Class, Crisis and the State
Published on 14. January 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-80429-047-7 (ISBN)
Description
The idea of "class interest"-the set of social objectives of a given class-has been well explored in socialist thought. But what about the ability to realize these objectives? The complex tension between class interest and achieving class objectives is the guiding theme of Class, Crisis and the State.
The book is composed of three lucid and bracing essays, focused on a trio of the most contentious problems of Marxist theory. The first chapter advances a new class map of the United States today, including a rigorous yet dynamic redefinition of the working class. The second part focuses on classical theories of economic crisis in the West, such as underconsumption and financial instability, and their relevance to contemporary economic downturns. A concluding chapter examines the problems of leftist governments coming to power in capitalist states.
As leftist forces regroup and ready themselves for new electoral challenges around the world, Class, Crisis and the State remains essential reading.
The book is composed of three lucid and bracing essays, focused on a trio of the most contentious problems of Marxist theory. The first chapter advances a new class map of the United States today, including a rigorous yet dynamic redefinition of the working class. The second part focuses on classical theories of economic crisis in the West, such as underconsumption and financial instability, and their relevance to contemporary economic downturns. A concluding chapter examines the problems of leftist governments coming to power in capitalist states.
As leftist forces regroup and ready themselves for new electoral challenges around the world, Class, Crisis and the State remains essential reading.
Reviews / Votes
A brilliant analysis of the class structure and crises of US capitalism. * Choice * Erik will be remembered as the most important theorist of class in the second half of the twentieth century, and the greatest Marxist sociologist of his time. -- Vivek Chibber, author of <i>Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital</i> This book ... is an important contribution to current debates. -- Anthony Giddens * American Journal of Sociology * On the basis of this book Wright stands high among Western Marxists. * Ethics * An important contribution to the debates on class, capitalist crises, bureaucracy and the state. * Library Journal *More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
248 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80429-047-7 (9781804290477)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019) was Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin and former president of the American Sociological Association. He authored many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias
Content
Chapter 1 .
Methodological Introduction
Linking Theory to Data in Social Research
Modes of Determination and Models of Determination
1. Structural limitation
2. Selection
3. Reproduction/non-reproduction
4. Limits of functional compatibility
5. Transformation
6. Mediation
Themes of the Book
Chapter 2
The Class Structure of Advanced Capitalist Societies
Poulantzas's Theory of the Structural Determination of Class
General Framework
Structural Determination of the Working Class and
New Petty Bourgeoisie
Structural Determination of the Bourgeoisie
Assessment and Critique of Poulantzas's Analysis
The Boundary Between the Working Class and the
New Petty Bourgeoisie
The Class Unity of the New and Traditional
Petty Bourgeoisie
The Class Boundary of the Bourgeoisie
An Alternative Conceptualization of Class Boundaries
Contradictory Locations within Class Relations
The Processes of Class Relations
The Analysis of Contradictory Locations within
Class Relations
Class Interests and the Definition of Class Positions
Immediate and Fundamental Class Interests
The Class Location of Positions not Directly Determined
by Production Relations
Extended Definitions of Classes
Class Structure and Class Struggle
Class Interests and Class Capacities
Class Structure, Class Formation and Class Struggle
Conclusion
Chapter 3
Historical Transformations of Capitalist Crisis Tendencies
Introduction
I. The Meaning of Accumulation
1. Capitalist Social Relations
2. Surplus Value
II. Impediments and Contradictions in the Accumulation Process
1. The Organic Composition of Capital and the Falling Rate of Profit
2. Underconsumption Theories of Economic Crisis
3. Theories of the Profit Squeeze
4. State Expenditures and Accumulation
III. The Development of Capitalism and the Impediments to Accumulation
1. The Transition from Simple Commodity Production to Expanded Reproduction
2. The Transition from Primitive Accumulation to Manufacture
3. The Transition from Manufacture to Machinofacture
4. The Rise of Consolidation of Monopoly Capital
5. Advanced Monopoly Capitalism
Chapter 4
Bureaucracy and the State
Weber's Argument
Lenin's Argument
Comparisons
The Determinants of Organizational Structure
The Nature of the State and Politics: Elite-Organization versus Class-Structure
Organizational Form and Accountability
The Meaning of Contradictions and the Limits on the Possible
Elements of a Synthesis: Class Struggle and Organizational Structure
Chapter 5
Conclusion: Socialist Strategies and the State in Advanced Capitalist Societies
Bibliography
Index