Corporatist States present a popular base while remaining structurally plutocratic

Evidence

This complex of demands, not always acknowledged, is at the origin of the historical justification of the so-called corporate trends, which manifest themselves for the most part in the form of an exaltation of the State in general, conceived as something absolute, and in the form of diffidence and aversion to the traditional forms of capitalism. The result of these phenomena is that in theory the State appears to have its socio-political base among the ordinary folk and the intellectuals, while in reality its structure remains plutocratic and it is impossible for it to break its links with big finance capital. Besides, it is the State itself which becomes the biggest plutocratic organism, the holding of the masses of savings of the small capitalists. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1155

Categorization

• XREF: This mechanism — proclaimed popular base masking real plutocratic structure — carries directly into Islamophobia analyses of how state rhetoric of serving ‘the people’ conceals class and finance interests.
• DEFINE: Defines the ‘corporate trend’ as exaltation of an absolute State plus aversion to traditional capitalism, yet structurally inseparable from big finance capital.