Abstract

The conflux of business practices and social policies which the author dubs "economic barbarism" played a major role in destroying American capitalism and transforming it into managerialism, and it may demolish managerialism as well. ;This work, a critical study of economic barbarism under managerialism, contests the managers' technocratic belief that an increase in the economic wealth of society ensures mass prosperity and social peace. ;Representing a century-long tradition of opposition to economic barbarism, the works of Thorstein Veblen, James Burnham, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Kevin Phillips are used as major sources of concepts, descriptions, and data. Veblen's satirical characterization of American capitalism as a type of barbarism is developed into a general concept encompassing the various types of economic barbarism discussed in the text. Veblen's review of capitalism's decline under industrial barbarism sets the stage for an examination of bureaucratic barbarism in the managerial era. Burnham provides material for a definition of managerialism and an account of its centralizing political methods, interventionist economic policies, and liberal ideology. Galbraith contributes material on the development of postwar economic planning and the lopsided social effects of managerial misrule. Using data reported by Phillips, it is shown that bureaucratic barbarism's fiscal and monetary policies have contributed to the erosion of the middle class and the rise of an underclass, thereby heightening the social struggle which undermines managerialism's ability to provide social stability and mass prosperity. ;In conclusion, it is argued that despite the ongoing economic recovery, managerialism has failed to put an end to the American tradition of economic barbarism. Although work reduction, worksharing, and guaranteed annual income plans might mitigate job destruction and other destabilizing effects of technological innovation, downsizing, and the overseas relocation of production, it is likely that continued economic barbarism will lead to the downfall of managerialism. A few educated guesses are offered as to how managerialism could end and what might replace it. As for an end to economic barbarism, it is argued that the phenomenon is likely to plague any complex society regardless of its principles and methods for distributing wealth