"Full Employment Capitalism" and the Labor Party

"Full employment capitalism" will have, of course to develop new social and political institutions which will reflect the increased power of the working class. If capitalism can adjust itself to full employment, a fundamental reform will have been incorporated in it. If not, it will show itself an outmoded system which must be scrapped. But perhaps the fight for full employment may lead to fascism? Perhaps capitalism will adjust itself to full employment in this way? This seems extremely unlikely. Fascism sprang up in Germany against a background of tremendous unemployment and maintained itself in power through securing full employment while capitalist democracy failed to do so. The fight of the progressive forces for full employment is at the same time a way of preventing the recurrence of fascism. —Michał Kalecki, 1945This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website

Capitalism · Democracy · Economic growth · Economics · Full employment · Labour economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Sociology · Unemployment · Working class · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law