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Marx expected the socialist revolution to take place in a highly industrialized society. In his theory the creation of the industrial society was the “historical task” of Capitalism. The “historical task” of Socialism was the equitable distribution of the fruits of industrialization. This sequence was inherent in his dialectical and historical materialism. For this reason, argues that it would be rash to pass judgement on Socialism in the light of the Russian experience. The Russian experience may well have been a “special case”.

Plagiarizes Jonathan Swift to produce a tongue‐in‐cheek proposal for the relief of the burden of children to the poor and so create benefits for the state. Claims satirically that the scheme would solve a number of societal problems.

The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.

Combines theory with practice, based on experiences rather than philosophical speculation. The question posed is whether technological innovation must be regarded as an exogenous or endogenous variable in economic models. Neoclassical economics, even in such modified versions as developed by Samuelson and Solow, regard technology, labour economics and social change, exogenous. The belief is that they are endogenous, and innovations in the technological sphere are no less influenced by economic factors than the economy by technological developments. Examines the related decision‐making processes in one of the major electronics multinationals in order to obtain more insight into the complex interaction between economic and technological changes.

Describes the fear of inflation which has frustrated European employment policies since the early 1970s. States that the concurrence of much unemployment with inflation did not elicit new ideas and that governments postulated that excessive spending, social security payments in particular, is the main cause of both: this legitimized severe restrictive monetary and fiscal policies, but expected results failed to appear. Finds that inflation did indeed abate but the increase in unemployment did not. Suggests that, because the services required for improving human capital are a prerequisite for economic progress, it follows that the state has to guarantee at least minimum conditions for ready access to services. For a calculating government, this is difficult to implement. That is why the dominating calculating principle in politics (a sort of monetarist bookkeeping attitude) undermines the economic performance of a country and threatens democracy. Yet the monetarist economic framework persists. Moreover, indicates the Maastricht Treaty actually establishes a legal and economic framework by which price stability takes precedence over growth, reduction of unemployment and social welfare considerations. Feels that a re‐examination of the true causes of inflation and unemployment has become imperative.

Top managers of multinational enterprises are continuously confronted with “make‐or‐buy” decisions. These choices have to be made after corporate strategy has already been determined and the measures to realize the corporate aims have been taken. Elucidates why the decision to make components and/or production equipment in‐house, instead of buying them from professional suppliers, may more often than not be subversive of multinational corporations′ (MNCs) core activities. Relies on a case study at a research and development department of Philips International (The Netherlands). Illustrates how the decision to make production equipment in‐house evokes further decisions which are in conflict with the actual corporate strategy. The decision of a producer of consumer electronics to develop production equipment in‐house, instead of buying it in the marketplace, imposes on top management the need to decide whether or not to add this equipment to its consumer product range. The problem is that an affirmative decision may well give rise to a shift in the company′s core activities. Consequently, “make‐or‐buy” decisions are a potential threat to strategic core activities and top management would be well advised to be aware of this.

The paper gives a brief description of the transformation on a global scale of the old international production concept of mass production towards the new global concept of lean production as an explanation for the increasing inequality in income distribution since the 1980s. The information is based on research of the electronics industry. The salient point is that mass production heavily depends on conveyor‐belt work, while lean production (batch size one) is increasingly relying on sub‐contracting (co‐makership, just‐in‐time delivery) which is part of the strategy of large suppliers to concentrate production on their core activities, on global sourcing and on coalition‐forming. The former left room for low qualified employment and “on the job training”, while the concentration on core activities etc. tends to redirect work to highly remunerated but decreasing employment in large enterprises, and to poorly rewarded work in an increasing number of smaller subcontractor and co‐maker firms. The risks involved for income distribution are self‐evident.

The debate about the labour process was, in the second half of the seventies, dominated by the question whether, under all circumstances, management was motivated by the objective of gaining total control over the entire production process and its constituent elements. More specifically the debate centred on whether control was an objective in itself or merely part of the strategy to maintain profits in the long run. Political, economic and technological influences were not sufficiently taken into consideration by the scientists who took part in this debate. Recently, since 1980, precisely the last mentioned elements were emphasised. It was shown that political, economic and technological developments exert a strong influence on managerial strategies. It was suggested that in theorising about the labour process it is necessary to take full account of business cycles, the progress of technology, developments in the labour and product market; and of the interrelationship between all these factors. In addition, researchers also studied managerial behaviour, managers' sub‐cultures and attitudes; managerial decision‐making processes; and workers' opposition.

Many economists and politicians have declared the price mechanism to be the most effective coordination mechanism. On the contrary, the economic perspectives at the beginning of the twenty‐first century reveal that an increase in the supply of products does not necessarily engender an increasing demand. That is why more and more economists agree that every society not only can, but also must, choose the combination of coordination mechanisms that are most appropriate under its specific conditions.

Economic development and growth are approached as being dependent on the development of society and vice versa. The empirical relation between economic openness of a country and the structure of its industrial relations is analysed in relation to different economic outcomes. Special attention is paid to the question whether a policy to engender smaller income differentials does or does not provide a positive drive for the structural change towards a modern information technology‐based economy.

Although some authors argue that smaller income differentials coincide with lower productivity rates, this study reveals that there is no such trade‐off. Different sets of coordinating mechanisms determine economic performance. The market mechanism is therefore not the overriding force determining economic development. On the contrary, income and education seem to be two drivers of the sectoral shift to an ICT‐based service economy.

Different sets of coordination mechanisms seem to support the same economic performance. This implies that governments should once again take responsibility for structuring the economy and society – that is to enforce a system of reliable justice for the vast majority of citizens.