ABSTRACT
Why then do states do what they do? Specifically, why do they act in the interest of capitalism or capitalists? Three answers emerged in marxist debates: (1) the "power elite" theory asserts that governments act on behalf of capitalists because state managers have the same interests or values as capitalists, (2) the "selectiveness" theory claims that there is something about the organizational structure of all state institutions under capitalism which renders governments incapable of making certain decisions, and (3) the "structural dependence" theory maintains that the private ownership of productive assets imposes constraints which no government and no policy can override.
