Abstract
The concept of state sovereignty has, since Hobbes,been a highly contentious and much-debated issue. Marx’s critique that institutional detachments obscure the modern state’s embodiment in socioeconomic relations encapsulates the reason why sovereignty is not simply a political issue. This paper argues that the guild socialist theorist G.D.H. Cole completes Marx’s analysis, effectively filling out Marx’s critique of the
liberal state as a mask behind which capitalist power thrives. In seeking to defend Cole from his critics, the paper shows that while Cole’s scheme permits a sovereign body to exist, the manner in which its powers are exercised is constitutionally restricted. Such formal
limitations successfully redefine the substance of
sovereignty.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 93-123 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Capital & Class |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |