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The Managerial Revolution
- What Is Happening in the World
- Narrated by: Keith Hahn
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
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The Managerial Revolution
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Summary
"Burnham has real intellectual courage, and writes about real issues." (George Orwell)
Burnham’s claim was not that capitalism was dead, but that it was being replaced not by socialism, but a new economic system he called “managerialism” - rule by managers.
Written in 1941, this is the book that theorized how the world was moving into the hands of the "managers". Burnham explains how capitalism had virtually lost its control, and would be displaced not by labour, nor by socialism, but by the rule of administrators in business and in government.
This revolution, he posited, is as broad as the world and as comprehensive as human society, asking "Why is 'totalitarianism' not the issue?" "Can civilization be destroyed?" and "Why is the New Deal something bigger than Roosevelt can handle?"
In a volume extraordinary for its dispassionate handling of those and other fundamental questions, James Burnham explores fully the implications of the managerial revolution.
Praise for James Burnham:
"The stoic, detached, empirical, hard-boiled, penetrating, realist mind of James Burnham is something to behold, to admire, to emulate." (National Review)
"James Burnham was an astonishing writer. Subtle, passionate, and irritatingly well-read." (New Criterion)
"The immense significance of Burnham’s approach is potential. We can ignore it only at the risk of being disarmed by the future course of events." (Irving Kristol)
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years, as his thinking developed, he left Marxism and turned to conservatism, serving as a public intellectual of the conservative movement. He also wrote regularly for the conservative publication National Review on a variety of topics.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 03-02-24
Excellent Explanation Of The History Of Post War Society
Learned alot, and had alot put into context when listening to this book. An unbiased, unopinionated history of how and why our social structure and fiscal policy has changed in the last 110 years. Highly recommend to anyone who is attempting to understand the modern world.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MD
- 01-06-22
Great book, unfortunately the reading is boring.
Sorry to say that I found the performance wooden. Great book though, definitely worth reading.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-04-23
Marxist analysis
Burnham performs Marxian analysis of who will control the instruments of production and concludes that it will be the state and its managers. It is perhaps true, but I am unconvinced by the method of analysis. An interesting read but a little longwinded.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Harry Robinson
- 07-06-22
The Right Thesis Coupled With the Wrong Analysis
Burnham is an interesting character and puts forward a thesis, that of the managerial revolution, that I would say is mostly correct. However, it seems most likely a fluke that he came to the correct conclusion, as much of his analysis, of Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany and the capitalist west is completely wrong and he makes a number of glaringly wrong statements about economic processes that betray that he was still, at this point, a Trotskyist in denial and had as much economic knowledge as you would expect from a socialist. When combined with his embarrassing predictions about Germany winning the war and Japan becoming the nucleus of an Eastern Asian superstate, it's hard to take most of his analysis seriously, even when he is correct.
It does not help that this has easily the worst narration I've heard in an audiobook, where the narrator constantly mispronounces words and names, as well as his very strange inflections and pauses during sentences.
Interesting as an exposition of a thesis I think is correct, but I can't really recommend, sadly.
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