Discussing State Capitalism for CounterPunch

What is state capitalism and how is it related to fascism?

Hi everyone,

Hope it’s been a good week. I have a new article in CounterPunch today, discussing the renewed scholarly interest in the idea of state capitalism. I discuss some of the history of state capitalism and consider its relationship with political-economic institutions and practices we associate with fascism. If you’re interested in history, political economy, political theory, or geopolitics, I hope you’ll give it an audience. Here’s an excerpt:

Within the current context, the term state capitalism has been deployed as a kind of smear against China and others, to differentiate their supposedly exotic, statist-authoritarian practice of capitalism from a purer and truer Western version. It is undoubtedly true that for cultural and political reasons, China does not feel the same need to obscure or euphemize its participation in the economy. But it has become necessary to mount a critical challenge to the reproduction of “extremely problematic Eurocentric imaginaries” that present a misleading picture of a supposed contest between the “vile, authoritarian state capitalism” of the East and “a more virtuous liberal-democratic form of free-market allegedly prevailing in the West.”

Thank you, as always, for your time, and please let me know what you think if you have a moment.

Dave