The most common definition of state capitalism within the Marxian literature is that it is a social system combining capitalism (the free wage labor system of producing and appropriating surplus value) with state ownership. A relatively recent text by Stephen A. Resnick and Richard D. Wolff, Class Theory and History, explores state capitalism in the former USSR, continuing a theme that has been debated within Marxian theory for most of the past century.
An alternative definition is that it is a close relationship between the government and private capitalism, such as one in which the private capitalists produce for a guaranteed market. An example of this would be the military-industrial complex where autonomous entrepreneurial firms[?] produce for government contracts and are not subject to the discipline of competitive markets.
See also: state socialism
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