ABSTRACT
The current stage of ‘neo-capitalism’ or ‘state monopoly capitalism’ is characterized by a qualitatively expanded role of the state in capitalist social formations. Whilst the first part of the argument (concerning the growth of social capital) is sound and whilst the Whole is embellished with many powerful insights, the second part rests on two false 'laws' of Marxist political economy: the tendencies to immiseration of the working class and to under-consumption. In this chapter, the author attempts a synthesis of two views based on the recent works of Poulantzas and Miliband and in the light of that will propose a general theory to explain the growth and composition of state expenditures. They attempt to present the essential characteristics of the capitalist state and to situate it in the current stage of the capitalist world economy. Together with the growth of the power of labour movements and of state expenditure, the authors explain the acceleration of inflation in the late 1960s.
