ABSTRACT
The theoretical underpinnings of the various forms of state intervention under capitalism are by no means as extensive nor clearly delineated as those which sustain the liberal position. Main concern is with the international dimension, it is well known that any International Monetary Fund intervention involves the imposition of a series of policies which impinge upon the whole range of what are usually considered to be purely domestic matters. The transition from gold to a credit money system necessarily politicises money and allows the state the option of attempting to use money as an instrument of conscious economic manipulation. The potential political difficulties arising out of the implementation of policies requiring so clear a redistribution of resources from labour to capital are self-evident, and attested to by the frequency of severe political crises following their visitations. The protagonists in the political debate that surrounds policy decisions in these three areas operate at both the national and international level.
