Classical Marxism and contemporary capitalism

pp. 196-225

in: Alex Callinicos, Is there a future for Marxism?, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1982

Abstract

The most important theoretical issue confronting Marxism today is that of the state, for it is the point at which practical political considerations converge with those of scientific research. This is evident in the German 'state-derivation" debate, underlying which is the following question: does the west German economic "miracle" signify that the capitalist state today can overcome the contradictions Marx saw as inherent in capitalist relations of production? More generally, what are the forms and limits of state economic intervention? This question has become even more urgent since it was first formulated in the 1960s. One of the main axes of political debate in the western capitalist countries is the demand that the economic role of the state be both altered and reduced — consider the influence of monetarist economic theories and political currents as diverse as Margaret Thatcher in Britain, Valery Giscard d"Estaing in France and Ronald Reagan in the US.