IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v24y2013i7p616-626.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

America's “exceptional” transition to capitalism: A counter view

Author

Listed:
  • Fleischman, Richard K.
  • Tyson, Thomas N.
  • Oldroyd, David

Abstract

This paper is a response to part two of Rob Bryer's (RB) analysis of the development of capitalism in the US, focusing on the second half of the 19th century when the nation was transformed into the world's largest industrial power. We argue that RB's view that America became a capitalist economy only post-1900 is counterintuitive given the scale of output, the rate of acceleration, and the accumulation and concentration of capital prior to that date.

Suggested Citation

  • Fleischman, Richard K. & Tyson, Thomas N. & Oldroyd, David, 2013. "America's “exceptional” transition to capitalism: A counter view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 616-626.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:24:y:2013:i:7:p:616-626
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2013.07.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235413000762
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2013.07.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. A. Arnold & S. McCartney, 2002. "The beginnings of accounting for capital consumption: disclosure practices in the British railway industry, 1830–55," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 195-208.
    2. Jan Richard Heier, 2000. "The foundations of modern cost management: the life and work of Albert Fink," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 213-243.
    3. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1987. "Accounting and the construction of the governable person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 235-265, April.
    4. Hopper, Trevor & Armstrong, Peter, 1991. "Cost accounting, controlling labour and the rise of conglomerates," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(5-6), pages 405-438.
    5. Dillard, Jesse, 2008. "A political base of a polyphonic debate," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 894-900.
    6. Carmona, Salvador & Ezzamel, Mahmoud & Gutiérrez, Fernando, 2004. "Accounting History Research:Traditional and New Accounting History Perspectives," De Computis "Revista Española de Historia de la Contabilidad". De Computis "Spanish Journal of Accounting History"., Asociación Española de Contabilidad y Administración de Empresas (AECA). Spanish Accounting and Business Administration Association., issue 1, pages 24-53, December.
    7. Chandler, Alfred D., 1972. "Anthracite Coal and the Beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the United States," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 141-181, July.
    8. Chandler, Alfred Jr. & Daems, Herman, 1979. "Administrative coordination, allocation and monitoring: A comparative analysis of the emergence of accounting and organization in the U.S.A. and Europe," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 4(1-2), pages 3-20, January.
    9. Nelson, Daniel, 1974. "Scientific Management, Systematic Management, and Labor, 1880–1915," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 479-500, December.
    10. Parker, Lee D., 2008. "Interpreting interpretive accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 909-914.
    11. Richard K. Fleischman & Trevor Boyns & Thomas N. Tyson, 2008. "The Search for Standard Costing in the United States and Britain," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 44(4), pages 341-376, December.
    12. Richard Fleischman & Thomas Tyson, 2000. "Parallels between US and UK cost accountancy in the World War I era," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 191-212.
    13. Leslie Hannah, 2007. "The 'Divorce' of ownership from control from 1900 onwards: Re-calibrating imagined global trends," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(4), pages 404-438.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oldroyd, David & Tyson, Thomas N. & Fleischman, Richard K., 2015. "American ideology, socialism and financial accounting theory: A counter view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 209-218.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bryer, Rob, 2013. "Americanism and financial accounting theory – Part 2: The ‘modern business enterprise’, America's transition to capitalism, and the genesis of management accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 273-318.
    2. Tyson, Thomas N. & Oldroyd, David & Fleischman, Richard K., 2013. "Was America born capitalist? A counter view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 379-396.
    3. Napier, Christopher J., 2006. "Accounts of change: 30 years of historical accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 445-507.
    4. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Entrepreneurs of the self: The development of management control since 1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 14-24.
    5. Quattrone, Paolo, 2004. "Accounting for God: accounting and accountability practices in the Society of Jesus (Italy, XVI-XVII centuries)," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 647-683, October.
    6. Caroline Lambert & Éric Pezet, 2007. "Discipliner les autres et agir sur soi:la double vie du contrôleur de gestion," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 10(1), pages 183-208, March.
    7. Toms, Steven & Fleischman, Richard K., 2015. "Accounting fundamentals and accounting change: Boulton & Watt and the Springfield Armory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-20.
    8. Nicolas Berland & Trevor Boyns, 2002. "The development of budgetary control in France and Britain from the 1920s to the 1960s: a comparison," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 329-356.
    9. Noguchi, Masayoshi & Nakamura, Tsunehiko & Shimizu, Yasuhiro, 2015. "Accounting control and interorganisational relations with the military under the wartime regime: The case of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry's Nagoya Engine Factory," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 204-223.
    10. Stergiou, Konstantinos & Ashraf, Junaid & Uddin, Shahzad, 2013. "The role of structure and agency in management accounting control change of a family owned firm: A Greek case study," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 62-73.
    11. Malmi, Teemu, 1999. "Activity-based costing diffusion across organizations: an exploratory empirical analysis of Finnish firms," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 24(8), pages 649-672, November.
    12. Bryer, Rob, 2012. "Americanism and financial accounting theory – Part 1: Was America born capitalist?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(7), pages 511-555.
    13. Mihret, Dessalegn Getie, 2014. "How can we explain internal auditing? The inadequacy of agency theory and a labor process alternative," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(8), pages 771-782.
    14. Walsh, Eamonn J. & Jeacle, Ingrid, 2003. "The taming of the buyer: the retail inventory method and the early twentieth century department store," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(7-8), pages 773-791.
    15. João A. Ribeiro & Robert W. Scapens, 2006. "Management accounting and power: A contested relationship," CEF.UP Working Papers 0611, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    16. Glenn Vent & Ronald Milne, 2000. "Accounting practices of the St. Joseph Lead Company: 1864-1900," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 97-128.
    17. Macintosh, Norman B. & Shearer, Teri & Thornton, Daniel B. & Welker, Michael, 2000. "Accounting as simulacrum and hyperreality: perspectives on income and capital," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 13-50, January.
    18. Carruthers, Bruce G., 1995. "Accounting, ambiguity, and the new institutionalism," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 313-328, May.
    19. Carnegie, Garry D. & McBride, Karen M. & Napier, Christopher J. & Parker, Lee D., 2020. "Accounting history and theorising about organisations," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    20. Dyball, Maria Cadiz & Rooney, Jim, 2019. "Governing and disciplining Filipino migrant workers’ health at Hawaiian sugar plantations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:24:y:2013:i:7:p:616-626. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.