The Future of the Capitalist State
1. Auflage November 2002
344 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
In this important new book, Bob Jessop offers a radical new
interpretation of capitalist states and their likely future
development. He focuses on the changing forms, functions, scales
and effectiveness of economic and social policy that have emerged
since the 1950s in advanced western capitalist states.
The postwar Keynesian welfare national state that developed in
most advanced capitalist societies has long been regarded as being
in crisis. Mounting tensions have been generated by technological
change, globalization, and economic and political crises, and new
social and political movements have also had a destabilizing
impact. Jessop examines these factors in relation to the rise,
consolidation and crisis of Atlantic Fordism and asks whether a new
type of capitalist state that is currently emerging offers a
solution. He notes that there are several difficulties still to be
overcome before the new type of state is consolidated; in
particular, he is critical of its neoliberal form and considers its
main alternatives.
This book will have broad cross-disciplinary appeal. It will be
read by sociologists, political scientists, institutional
economists, geographers and students of social policy.
List of Tables and Figure.
Preface.
Abbreviations.
Introduction.
1. Capitalism and the Capitalist Type of State.
2. The Keynesian Welfare National State.
3. The Schumpeterian Competition State.
4. Social Reproduction and the Workfare State.
5. The Political Economy of State Rescaling.
6. From Mixed Economy to Metagovernance.
7. Towards Schumpeterian Workfare Postnational Regimes?.
Notes.
References.
Index.
grappling with the problem of how to understand the capitalist
state, its dilemmas and contradictions. The Future of the
Capitalist State is a thoughtful, complex, provocative culmination
of this work. It unequivocally demonstrates that the Marxist
tradition remains a vibrant source of ideas about capitalism and
the state." Erik Olin Wright, University of Wisconsin
"Jessop surveys the type of capitalism and capitalist state that
dominated the postwar decades and from which we have been departing
during the last quarter century: Atlantic Fordism and the
"Keynesian Welfare National State". In a masterful
synthesis of neo-Marxist and institutionalist argument, he then
proceeds to draw the contours of the emergent successor regime,
termed the "Schumpeterian Workfare Postnational
Regime". This complex yet conceptually highly transparent
analysis is a splendid example of looking at the present as
history. It could also serve as a source of political critique and
inspiration for a European social democracy that is still worth its
name." Claus Offe, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
"...theoretically sophisticated, rigoroushly conceptualised
analysis of the contemporary capitalist state. Jessop's immense
feat is to have mapped the contours of a bewilderingly complex
relationship between economy, society and the State. Elegantly
combining analyses of poitical economy, social policy and economic
geography, this work is an excellent resource for studies in a
variety of disciplines". James Martin, University of
London
"This is a very good book. For those seeking to make sense of
the changes - political, social and economic - that have occured
since the mid- to late 1970s, it is indispensable. Bob Jessop
brings so much together here in a synthesis of enviable proportions
... The book represents a real advance in our understanding."
American Journal of Sociology
"The book is a tour de force; anybody interested in what is
happening to the capitalist state must read it...this is
'postdisciplinary' social science at its best, bringing
thought-provoking abstract concepts to bear on current social
predicaments." Progress in Human Geography
"It is not only the influence of his ideas or the productive
output of his writings, but also the creativity of his thought that
has established Jessop as a key contemporary thinker. His
theoretical explorations in the past 20 years have focused on the
capitalist state and related areas of regulation, governance,
globalization and the welfare state. Many of these themes are
pursued in jessop's latest book, The Future of teh Capitalist
State. This book is about the development of the modern state
in capitalist society, covering north America, north-western Europe
and Australia." Mike Marinetto, Cardiff University
