Drawing his theoretical framework for his work from G.A. Cohens Karl Marxs Theory of History: A Defence, Wetherly (politics, Leeds Metropolitan U., UK) presents a theoretical restatement of Karl Marxs functional theory of the capitalist state, in which the state, as legal and political superstructure of society, is determined by the nature of the economic structure. To counter the primary criticisms to which the theory may be seen as vulnerable, he argues in sum that a capitalist economic structure can be analyzed in terms of the functional extra-economic requirements of the system, that both instrumentalist and structuralist arguments provide plausible mechanisms of functional explanation of the state, that the inter-relationship between these mechanisms can be understood in a way that doesnt deny the role of agency, and that functional explanation as a form of economic determination is compatible with a notion of the relative autonomy of the state if economic determination is understood as merely a strong tendency. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Paul Wetherly provides a restatement and defence of the classical Marxist theory of the state, developing an analytical approach that draws on G.A. Cohens functional interpretation of Marxs theory of history. Instrumentalist and structuralist arguments are conceived as related causal mechanisms within the functional approach, and the principle of economic determination is shown to be consistent with the relative autonomy of the state as an institution with its own interests and capacities. This old-fashioned interpretation is defended against rival approaches within contemporary Marxism, notably Jessops strategic relational approach.
