State Transformations: Classes, Strategy, Socialism

by Greg Albo (editor), Stephen Maher (Editor), Alan Zuege (Editor)

It is often remarked that critical - and especially Marxist - state theory began to lose its central place in the study of comparative politics in the 1980s. Ironically, this shift occurred just as neoliberal policies were transforming the social form and spatial scales of the state, radically restructuring the practices of state economic intervention, and extending the capabilities of the coercive arms of the state. This volume addresses the 'impoverishment of state theory' over the last decades and insists on the continued salience of class analysis to the study of states. The book's title, State Transformations , reflects several central themes in the comparative study of the neoliberal restructuring of capitalist states, the changing economic and political architecture of imperialism, and the prospects of a democratic transformation of capitalist states. The essays collected here are intended to honor the memory of Leo Panitch, whose influential body of work has shaped debates on the state, imperialism, and socialism over the past four decades. Contributors Clyde W. Barrow, Caio Bugiato, Frank Deppe, Ruth Felder, Ana Garcia, Sam Gindin, Doug Henwood, Martijn Konings, Colin Leys, Sebnem Oguz, Bryan D. Palmer, Dennis Pilon, Larry Savage, Charles Smith, Michalis Spourdalakis and Hilary Wainwright.

387 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection couldn't step into the hole left by Panitch , however, it ably slots into his vast legacy. The essays included here are excellent and notable contributions to the way forward for the Left. The editors have done a superb job in curating an intervention into the crises facing us. Those asking 'what's left for the Left?' and 'where do we go now?' should consider reading this to see what democratic, participatory mass movements might look like.