ABSTRACT
Class struggle is the root cause of the political stagnation of the late capitalist state. At home vested interest block reforms favorable to powerless groups while the majoritarian residue of liberal democracy formally prevents the state from serving as an unmediated arm of the ruling class. The single most noteworthy feature of the public life of late capitalism is the intransigence of bureaucracy. The problems associated with politicization, centralization, decentralization, and rationalization reinforce the point that in late capitalism public administration assumes many of the contradictions once existing in the economy. The ambiguities, confusions, and irrationalities of the late capitalist state adversely affect the quest for legitimation. A central political development of late capitalist society has been an increase in the tendency to view the state as capable of solving problems that lie outside its competence. The reification of the state is a key aspect of the political life of late capitalist societies.
