Institutional change in the systemic crisis of neoliberalismradical political economics and post-marxism

Abstract

Profound institutional transformation is a necessary corollary to the ongoing systemic crisis of neoliberal capitalism. This paper considers together the works of the Social Structures of Accumulation theory and those of Ernesto Laclau in the light of the current systemic crises, in order to illuminate some under-theorized issues regarding institutional change. Combining the former’s attention to the internal requirements of the accumulation process with the latter’s discursive approach to hegemony, it is argued, turns to be a promising route to apprehend the subtleties of deep institutional transformation. In particular, issues regarding the recognition of the heterogeneity of struggles un SSA theory, together with its understanding of the political struggle in times of SSA decay, will be re-casted in new light.