Corporatism

Mark Bevir

Today corporatism generally refers to a pattern of rule in which the state has strong ties with business and labor organizations. Business and labor organizations are treated as having a legitimate right to represent their groups' interests in policy networks formed with the central state. In exchange for this privileged position, these organizations take on considerable responsibility for the implementation of the collective agreements that arise out of such policy networks. The state thereby gains some control over the demands, and perhaps even the leadership, of business and labor organizations. Although corporatist bargaining typically acts to limit competition within individual industrial sectors, it is generally compatible with a high level of competition between various sectors, such as that between agrarian and manufacturing interests. Corporatism has a long and diverse history. Before the rise of modern states, corporate organizations, such as guilds and churches, had considerable autonomy in pronouncing and enforcing ...

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