French Literature Reviews - 2026
W. Streeck, Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
History, Politics and Society
Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism
Wolfgang Streeck
Frédéric Joly (Translator)
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/10/14 PUBLISHER: Gallimard (Editions) COLLECTION: NRF Essais ISBN: 978-2-07-014359-7 EAN: 9782070143597 FORMAT: Paperback NO. OF PAGES: 378 p.
Economic sociologist Wolfgang Streeck analyzes the 2008 financial and fiscal crisis not as an isolated event, but as a stage in the evolution of the capitalist economy since 1945. More specifically, he examines what he calls "democratic capitalism"—the economic regime of the welfare state which, until the 1970s, bought the allegiance of Western populations through borrowing and credit on the promise of continuous improvement in their social conditions.
Time had to be bought against an eventual crisis. Beginning in the 1980s, a new economic regime took shape, marked by inflation, national budget deficits resulting from tax resistance by creators of financial wealth and their drive for tax relief, and the financing of public debt by private institutions that demanded market consolidation through financial deregulation in return, before requiring states to cover their bankruptcy.
For, more than ever, the economy is not a matter of technical management, but of constant instability in the balance of power between producers of goods and producers of profits: markets intend to internationalize without encountering further political obstacles raised by national parliaments. Globalization is an illusion masking reality: in the 1970s, the classic tax state was succeeded by the debt state, which sought through public borrowing and private credit to defuse social antagonisms and sustain growth.
Today, we live in the consolidation state—one that forces citizens to pay for debt servicing through structural reforms aimed at shedding its sovereign functions and public service missions in favor of institutions beyond the reach of national democratic representation: the euro and the European Central Bank are two prime examples. Does the choice then become: capitalism or democracy?
Contents:
FROM THE LEGITIMATION CRISIS TO THE FISCAL CRISIS
A Crisis of a New Type
Two Surprises for a Theory of Crisis
The Other Crisis of Legitimation and the End of Social Pacification
NEOLIBERAL REFORM: FROM THE TAX STATE TO THE DEBT STATE
A Financial Crisis Caused by a Failure of Democracy?
Capitalism and Democracy in the Neoliberal Revolution
Digression: Capitalism and Democracy
THE POLITICS OF THE CONSOLIDATION STATE: NEOLIBERALISM IN EUROPE
Integration and Liberalization
The European Union as a Liberalization Machine
An Institutional Shift: From Keynes to Hayek
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An article about this book can be read on the website nonfiction.fr:
Wolfgang Streeck examines democratic capitalism as an economic regime where the welfare state relied on borrowing and credit to secure public allegiance through the promise of social improvement. This dynamic connects post-war economic structures to subsequent shifts, tracing how the classic tax state gave way to the debt state and eventually to the consolidation state. Within these transformations, economic developments reflect ongoing struggles in the balance of power between producers of goods and producers of profits, while globalization operates alongside national political frameworks and institutional mechanisms.
The broader study of political economy and modern capitalism frequently engages with the tensions between democratic representation and market imperatives, particularly regarding public debt, taxation, and state sovereignty. Readers interested in contemporary economic sociology and political theory may find this volume relevant to discussions surrounding European integration, financial deregulation, and the structural reforms associated with modern fiscal policies. The text outlines these historical shifts through a structured analysis of crises, neoliberal reforms, and institutional changes within Western capitalist systems.