International Journal of Education and Social Science (IJESS)

The flexibility of labor markets in the United States is an under-appreciated element in the continuing strength and resilience of the US economy and an important source of comparative advantage on international markets. Although the rights of employers have certainly been constrained by a raft of legislation and by executive orders and courts decisions designed to achieve equal employment opportunity, the common law doctrine of employment at will remains the foundation of labor law. In European countries – with Italy, Spain, and France being the most important examples – and in most of Latin America, labor law has been formed around a completely different concept that can be broadly defined as corporatism. This doctrine arose after World War I and grew to prominence during the years of the Depression and World War II as countries struggled to blunt what they considered the hard edges of capitalism and to engage their populations in national efforts for war and for social regeneration. Corporatism brought together Catholic social doctrine, populist anti-capitalism, and fear of communism into a comprehensive set of rules and structures forming a “third way” dedicated to social harmony and employee empowerment. It informed the social doctrines of Fascist Italy, the Vargas regime in Brazil, and the Vichy government in France; but despite this unhealthy gestation, it survived as the basis for much of the social legislation underpinning the European economic recovery after 1945. What seemed like a benefit at the time, has become a liability in the global economy of the 21st century; and much of the political struggle in contemporary Europe (2019) cannot be fully explained without an understanding of this background. (Kaplan, 2001); (Lund, 2006).