Capitalist state: Difference between revisions

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The '''capitalist state ''' is the [[state (polity)|state]], its functions and the form of organization it takes within [[Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)|capitalist socioeconomic systems]].<ref name="Recent theories of the capitalist State, 1977">Jessop, Bob (January 1977). "Recent Theories of the Capitalist State". ''Soviet Studies''. 1: 4. pp. 353–373.</ref> This concept is often used interchangeably with the concept of the modern state,. though despiteDespite their common functions, there are many recognized differences in sociological characteristics among capitalist states.<ref name="Morishima 1976, 1">Morishima, Michio (1976). [https://books.google.com/books?id=aC45AAAAIAAJ ''The Economic Theory of Modern Society'']. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 1. {{ISBN|0-521-21088-7}}.</ref>

The primary functions of the capitalist state are to provide a legal framework and infrastructural framework conducive to [[business]] enterprise and the [[accumulation of capital]]. Different normative theories exist on the necessary and appropriate function of the state in a [[capitalist economy]], with proponents of ''[[laissez-faire]]'' favoring a state limited to the provision of [[Public good (economics)|public good]]s and safeguarding private property rights while proponents of [[Economic interventionism|interventionism]] stress the importance of regulation, intervention and macroeconomic stabilization for providing a favorable environment for the accumulation of capital and business.<ref>{{cite book|title=Comparative Economic Transformations: Mainland China, Hungary, the Soviet Union, and Taiwan|author1-link=Wu Yu-shan|author=Yu-Shan Wu|year=1995|publisher=Stanford University Press|pages=8|quote=In laissez-faire capitalism, the state restricts itself to providing public goods and services that the economy cannot generate by itself and to safeguarding private ownership and the smooth operation of the self-regulating market.}}</ref>

Thus, thinkers in the [[Marxist]] tradition often refer to the capitalist state as the [[Liberal democracy#DictatorshipMarxist of the bourgeoisiecriticism|dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Duncan, Graeme|title=Democracy and the Capitalist state|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=March 1989|isbn=9780521280624|page=85}}</ref> Thinkers in the [[Instrumental Marxism|instrumental Marxist]] tradition stress the role of policymakers and political elites sharing a common business or class background, leading to their decisions reflecting their class interest. This is differentiated from more contemporary notions of state capture by specific business interests for the benefit of those specific businesses and not the ruling class or capitalist system as a whole, which is variously referred to as [[crony capitalism]] or [[corporatocracy]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Capitalist State|author=Jessop, Bob|year=1982|publisher=Oxford}}</ref>

* [[Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)|Capitalist mode of production]]