The Capitalist State

Individual Capital

an individual company engaged in the capital accumulation process (Facebook, General Motors). Engaged in MCM prime formula

Sectoral Capital

a group of individual capitals or companies that produce the same/similar commodity. (energy, agricultural, transportation)

National Capital

the sum total of all the sectoral or individual capitals in a capitalist state

The Capitalist State

a political entity made up of state managers (politicians + bureaucrats) whose responsibility is to ensure the reproduction of national capital as a whole

Labor Responsibilities

Labor Regulation and Labor Discipline

Labor Regulation

The implementation of labor rules and restrictions to regulate what kind of workers and how many workers exist in the labor market (ties to immigration, need skilled workers) 

Labor Discipline

The use of legal or police force towards labor to ensure capital has the upper hand

Capital Responsibilities

General Conditions of Production, Competition Cost Reduction, Ultimate Guarantor, Imperialism

General Conditions of Production

The establishment and maintenance of domestic infrastructure that sectoral or individual capital needs but won’t itself provide. 

ex. government subsidizes railroad and lighthouses for trade

Competition Cost Reduction

the distribution of government support and money to private companies to reduce the costs and risks of market competition

Ultimate Guarantor

The guaranteed support of the capitalist state in the event of a crisis of national capital. State steps in to bail out companies

Imperialism

Extension of capitalist state’s power to gain control of other states to protect its national capital