The Diversity in Advanced Capitalist Economies

In this paper, comparative studies of advanced capitalist economies are reviewed, with special reference to their institutional diversity, and some conclusions regarding the socio-historical conception of contemporary capitalism are drawn. In other words, after briefly reviewing the history of political economy concerning various capitalist societies, we focus on the VOC (Varieties of Capitalism) and régulation approaches, showing that the principles of capital and society are the driving forces of modern history. The most important conclusion is that capitalism must be socially regulated or coordinated and that the diversity of capitalism is deeply related to that of the regulation mode.