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From: A.J.Varty@sussex.ac.uk (Alan Varty)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 02:44:18 -0500
To: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY <ipe@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: Capitalism Conference
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THE DIRECTION OF CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM
An International Interdisciplinary Conference
University of Sussex
Friday 26th to Sunday 28th April 1996
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the de facto conversion of
China, capitalism is now for the first time in history an economic
system that encompasses the whole globe. The direction of the
interlinked capitalist economies, and of the societies built on them,
is therefore now the direction of the whole world. Yet since 1989
interest in the specific dynamics of capitalist economies and
capitalist societies has if anything declined, to be replaced by
reflections on 'postmodernity' in which the economic realm is scarcely
mentioned except in discussions of shopping.
This conference, which is organised by the innovative Social and
Political Thought Graduate Programme at Sussex University, aims to
examine the direction in which contemporary societies are moving by
looking at those societies essentially as capitalist societies, and by
refocusing on a question that recent discussion in social and cultural
theory has tended to lose sight of: how are the social, cultural,
political and legal changes they are undergoing related to changes in
their economic organisation?
A range of distinguished speakers from different countries and
disciplines will be addressing some of the major developments in
capitalist economies and societies over the last few decades: the
internationalisation of capital flows, the privatisation and
deregulation of domestic economies, the 'informationalisation' of the
economy, the 'desecuritising' of employment, an apparent attenuation
of state sovereignty, the erosion of the taken-for-granted nature of
cultural traditions, a partial transformation in the position of
women, a liberalisation of sexual attitudes, an increased orientation
towards consumption, the decline of socialist politics, and the rise
of new forms of exclusive nationalism on the one hand, and of the
politics of environmentalism, 'civil society', and identity on the
other. They will be asking how universal these changes are, how they
are related to each other, what they mean for the future, and what
their implications are for social theory and political philosophy.
Sessions will be convened under the broad headings of Economy and
State, Society and Culture, and Philosophical and Historical
Perspectives.
The conference promises to be one of the most exciting events of the
year for those interested in the underlying direction of modern
societies.
The conference fee is 35 pounds sterling (waged) or 15 pounds sterling
(students and unwaged; limited places), including refreshments. The
conference will run from 5.15 pm on the Friday till 5.30 pm on the
Sunday, with some supplementary question and answer sessions with
particular speakers early on Sunday evening. A cafeteria/restaurant
will be open on campus over the weekend, serving inexpensive hot
meals. Details of local accommodation will be sent with booking
confirmations.
Conference organiser:
Andrew Chitty, Arts B, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QN,
UK
Tel: (+44) 1273 606755 ext. 2101
Fax: (+44) 1273 625972
E-mail: sptconf@sussex.ac.uk
Co-organisers: Gareth Bish, Philip Larkin, Christine Roscoe, John
Varty.
Updated details of the conference are available on our web site:
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/dcc.html
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PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
Friday 4.00-5.15 pm
Registration
ECONOMY AND STATE
Friday 5.15-6.45 pm
Disembedding and Deregulation
Elmar Altvater (Free University, Berlin) 'The Unchained World Market'
Alan Scott (University of East Anglia) 'Free Markets by Design?'
Friday 6.45-8.15 pm
Dinner
Friday 8.15-9.45 pm
Two parallel sessions:
Models of Capitalism
John Scott (University of Essex) 'Established and Emergent Variants of
Capitalist Development'
Ronald Dore (London School of Economics) 'Still Capitalism with Such
Feeble Capitalists? The Case of Japan'
Hans Singer (University of Sussex) 'State and Markets in Developing
Countries'
The End of Full Employment and the Changing Nature of Work
Andrew Glyn (Corpus Christi College, Oxford) 'Why Has Full Employment
Disappeared?'
Anne Gray (Independent consultant) 'Flexibilisation of the Labour
Market: Its Effect on Workers' Struggles'
Discussant: Stephen Wood (London School of Economics)
Saturday 9.15-10.45 am
Globalisation and the Nation-State
Michael Mann (UCLA) 'The Future of the Nation-State'
Martin Shaw (University of Sussex) 'The Global State: Perspectives on
the Globalisation and Fragmentation of State Power'
SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Saturday 11.00 am - 12.30 pm
Civil Society and Capitalism
Jeffrey Alexander (UCLA) 'Rethinking 'Capitalism' in the Context of
the Revival of 'Civil Society''
Respondent: Krishan Kumar (University of Kent)
Saturday 12.30-2.00 pm
Lunch
Saturday 2.00-3.30 pm
Reflexive Modernisation and Risk
Mike Rustin (University of East London) 'The Reflexive Modernisation
Thesis'
Frank Furedi (University of Kent) 'Risk-Consciousness: The Escape from
the Social'
Saturday 3.45-5.15 pm
Two parallel sessions:
Nationalist and Right-Wing Movements in Europe
Piero Ignazi (University of Bologna) 'The Origin of the New Extreme
Right Movements'
Klaus Eder (Humboldt University, Berlin) 'Mobilizing Collective
Identities:A New Problem for Social Movement Theory and Research.'
Social Movements from Above and Below
Orlando Fals Borda (National University of Colombia, Bogota) 'The
Political Impact of Social Movements in Latin America'
Leslie Sklair (London School of Economics) 'Social Movements for
Global Capitalism: The Transnational Capitalist Class in Action'
Saturday 5.30-7.00 pm
Two parallel sessions:
Is There a Future for Socialist Movements After 1989?
Adam Michnik (Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw)
Hilary Wainwright (Red Pepper / University of Manchester)
The Rise of Identity Politics
Shere Hite (El Mundo, Madrid) 'Women and the New Identity Movements:
Whose Side Are We On?'
Respondent: Gita Sahgal (independent film-maker and writer)
Saturday 7.00-8.30 pm
Dinner
Saturday 8.30-10.00 pm
Gender, Sexuality and the Market
Alan Sinfield (University of Sussex) 'Consuming Sexualities: The
Politics of the Pink Pound'
Angela McRobbie (Loughborough University of Technology) 'Getting to
Grips with Consumption: A Feminist Critique'
Discussant: Judith Williamson (Middlesex University)
PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Sunday 9.30-11.00 am
Two parallel sessions:
Contemporary Capitalism and Law
Bob Fine (University of Warwick) 'The Recovery of 'Rights' in
Contemporary Social Theory'
Chris Thornhill (King's College, London) 'Understanding the Law:
Hermeneutics and Sovereignty'
Contemporary Capitalism and Social Justice
Jan Narveson (University of Waterloo, Ontario) 'Capitalism: Still the
Right Answer to the Right Question?'
Respondent: David Pepper (Oxford Brookes University)
Sunday 11.15 am - 12.45 pm
Communitarianism and Capitalism
Hans Joas (Free University, Berlin) ''It's the Values, Stupid': Value
Oriented Movements and Capitalist Society'
David Willetts (Minister for Public Service, British Government)
'Conservatism and Community'
Jonathan Boswell (St. Edmund's College, Cambridge) 'Remaking
Prescriptive Communitarianism: Groups, Firms or Society?'
Sunday 12.45-2.15 pm
Lunch
Sunday 2.15-3.45 pm
Critical Theory and Contemporary Capitalism
Helmut Dubiel (Institute for Social Research, Frankfurt) 'The Critical
Theory of Disorganised Capitalism'
Respondent: Ivan Vejvoda (University of Sussex)
Sunday 4.00-5.30 pm
The Historical Place and Destiny of Capitalism
Ellen Meiksins Wood (York University, Toronto) 'Capitalism or
Modernity?'
Bob Jessop (Lancaster University) 'Political Economy and the
Governance of Complexity: The Future of Capitalist Regulation in a
Post-Modern Age'
Sunday 6.30-7.30 pm
Supplementary Sessions
Question and answer sessions with some of the main conference
speakers, in parallel.
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BOOKING FORM
Please make cheques or international money orders payable to 'The
University of Sussex'. Send cheque and booking form in an envelope
marked 'DCC Booking' to: Andrew Chitty, Arts B, University of Sussex,
Falmer, BN1 9QN.
We can arrangement payment from abroad by credit card. Please telephone
Andrew Chitty at (+44) 1273 606755 ext. 2101
Date: ................
Amount Enclosed: 35 pounds 15 pounds (Circle Appropriate)
(limited places)
Other: ................... (Please Specify)
If the amount is different to 35 or 15 pounds, e.g.
in the case of a double booking, can you please make
sure that we have all the relevant information about
each participant. Thank you.
Title: Prof., Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms. (Circle Appropriate)
Surname: ....................................................
Forename(s): ....................................................
Department: ....................................................
Institution: ....................................................
Correspondence
Address: ....................................................
....................................................
.................................Postcode:..........
Telephone: ......................................Fax:..........
E-Mail (if used): ......................................@.............
Would you like the following information? (Please tick):
Full Programme (when finalised)? ...............................
University of Sussex Campus Map? ...............................
Brighton/Lewes Accommodation details? ...............................
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30 March 1996
Prof. Chris Chase-Dunn
Department of Sociology
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD. 21218 USA
tel 410 516 7633 fax 410 516 7590 email chriscd@jhu.edu