Provides a new perspective on core problems of global capitalism. The central question looks at how institutional arrangements in contemporary capitalism, that are dealing with potential conflict in production and redistribution, are affected by pressures of globalization. The author demystifies the claims of mainstream economics such as the claim that free trade leads to more prosperity, that the stock market can provide a stable source of investment capital and that shareholder value leads to more efficient markets and production. This comparative study illustrates how markets are embedded into society and how the stakeholder models of capitalism have come under great pressure to liberalise, deregulate and privatise.