by PublicABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The book Ler Poulantzas: conceitos elementares de Poder político e classes sociais (Reading Poulantzas: Elementary Concepts of Political Power and Social Classes), by Danilo Enrico Martuscelli (UFU) and Leonardo Granato (UFRGS), offers a systematization of the key concepts developed by the Greek sociologist Nicos Poulantzas in his seminal work Political Power and Social Classes.
Divided into three chapters, the book first examines the capitalist state as a juridical-political structure embedded in bourgeois law and bureaucratism. In this framework, Poulantzas defines the state as a factor of cohesion across the different spheres that constitute capitalist social formation, with its primary role being the reproduction of capitalist relations of production. He critiques reductionist perspectives, such as economism—which views the state merely as a reflection of the economy—and institutionalism, which separates it from the economic sphere.
The second chapter focuses on the concept of social classes, understood both as an effect of production structures and as practices of groups in ongoing conflict, expressed through class struggle. The third chapter is dedicated to the concept of the power bloc, which reflects the contradictory articulation of dominant classes and the dynamics among fractions of the bourgeoisie in the political sphere. The book also includes special sections, such as a chronology of Poulantzas’s life and work and a survey of Portuguese translations of his writings.
The authors highlight Poulantzas’s critique of economism and institutionalist elitism, underlining his proposal for a regional theory of the political in capitalism—that is, an analysis of the political sphere as relatively autonomous within capitalism. Key concepts elaborated include bourgeois law, which grants formally equal treatment to structurally unequal individuals, and bourgeois bureaucratism, which organizes the state in a centralized and hierarchical manner.
Poulantzas also introduces notions such as the effects of isolation and the representation of unity, which describe how the state individualizes workers and masks class contradictions, reinforcing its appearance of neutrality. By countering reductionist approaches, these concepts underscore the need to understand politics as more than mere reflections of the economy.
Alongside Poulantzas’s own contributions, the authors draw on interpretations from the so-called “Poulantzas School of Campinas.” The book emphasizes the relative autonomy of the capitalist state, which, while serving as an instrument of class domination, also functions as a political mediator among dominant and subordinate classes. This relative autonomy allows the state to adopt policies that may temporarily benefit subaltern classes but ultimately reinforce the reproduction of capitalism.
Reading Poulantzas presents essential concepts for Marxist political theory and encourages critical debate and reflection. Poulantzas’s approach to the capitalist state—as a juridical-political unit that ensures social cohesion and organizes class domination—offers important tools for understanding how the state reproduces capitalist relations. By revisiting his ideas, the book invites readers to reflect on the enduring theoretical and political challenges of the present.
Author Profiles
Danilo Enrico Martuscelli is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Social Sciences (INCIS), Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), and teaches in the Graduate Program in Social Sciences at UFU. He is the author of Crises políticas e capitalismo neoliberal no Brasil (Ed. CRV, 2015) and Classes dominantes, política e capitalismo contemporâneo (Em Debate/UFSC, 2018).
Leonardo Granato is Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He is a faculty member in the graduate programs in Political Science and Public Policy, as well as in the postgraduate program in International Relations: Geopolitics and Defense. He coordinates the Center for Studies in Politics, State, and Capitalism in Latin America (NEPEC) and has been part of the editorial team of Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations since 2020.
Publication Information
Title: Ler Poulantzas: conceitos elementares de Poder político e classes sociais (Reading Poulantzas: Elementary Concepts of Political Power and Social Classes)
Authors: Danilo Enrico Martuscelli and Leonardo Granato
Publisher: Editora Lutas Anticapital
Year: 2024
ISBN: 978-65-85404-52-5
Available at: Lutas Anticapital
