State power derives from sovereign capabilities, not merely economic wealth

Evidence

All nation-states, capitalist and state socialist, within the “developed” sectors of the world, are primarily reliant upon industrial production for the generation of the wealth upon which their tax revenues are based. The socialist countries form something of an enclave within the capitalist world economy as a whole, industry being more directly subject to political imperatives. These states are scarcely post-capitalist, but the influence of capitalistic markets upon the distribution of goods and labour power is substantially muted. The pursuit of growth by both Western and East European societies inevitably pushes economic interests to the forefront of the policies which states pursue in the international arena. But it is surely plain to all, save those under the sway of historical materialism, that the material involvements of nation-states are not governed purely by economic considerations, real or perceived. The influence of any particular state within the global political order is strongly conditioned by the level of its wealth (and the connection between this and military strength). However, states derive their power from their sovereign capabilities, as Hans J. Morgenthau emphasises. They do not operate as economic machines, but as “actors” jealous of their territorial rights, concerned with the fostering of national cultures, and having strategic geopolitical involvements with other states or alliances of states. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 181

Categorization

• XREF: Morgenthau’s realism on sovereignty connects to the reader’s theme of institutional deference overriding rational judgment — a system (state) trusting its sovereignty scripts rather than interpersonally confronting its own failures. — connects to: Enforced covenants require a sovereign power to prevent collapse into war — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 2023; States were once expected to produce passions, not merely check them; Exported capital requires strong state power over new domains (+4 more)

Related

• Exported capital requires strong state power over new domains (similarity 0.85)
• States were once expected to produce passions, not merely check them (similarity 0.84)
• Industrial growth subordinated political power to economic capacity (similarity 0.84)
• State sovereignty is constituted by the nation-state system, not prior to it (similarity 0.80)
• Much societal power remains beyond the political system’s reach (similarity 0.79)