Conclusion: Competing Capitalisms in the Asia-Pacific

Capitalism, it seems, not only assumes highly distinctive forms according to the social, political and institutional milieu in which it is embedded, but its precise contours may be influenced by the actions of policy-makers. Indeed, given that ‘capitalism’ is a convenient shorthand for a complex array of social relationships, it is necessarily shaped by the individual or collective actions of human beings. Policy-makers are simply distinguished by their possession of power resources that are unavailable to the general population. Even in a global economy, therefore, the actions of national governments continue to exert a powerful influence on the trajectory of national economic development and the content of national economic activity. To repeat an observation that has been implicitly and explicitly present throughout this book: capitalism, of whatever sort, is manifest in and ultimately made possible by specific sets of social circumstances. Only states can provide the structures of authority necessary to underpin distinctive national social orders, of which a legal system, the protection and legitimization of private ownership, and the functioning of ‘free’ labour markets are key ingredients. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.