Simon Clarke’s Marxism and Latin America

Abstract

Simon Clarke left an invaluable critical mark on Marxism. Despite his magnanimous work, he is relatively unknown in Latin America because very few texts have been translated into Spanish. We focus on Clarke’s vision and theory of the state, which is of fundamental importance to research in Latin America. First, we focus on his comprehension of the class struggle category to understand the capitalist state’s emergence. Second, we show the importance of his analysis of the subordination of the state and civil society to the rule of money and law. Third, we emphasise his particular way of understanding the social relations of production, which results in his incisive critique of structuralism and the regulation school. Finally, we point out that his understanding of the social relations of production led to a specific way of understanding Marxism that is ‘Simon Clarke’s Marxism’.