Abstract: | In some discourse concerning the employment system it is often implied that there has been a shift within the power relations between the main actors - State, capital and labour. Capital is now taken as omni-powerful and proactive, while the State and labour have declined and are reactive. Yet this picture is too universalistic, deterministic, static and simplistic. It ignores the shifting positions and divisions within and between these actors and the crucial role of factors such as ethnicity. This paper redresses the balance in this area by detailing an example - Malaysian electronics - where these interactions, at both macro- and micro-levels, can be seen in action. |