Instrumental Marxism

Instrumental Marxism, or elite model, is a theory which reasons that policy makers in government and positions of power tend to "share a common business or class background, and that their decisions will reflect their business or class interests".^[1] It perceives the role of the state as more personal than impersonal, where actions such as nepotism and favoritism are common among those in power, and as a result of this, the shared backgrounds between the economic elite and the state elite are discernible. The theory argues that due to the high concentration of wealth within the State that the actions of State actors seek to secure and increase their wealth by passing policies that benefit the economically superior class. It is also noted that businessmen-become-politicians who have a say in policy making “are not very likely, all the same, to find much merit in policies which appear to run counter to what they conceive to be in the interests of business.”^[2] Instrumental Marxism tends to view the state and law as ultimately an instrument or tool for individuals of the economically dominant class to use for their own purposes, particularly maintaining economic exploitation while promoting ideological assent to their hegemony.

^ Goldstein, Joshua S. (2004). Whitworth, Sandra (ed.). International Relations (Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education. p. 147.
^ Miliband, Ralph (1969). The State in Capitalist Society. New York: Basic Books.

[1] Goldstein, Joshua S. (2004). Whitworth, Sandra (ed.). International Relations (Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education. p. 147.

[2] Miliband, Ralph (1969). The State in Capitalist Society. New York: Basic Books.

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