Problems with the concept of capitalism in the social sciences

Abstract

The paper argues that the term “capitalism” carries with it baggage that interferes with our ability to understand contemporary market economies. The evolution of work in the “varieties of capitalism” literature is used to make the argument that more essentialist modes of analysis win out over those that emphasize variation and contingency. It is argued that analysts should instead use the terminology of variegated societies operating within a capitalist world economy in order to develop a better toolkit for analyzing political, social, and economic change.