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New institutionalisms in economic and organizational sociology need grounding in theories of capitalism. Comparative studies show that multiple, viable forms of capitalism have been constructed through the interplay of institutions, mobilizations of political power, and state policies. Further theoretical development requires attention to the contradictions of capitalism. Promising theoretical sources for this task are examined. The political process produces new forms of capitalist institutions, but contradictions built into those institutions cannot be fully resolved and provide the basis for new acts of social construction and power mobilization. The power and cultural arguments of the comparative institutionalists are joined, at least in aspiration, to theories of capitalist contradictions.

The chapters in this section examine the exercise of power in two distinct policy arenas. Whereas Val Burris examines the interlocking networks among policy planning organizations, Clayton Peoples and Michael Gortari compare the effects of political action committee contributions on the voting behavior of elected officials in the U.S. and Canada.

J. Kenneth Benson is a professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology, University of Missouri-Columbia. He continues to work on the development of a dialectical approach to the study of organizations, networks, and public policies. He also is working currently on religion and the professions. His work has been published in the Administrative Science Quarterly, The Sociological Quarterly, and other journals and edited volumes.