State Capitalism in the »Market Liberal« USA?
The Military-Industrial Complex
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v52i208.2006Keywords:
Military-Industrial Complex, USA, Market Liberalism, Regulation TheoryAbstract
The U.S. is regarded as a prime example of a market-liberal economy, for example in the varieties of capitalism approach and for a certain phase also in the theory of regulation. To what extent does this apply to the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) – the intertwining of the arms industry, the military, and the state? This is examined at several levels: in terms of its legitimacy, the modalities of military procurement, the practice of arms exports, the »revolving door« effect, and political countermovements. In contrast to the narrative of market liberalism, politics and capital are intertwined here in a way that has always had echoes of a form of state capitalism.
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