ABSTRACT
One question left open by economic theories of democracy is why would politicians ever bother to seek popular support. Why would they not seek instead to liberate themselves from dependence on the support by anyone else? If state managers have values and interests of their own, would they not impose them on the society? A large body of political theory maintains that this is precisely what politicians and bureaucrats always try to do and that they are often successful. State managers perennially struggle to escape external control and to establish their own rule. When they are successful, the result is state autonomy. To use Marx's imagery, the state becomes the "master" rather than the "servant" of society.
