Examining Bureaucratic Capitalism and Social Stratification in the United States in the Post-Fordism Economy

Over the past forty years, the United States has reorganized the major economic drivers of its economy. This reorganization, international in scope, has significantly changed the stratification system along with it. While explicit racial and gender discrimination were key dimensions of the 20^th century economy, the new world order depends significantly on a racial and gendered bodies to keep its engines humming. Some public institutions have receded while different ones assume prominence. Drawing on the works of economic historians Joel Mokyr and Robert Gordon; political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson; and sociologist Geoffrey Ingham, to name a few, we detail the new stratification order in the United States dictated by finance capitalism and fueled by mass incarceration. Using the concept of bureaucratic capitalism developed by Gideon Sjoberg, we detail the parameters of the new stratification system and the redefined relationship between state, capital, labor and citizenry.