The Inapplicability of the Corporatist Model in Britain and France

Abstract

This article assesses the meaning of corporatism and asks whether this state form is likely to be successfully implemented in Britain and France. Concentrating on the period after 1970, the authors argue that the role of the trade unions, along with the financial and business sectors, can act as a constraint on the successful implementation of this solution to the problems facing advanced capitalist economies. It is contended that both weak and fragmented trade unions (as in France), as well as defensively strong but undisciplined and fragmented trade unions (as in Britain), can undermine the search for corporatist solu tions. The logic of this argument is then clear: There are severe intra-class obstacles to the successful implementation of corporatism. Neither Britain nor France possesses the disciplined or hierarchically structured trade unions that are necessary for the successful institutionalization of corporatism.