| In its very abstract and broad form, this study is a discussion of the dynamics of late capitalist development through exploring linkages between global capitalism, the role of the state and factory regimes at the plant level. At a lower level of abstraction and scope, this is a study of late industrialization and an attempt to answer three questions regarding late industrialization in developing countries. Why did late industrialization occur in some countries and not in others? Why were some countries more "successful" than others? What kind of problems and crises did they encounter in this process? Using the auto industry as a representative case and discussing the various stages of automotive industrialization in three different countries, Brazil, South Korea and Turkey, this study focuses on the linkages between three different levels of analysis, international markets, national development strategies and production relations at the shop floor.;At the lowest level of abstraction, this study addresses the specifics of firm strategies, exploring why and how some firms became more productive and internationally competitive than others. The main argument presented at this level of analysis is that political economy at the shop floor, the organization of production and labor-management relations play a significant role in overall productivity which is crucial for long term industrial growth. Indeed, only by integrating such a micro-level analysis into the larger nexus of state-society relations and global dynamics can we understand late industrialization and gain insights into late capitalist development.;Finally, this study is a critique of the "miracle" stories of late industrialization and raises questions about the long term viability of the current type of industrial growth. Indeed, increasing social conflicts and strikes not only remind us of the high social and economic costs of industrialization but increasingly suggest that the firm strategies based on cheap and docile labor, as well as the development strategies founded on repression and exclusion of labor, are no longer sustainable. |
