ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some of the ways Marxists have analyzed post-World War II capitalism. Karl Marx’s analysis of capitalist development was correct within the limits of one historical period. Most people have to work for wages and have little control over their own work or the economy as a whole. The theory elaborated in Paul Baran and Paul Sweezy’s Monopoly Capital remains a landmark contribution to post-World War II Marxist political economy. The dual labor market is sustained by the social divisions which displace class struggle onto racial, ethnic, or gender antagonism. Until recently, primary workers were chiefly white and male. Another crucial feature of post-World War II capitalism is the dramatically increased role of the state in economic life. The development of politicized capitalism has important implications for Marxist theory. The state also provides the necessary infrastructure for the consumption of certain key commodities.
