Book Review - CLASH OF CAPITALISMS: HOW POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FORCES SHAPE THEM DIFFERENTLY ACROSS SOCIETIES?

This article provides a scholarly review of a book on the "clash of capitalisms," which likely explores the different models of capitalism that exist across societies. The reviewer summarizes the book's central thesis, which challenges the notion of a single, monolithic form of capitalism and instead argues that different societies have developed distinct capitalist systems, shaped by their unique political and institutional forces. The review would highlight the key "models" of capitalism analyzed in the book, such as the Anglo-American market-driven model, the German coordinated market economy, and the East Asian developmental state model. The reviewer assesses the strengths of the book's comparative institutional analysis and its contribution to the field of comparative political economy. The review concludes by affirming the book's importance in providing a more nuanced and realistic understanding of the diversity of modern capitalism.

This article offers a critical review of a major work in comparative political economy, likely titled "Clash of Capitalisms." The review begins by positioning the book as a powerful critique of the "one-size-fits-all" model of Anglo-American, neo-liberal capitalism that dominated the global discourse in the 1990s. It summarizes the author's main argument: that there are multiple, equally valid "varieties of capitalism," and that the success of a capitalist system depends on the coherence between its political, financial, and social institutions. The reviewer would then systematically discuss the different models of capitalism that are comparatively analyzed in the book. This would include a detailed examination of the "liberal market economies" (LMEs) like the US and the UK, and the "coordinated market economies" (CMEs) like Germany and Japan, highlighting their different approaches to corporate governance, labor relations, and innovation. The review would praise the book for its sophisticated theoretical framework and its rich empirical detail, which provides a powerful analytical tool for understanding the persistent diversity of the global economic landscape. The review would likely conclude that "Clash of Capitalisms" is a foundational text in the field of comparative political economy, one that has profoundly reshaped our understanding of the institutional foundations of economic performance and the different ways in which societies can successfully organize their market economies.