Beyond Abstractionism: Notes on Conjunctural State Theory

Authors

Michael A. McCarthy, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillian

Source Publication

Marxism and the Capitalist State: Towards a New Debate

Source ISSN

9783031361661

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-36167-8_10

Abstract

In State, Power, Socialism, Nicos Poulantzas attempted to carve out a middle path for emancipatory political theory between the so-called roads of reforms and revolution. Though his theorizations of the state offer useful insights for how to move beyond this impasse, they are nonetheless beset by the problem of ‘abstractionism’. This chapter argues that a more conjunctural theory of capitalist democracy is necessary to identify the conditions under which such a middle path can be traversed. I term these social and political transformations ‘democratic ruptures’.

Comments

"Beyond Abstractionism: Notes on Conjunctural State Theory," in Marxism and the Capitalist State. Eds. Rob Hunter, Rafael Khachaturian, and Eva Nanopoulos. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023: 209-230. DOI.

Recommended Citation

McCarthy, Michael A., "Beyond Abstractionism: Notes on Conjunctural State Theory" (2023). Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 371.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/socs_fac/371