David Jaffee

Abstract

Neoliberal policies instituted since the 1980s have transformed the United States economy in ways that have produced serious structural distortions in the basic operation of capitalism. Using Samir Amin’s concept of disarticulation, previously applied exclusively to the periphery of the world economy, this article argues that the twin and mutually reinforcing features of neoliberalism––global corporate restructuring and financialization––have now generated disarticulation in the core nations. This disarticulated structure is responsible for the economic stagnation and sharply unequal income/wealth distributional outcomes that characterize contemporary U.S. capitalism.

Keywords

Disarticulation, economic crisis, financialization, globalization, neoliberalism, political economy, stagnation

From: Critical Sociology 2020 46 (1)

Editor: Wang Yi