Hegemonic Modulation and the Discourse of Fiscal Crisis

Abstract

In the decades following World War II global capital revolved around the Fordist accumulation strategy. This strategy was centered around processes of mass production, the Taylorist or habituated worker, and the aggressive promotion of mass consumption. Fordism was served well by the widely accepted idea of the Keynesian-welfare state, a state that could intervene directly into the economy to maintain the conditions of full employment, thereby dampening the cyclical shocks to domestic economies by sustaining consumption. In the last quarter century, however, we have witnessed a movement away from Fordist arrangements.