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.
