Elites, Classes and States. Potentials and Limits of Fred Block's Neostatism
This article examines the potential and limitations of the neo-statism proposed by American sociologist and researcher Fred Block to explain the relationships between the State, political elites, and social classes. Since the 1970s, Block has argued that the State should be understood as an independ...
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
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Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/45530 |
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| Sumario: | This article examines the potential and limitations of the neo-statism proposed by American sociologist and researcher Fred Block to explain the relationships between the State, political elites, and social classes. Since the 1970s, Block has argued that the State should be understood as an independent actor, and thus developed a theory on the ability of state managers to act autonomously in crisis contexts, while maintaining an ambiguous and shifting relationship with social classes and groups. This mechanism can help explain not only the autonomy of fascist regimes or Latin American populisms, but also accumulation regimes based on the welfare state. Block shows how, throughout the 20th century, the State has played an increasingly important role in the economy, imposing regulations and limitations on capital, to preserve social order and foster development. Based on this argument, Block dismantles the myth of market self-regulation, showing that accumulation regimes always rely on an institutional architecture where the State plays a central role.
However, limitations in his analysis are also identified, particularly in his tendency to attribute to political elites a level of rationality and cohesion that does not always correspond to reality, where internal conflicts are deeper than Block acknowledges. This article aims to contribute to the theoretical debate on the State and elites by reviewing the explanatory capacity of neo-statism in different historical and social contexts.
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