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Capitalist state

The capitalist state is the state, its functions and the form of organization it takes within capitalist socioeconomic systems.[1] This concept is often used interchangeably with the concept of the modern state. Despite their common functions, there are many recognized differences in sociological characteristics among capitalist states.[2]

This article is about the concept of the state in a capitalist system. For variants of capitalism based on state-owned business, see state capitalism.

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 goods and safeguarding private property rights while proponents of interventionism stress the importance of regulation, intervention and macroeconomic stabilization for providing a favorable environment for the accumulation of capital and business.[3]


Thus, thinkers in the Marxist tradition often refer to the capitalist state as the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.[4] Thinkers in the 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.[5]


According to Dylan John Riley, Nicos Poulantzas argued that "all capitalist States had the dual task of preventing the political organization of the dominated classes, and of organizing the dominant class".[6]

Big government

Capital accumulation

Capitalism

Capitalist mode of production (Marxist theory)

Communist state

Corporatocracy

Economic interventionism

Liberal democracy

Patriarchy

Socialist state

Poulantzas, Nicos (2019). The Third International and the Problem of Fascism. Translated by White, Judith. . ISBN 9781786635815.

Verso Books

Barak, Gregg (ed.) (1991). . Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-0584-2.

Crimes by the Capitalist State: An Introduction to State Criminality

Duncan, Graeme. . New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521280624.

Democracy and the Capitalist State

Jessop, Bob (2002). . Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-2272-0.

The Future of the Capitalist State

Jessop, Bob (1990). . University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-00735-4.

State Theory: Putting the Capitalist State in its Place

Saville, John (1994). . London and Boulder, Colorado: Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-0898-2.

The Consolidation of the Capitalist State, 1800-1850

Szymanski, Albert (1978). . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Winthrop Publishers. ISBN 978-0876261057.

The Capitalist State and the Politics of Class