Class conflict and the dynamics of deindustrialization

This article develops a class conflict model to describe the process of corporate relocation and deindustrialization in a Marxian context. While others have identified that class conflict plays a role in this relocation, the intent here is to explore how class conflict shapes deindustrialization. To achieve this, this article defines direct and indirect class conflict, rooted in the concept of class-interested behavior, as key mechanisms driving deindustrialization. In either case of class conflict, when deindustrialization proceeds, capital prevails over labor. In developing the initial steps of a framework with which to analyze deindustrialization, it examines historical examples in the United States from 1940 to 1980 across different industries, to show how this process works in practice. JEL Codes: J01, J50, N32, P00