ABSTRACT
Whenever the history of human civilization is written, one is inevitably drawn to processes of social change and the human confl icts that are, almost invariably, responsible for their development. Historical analysis, therefore, tends to be political and is frequently colored with a particular ideology. Radical political economists take advantage of this characteristic of historical analysis by rewriting conventional histories to create an alternative social vision to the one currently dominant in capitalist society. This chapter draws together the attempts of radical historians and economists to provide an alternative vision of American capitalism during the progressive era (i.e., 1900-1916) and offers criticisms of more standard interpretations of the period. More importantly, the chapter highlights the role that regulation played during this period and demonstrates how hostile capital-labor relations reveal the contradictory nature of regulation within a RIS.
