Class, Crisis and the State

(Paperback, New edition)

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Class, Crisis and the State is a foundational work of 20th century socialist thinking. Wright redraws our conception of the core problems of Marxism. This book intervenes in four theoretical areas of deep importance to contemporary Marxism. Class is reconceptualized to reflect the realities of developed, service oriented economies. Wright then takes aim at classical theories of crisis, using modern recessions and depressions to appraise the power of the various explanations. Finally we are guided through a new understanding of the role of bureaucracy, deftly marrying the ideas of Lenin, Weber and Marx with the empirical reality of advanced capitalist societies. A concluding chapter brings together the practical lessons of these theoretical analyses in an examination of the problems faced by potential left governments coming to power in capitalist states. What are the barriers to transforming the state and society How can these barriers be overcome Class, Crisis and the State offers socialists and reformers alike a sober view of the structural factors that black the path to progress.

Reviews

A brilliant analysis of the class structure and crises of US capitalism. * Choice *
Erik will be remembered as the most important theorist of class in the second half of the twentieth century, and the greatest Marxist sociologist of his time. -- Vivek Chibber, author of Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital
This book ... is an important contribution to current debates. -- Anthony Giddens * American Journal of Sociology *
On the basis of this book Wright stands high among Western Marxists. * Ethics *
An important contribution to the debates on class, capitalist crises, bureaucracy and the state. * Library Journal *

Author Bio

Erik Olin Wright (19472019) was Vilas Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin and former president of the American Sociological Association. He authored many books, including Classes, Interrogating Inequality, Class Counts, Deepening Democracy (with Archon Fung), and Envisioning Real Utopias