If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- Have you ever wondered why the real power in modern society shifted away from wealthy owners and into the hands of a new, unexpected ruling class?
- Did you know that a book written in 1941 accurately predicted the shift in global power that still shapes our economy and politics today?
- Are you curious about who truly controls the world’s major organizations if it’s no longer the traditional capitalists or the state?
Listen to The Managerial Revolution — Free Audiobook
Loading player...
Key Takeaways from The Managerial Revolution
- Understand how the rising dominance of managers and bureaucrats signals a historic shift from a capitalist society to a managerial one.
- Discover the defining features of capitalism, where goods are produced for profit rather than need, and money acts as capital to generate more wealth.
- Uncover the false assumptions about capitalism's permanence, learning that it is a relatively recent invention rather than a system permanently hardwired into human nature.
- Recognize why continuous mass unemployment serves as a historical warning sign that a dominant social structure is breaking down and nearing its end.
- Find out why communism failed to replace capitalism in Russia, ironically creating an even more heavily class-bound society with extreme wealth disparity.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from The Managerial Revolution
Mind Map
The Managerial Revolution
Characteristics of Capitalism+
The Decline of Capitalism+
The Failure of Communism+
The Managerial Economy+
Rise of the Managers+
Government and Absolute Power+
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 6
According to the text, what is a defining characteristic of production in a capitalist society?
Question 2 of 6
What historical significance does the author attribute to continuous mass unemployment?
Question 3 of 6
Based on the Russian experiment, why does the author argue that communism will not successfully replace capitalism?
Question 4 of 6
In the envisioned managerial society, how do managers secure their status and preferential treatment as the new ruling class?
Question 5 of 6
What structural change in business contributed heavily to the rise of the managerial class?
Question 6 of 6
How does the expansion of government into vital sectors (like transportation and healthcare) affect the traditional capitalist class?
The Managerial Revolution — Full Chapter Overview
- 1Recommendation
- 2Capitalist society has multiple defining traits.
- 3There is no proof that capitalism will endure, and strong signs indicate it won’t any longer.
- 4The disastrous Soviet experiment with communism shows it will not replace capitalism elsewhere.
- 5Managers, not capitalists, will soon be the dominant class in a state-run economy.
- 6Growing organizational and technical complexity has produced a new managerial class.
- 7As governments took control of vital industries, managers’ power became absolute.
The Managerial Revolution Summary & Overview
Drawing on powerful arguments and demonstrating extraordinary insights, in The Managerial Revolution (1941) James Burnham investigates the rise of a new ruling class – the managers – who promised to unseat wealthy capitalists from their prime position in the mid-twentieth-century economy. Although written over seven decades ago, the themes and arguments from this book still resonate in today’s society.
Who Should Listen to The Managerial Revolution?
- History buffs looking for fresh insights into the mid-twentieth century
- Anyone curious about how a capitalist economy works
- Those looking for a new perspective on current affairs
Books Similar to The Managerial Revolution
Readers who enjoyed this also liked these titles.
