block, "the ruling class does not rule: notes on the marxist theory of the State"

(51-52): two elements of an alternative theory

1. different way of conceptualizing the relationship between State and class
2. elaboration of a structural framework that makes sense of why the State is a capitalist State

(52): capitalism's capacity to rationalize itself is the outcome of conflict between three agents:

1. capitalist class
2. state managers
3. working-class

(53): instrumentalist theory neglects two things:

1. the ideological character of the state--the State may be an instrument, but it also strives to appear otherwise. why?
   
2. to act in the general interest of the capitalist class, it must be able to act against the interests of any given capitalist. how? (if it is just an instrument, in other words). the instrumentalist account assumes too cohesive a ruling class.
   

(54): the key notion, in a more developed, structural framework, is the notion of a division of labor between capitalists and the State (the latter 'manages', so to speak)

(55): using Marx's notion of representation to talk about this structural link between the capitalists and the State

(56): instrumentalism's affinity to reformist socialism--both regard the State as an instrument that is worked on. if the link between the State and the capitalist class could be broken, the working class could wield the State.

(56): certainly, there are subsidiary mechanisms (two, they mention)

1. direct influence of individual capitalists. also, under this they put the phenomenon of "the revolving door"--capitalists serving in government
2. bourgeois cultural hegemony (widespread acceptance of certain unwritten rules) [they are saying, though, that this is question-begging, to an extent
   

(58): the crux--the major structural mechanisms, which have to explain why (1) anticapitalist policies are off the table and why (2) capitalist policies are on said table.

1. capacity ofState to finance itself through taxation or borrowing depends on the state of the economy.
   
2. public support for a regime will decline if the economy declines.
   

(58-59): in other words, for these reasons, capitalists have to ensure favorable private investment decisions, by capitalists. they have to see to "business confidence" (includes intangibles as well as tangibles)

(60-61): useful account of the danger of left-wing regimes for business confidence--dynamics here are:

1. left of center government comes in to redistribute income to the poor
2. business attempts to resist this shift by raising prices
3. inflation causes people to flee the gov't currency
   
4. all this gives the government two choices: (1) reassure the business community and pursue orthodox policies; (2) forge ahead
5. if it forges ahead, it is faced with a balance of trade deficit problem.
   
6. continued inflation continues to cause people to flee the currency, leading it toward monetary/fiscal crisis, as it gets harder and harder for it to get loans.
   
7. the government may temper its reformism. or it may forge ahead.
   
8. if it forges ahead, it will have to impose serious restrictions on capitalists (price controls, import controls, exchange controls).
   
9. all this is a new level of threat for capitalists, and will invite a new level of resistance.
   
10. the only alternative left, for the State, is socialism (which, of course, demands a highly politicized and radicalized base). SOCIALISM OR BUST.
    

(62): none of the preceding requires any sort of conspiracy. this is a structural constraint [of a capitalist State, or a State in capitalism?]

(63-65): here highlighting a dynamic that needs more unpacking--the class struggle, they're saying, impels capitalism in a way that demands a larger and larger role of the State in the economy. more capacity, then, to discipline Capital.

(65): faced with reforms, State managers weigh three things--all these mean that reforms are likely to go in a direction that doesn't damage business confidence but has the effect of expanding State power.

1. don't want to damage business confidence
2. do not want class antagonisms to escalate
3. they recognize that there is potential, through reforms, to expand their own power.
   

(66): as a rule, major reforms will be difficult. at times where business confidence is not a serious obstacle (war, depression), they are on the cards.

(67): good summary paragraph. two main take-home points:

1. 'capitalist rationality' emerges out of the three-sided relationship between capitalists, workers, and state managers. state managers seek to maintain the viability of the social order--they don't want to offend business confidence, but also have to rationalize capitalism, at times.
   
2. state managers can only act, then, on the terrain marked out by the intersection of two factors: class struggle and the level of economic activity.