The Capitalist State

Sundays at 2:00-3:30pm ET from July 27th to September 28th, 2025

This course will critically examine the relationship between state power and class interests. Rather than view the state as a mere instrument of capital, we will develop a sophisticated understanding of its indispensable role in reproducing the social relations of advanced capitalist countries. How does the state manage to organize what is often a fractious and internally divided capitalist class? What are some of the specific ways that the police and welfare agencies discipline the working class through coercive regulation of the labor market? How has half a century of capitalist globalization transformed the structure and function of nation-states around the world? What is behind the recent rise of authoritarian statism, deep-state machinations, and the increasingly frequent deployment of emergency powers? And given the immense power of the state, how might contemporary socialists apply the lessons of past struggles and go about confronting it?

We will explore these and other questions through engagement with a variety of theoretical and historical readings, the vast majority of which fall squarely in the Marxist tradition. Our discussion will largely be limited to highly developed capitalist states, with a particularly strong emphasis on the USA. Whereas the first half of the course will focus on the functions performed by specific state institutions, the second half will explore the many ways in which states themselves are currently transforming. Overall, this course will enable members to develop a greater appreciation of how political economy and politics are inextricably related.

English