Capitalists against Markets by Peter Swenson (Oxford University Press, 2001). This book sheds new light on historical puzzles and theoretical questions about the political prospects for economic equality and social security in capitalist societies. Because labor markets in the United States and Sweden differed so radically, Swenson argues, the interests of capitalists in social and labor market policy also varied enormously. Their interests changed over time, too, sometimes in the direction of reform. Progressive politicians took account of these interests in the timing and design of legislation to fashion reform coalitions extending across classes.

The comparative analysis begins with theory about employer interests under varying economic and institutional conditions, especially in labor markets shaped to a considerable degree by employers themselves. It then moves on to in-depth historical evidence starting from the early 1900s. It gives reason to believe that capitalists were among essential allies of the American welfare state in the 1930s and beyond, not just forces for containing its expansion.

It also shows that Social Democrats in Sweden faced virtually no resistance, and considerable tacit support, as they installed and expanded the various pieces of their world-renowned welfare state through the 1960s. A concluding chapter surveys labor market and social policy changes in both countries since the 1970s in light of the theory and historical analysis of cross-class alliance politics.

Forthcoming: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference, by William R. Shadish, Thomas D. Cook, and Donald T. Campbell (Houghton-Mifflin, 2001).