Taking a hard look at the crisis afflicting Western economies in recent years, Manuel Castells suggests that the very structures that fostered economic growth since 1945 are the same structures that are now undermining these economics. Pinpointing the new forms of the capitalist mode of production and the contradictory nature of its class relations as the root of the problem, he offers a comprehensive critique of American society and its economy. Originally published in 1980. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.