POST-FORDISM AS POLITICS - THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF NARRATIVES ON THE LEFT

In many theories of post-Fordism an epochal transition in capitalist societies is envisioned in which the industrial paradigm of mass production is replaced by flexible specialization. Often conjoined with this new model of industrial development are a post-Marxist politics and a postmodern culture, creating the impression of a grand economic and social realignment. It is argued that these holistic representations of industrialized social formations obscure the role of both capitalist and noncapitalist class processes in constituting contemporary societies and narrow the scope for political contestation and change.