Pollock’s state capitalism theory erased class antagonisms in favor of purely political rulers

Evidence

Pollock’s theory has an additional consequence: in light of the historical ‘shift from economic to political dominance’ Pollock sees fascism as having revealed, he believes that the class-antagonisms necessary to the functioning of capitalism have ceased to exist. In his writings, these antagonisms are ‘not even … merely hinted at anymore’. The economically rooted dominance of the capitalist class is regarded as though it were transferred to the immediate discretionary power of politically operating ‘gang[s] and rackets’. Thus, the chief socialantagonismisviewednolongerasexistingbetweenthebourgeoisie and the proletariat, but rather between immanently political rulers and their immanently political subjects. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 599

Categorization

• DEFINE: This passages defines the core claim of Pollock’s state-capitalism theory: that capitalism’s class antagonism has been displaced by a purely political ruler-subject split.
• XREF: Connects to Miliband/Poulantzas debates on state autonomy and Bonapartism in Marxist state theory. — connects to: The Frankfurt School neglected autonomous political theory until Pollack’s state capitalism — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 395; Pollock argued the Nazis had destroyed private property’s essential features — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 488; Neumann rejected state capitalism and the primacy of politics thesis. — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 508 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Lenin wrongly treated capitalist technical rationality as separable from class domination #complicates (0.75) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 521