State and Class Under Peripheral Capitalism

Abstract

Given the central role that is accorded to the state and public policy in “modernization” theory, it is rather striking to see how little thought is given to an examination of the nature of the state itself, its location within the matrix of a class-divided society, and its relationship with contending social forces. The state is, rather, thought of as an entity that stands outside and above society, an autonomous agency that is invested (potentially) with an independent source of rationality (enriched by “technical assistance” from metropolitan countries), and the capability to initiate and pursue programs of development for the benefit of the whole of society. There is an implicit disjunction between the state and society, slurring over questions about the social foundations of political power and the making of public policy. The problematic of the state is then narrowed down to that of the efficacy of its public institutions and organs to achieve objectives and programs of “modernization,” focusing especially on the respective roles of “ruling elites,” political parties, the bureaucracy, and the military.