> There's an article in the Braudel Center journal I referred to yesterday > (in reference to Frank and his critics )dealing with Maori capitalism in > New Zealand, which is apparently influenced by regulation theory. > Wallerstein also refers to it in his article as one of among different > contending interpretations of why capitalism arose in the west. (As opposed > to Marxism, world systems theory and one or two others.) With all the > brilliant people on PEN-L, can somebody provide a 2 or 3 paragraph > explanation? I am just not motivated to read a whole book with everything > else I am involved with right now. > Louis Proyect my less than brilliant two cents... So-called 'Regulation School' grew out of attempts by French theorists such as Michel Aglietta (_A Theory of Capitalist Regulation_ is probably best known in US), Robert Boyer, Alain Lipeitz to explain capitalist restructuring that accompanied end of post-WW2 boom. These, and other, writers have tried to identify forms of competititon, capital-labor relations, technical production, money, state intervention, international arrangements that contributed to *specific* periods of long-term capitalist grow. Differing forms of above are 'regulatory' mechanisms that constitute 'regimes of accumulation.' Regulationists focus their attention on 'Fordism' (David Harvey's _The Condition of Postmodernity_ is regulationist work offering good summary of theory, Fordism, flexible accumulation, transition from one to other, see Part 2 of book). One theorist I'm familiar with who attempted larger historical regulation analysis relevant is Michel Beaud whose _History of Capitalism_ asserts that 'long journey' toward capitalism's initial 'accumulation regime' was predicated on conquest and pillage of western hemisphere's resources and various structural changes brought about by rising bourgeoisie. Specifically, Beaud cites creation of mills as point of departure for capitalist production mode (Excellent work but I don't think one has to be regulationist to arrive at B's conclusions). Analysis similar to regulation,, associated with Sam Bowles, late David Gordon, Tom Weisskopf, among others, and known as 'social structure of accumulation' (SSA) school has existed in US. Stavros Mavroudeas has interesting critique of regulation theory in Fall 1999 issue of *Science and Society* entitled 'Regulation Theory: Creative Marxism to Postmodern Disintegration.' Michael Hoover
