Alami Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is the main argument of Alami et al. (2022)?
The authors argue that “state capitalism” should not be treated as a rigid model or a vague label. Instead, they introduce it as a “problématique”—a flexible, critical framework to study how states shape capitalism in diverse, historically specific ways.
Why is this approach important?
It avoids simplistic binaries like state vs. market or liberal vs. illiberal, allowing for context-sensitive analysis of how capitalism works today—especially beyond Eurocentric models.
What is meant by “the problématique of state capitalism”?
It’s a field of inquiry, not a fixed definition. It looks at the historical, relational, and class-based dynamics behind state economic intervention, recognising variation across countries and periods.
Why does this matter in the current global context?
The 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic led to renewed state economic activism globally. Understanding this shift requires moving beyond old assumptions about capitalism as inherently free-market.
How does the Malaysia 1MDB scandal illustrate new state capitalism?
1MDB, a state-run investment fund, became a site of elite corruption entangling Malaysian politicians and Western firms like Goldman Sachs—showing how state capitalism blurs public/private and national/global lines.
How do China and the U.S. both exhibit state capitalism?
China: Uses industrial policy and infrastructure investment (e.g., Made in China 2025, Belt and Road) to shape global development.
U.S.: Under Trump, used tariffs and tech sanctions—actions that contradict the image of the U.S. as a purely “liberal” economy.
What critique do the authors make of conventional definitions of capitalism?
They challenge Eurocentric and liberal assumptions that treat state involvement as a deviation. In reality, state-market entanglement is a defining feature of many modern capitalist systems.
What are the risks of their flexible approach?
By promoting conceptual “plasticity,” critics argue they risk overstretching the term “state capitalism” to cover any state activity, which could reduce its analytical usefulness.
How does this article relate to Global South perspectives?
It decentres Western models and legitimises non-liberal trajectories of development—highlighting the diverse roles states play in capitalist transformation globally.
How does this article fit within wider economic debates?
It adds to critiques of neoliberalism and Varieties of Capitalism, pushing for a more dynamic, relational understanding of how state and capital co-evolve across different contexts and crises.
