The State Under Neo-liberalism

Much has been written on the subject of the capitalist State in the era of neo-liberalism. Two features of the “neo-liberal State ” in particular have been highlighted1. One relates to the change in the nature of the State, from being an entity apparently standing above society and intervening in its economic functioning in the interests of society as a whole, even at the expense of the unbridled interests of finance capital (such as for instance the State in the era of Keynesian demand management), to being an entity acting exclusively to promote the interests of finance capital. This change in the nature of the capitalist State, which is sometimes mistakenly called the “retreat of the State”, is manifest in the shift that occurs from its being a spender, an investor and a producer, to its new role in carrying out “privatization ” and “disinvestment ” (all of which benefit finance capital) and undertaking State expenditure deflation (which accedes to a perennial demand of finance capital). The second obvious feature relates to the fact that since finance capital in the contemporary era is not exclusively tied to any particular national domain (and its imperial adjunct), but has an international character, to protect and promote it on th