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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 18:2 (2019) ► pp.272–290

Discursive strategies and change

Developments of French capitalism in crisis

 | Liverpool Hope University
In times of crisis, comparative capitalism analysis has difficulties differentiating crisis symptoms and effects from trends that may be more long-term. In this paper, I propose that by looking at the discursive strategies of central actors within the political economy, we may improve our understanding of capitalist trajectories. Drawing on Regulation Theory and Gramsci, the main empirical argument is that the French accumulation regime and its regulation are changing to a more explicitly export-oriented and financialised capitalism. This is underscored by the political project of capital-friendly austerity corresponding to a shift in the relationship of forces, the establishment of a neoliberal understanding of competitiveness, and the fading-out of purchasing power. The theoretical contribution of the paper is to integrate more closely critical discourse analysis with a critical political economy perspective.
Keywords: capitalist development, regulation theory, Gramsci, discourse, crisis, France
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The analysis of capitalist development
  • 3.The French capitalist trajectory in crisis
  • 4.Actors’ discursive strategies in the public arena
  • 5.Socioeconomic developments in France
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 18 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.17041.lux
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