an intense downward pressure on wages, job quality and middle-class employment. This translates into the loss of benefits for workers and a decline in job security. This article addresses these processes through the lenses of an evolutionary theory of history. From this perspective, the observed changes are expressions of the transition to a post-industrial capitalism that entails destruction of old jobs and the creation of a pool of labour with limited bargaining capacity.

KEYWORDS: :

• United States
• knowledge capitalism
• labour market
• knowledge economy
• tertiarisation

Notes

1 All figures in these paragraphs are taken from Bureau of Economic Analysis (2022a, 2022b).

2 The crisis of the 1970s is typically associated with the oil shocks. It was a far more complex process that unfolded for over a decade. For a synthesis of the crisis from a complex perspective, see Dominguez Lopez, 2016.

3 Computer systems design and related services was introduced in the official statistics in 1963.

4 Non-profit corporations are deeply connected to the operation of the economy and many of them are attached to major for profit companies of different types.

5 The bulk of Amazon´s employees work in distribution facilities, in low-skilled and relatively low-paid jobs.

6 The question of the factors driving the dynamics of the participation in the labour force is an important one, as it embodies many of the social, economic and political issues pertaining the recent development of capitalism. It requires an in-depth examination that we cannot undertake here.

7 There are some signs that the growth in jobs in high-tech companies with high skill requirements may be reaching a point of inflexion. This a topic to follow in the immediate future, as it would indicate a change of stage in the evolution of US economy.

8 The recent history of China seems to be an alternative path, in which a large manufacturing base is kept in operation and knowledge-based industries are developed integrating older structures in a newer model. This is a topic that requires additional exploration, as it also points to a reorganisation of the international system around a new distribution of power and a likely hegemonic transition, and entails at least some components of a post capitalist project.