Convergence, Divergence and the Study of Organizations

Abstract

It is often maintained that capitalist and socialist systems of organization are diametrically opposed. This paper uses convergence theory and the problem of divergence to attack this position. It is argued that socialist systems are economically integrated into the capitalist world economy, and further, that the ideology of divergence acts as a central dynamic in relations of production in the world economy. The world system perspective associated with neo-Marxist writers such as Wallerstein and Frank, is used to suggest an alternative framework for examining the organizational dynamics of 'capitalism' and 'socialism'.