Table of Contents
Definition of State Capitalism
(noun) An economic system in which the State controls or owns for profit enterprises such as utilities (e.g., water and electricity) and transportation (e.g., buses and trains) or actively supports capitalist interests through market controls.
State Capitalism Pronunciation
Syllabification: state cap·i·tal·ism
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /stAYt kAp-uh-tuh-liz-uhm/
- British English – /stAYt kAp-it-li-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /steɪt ˈkæpɪtəˌlɪzəm/
- British English – /steɪt ˈkæpɪtəlɪzm/
Usage Notes
- Plural: state capitalisms
- The term “State” does not have to be capitalized, but typically is in legal documents and is capitalized here for differentiation.
- Also called:
- democratic socialism
- etatisme
Additional Information
- Economic Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “state” and “capitalism” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Fine, Bob. 1984. Democracy and the Rule of Law: Liberal Ideals and Marxist Critiques. London: Pluto Press.
- Guest, Robert. 2011. Borderless Economics: Chinese Sea Turtles, Indian Fridges and the New Fruits of Global Capitalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Martin, Edward J., and Rodolfo D. Torres. 2004. Savage State: Welfare Capitalism and Inequality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Nealon, Jeffrey T. 2012. Post-postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Just-in-time Capitalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
- Trigilia, C. 2002. Economic Sociology: State, Market, and Society in Modern Capitalism. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Encyclopædia Britannica. (N.d.) Britannica Digital Learning. (https://britannicalearn.com/).
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of State Capitalism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “State capitalism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/state-capitalism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
State capitalism. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/state-capitalism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “State capitalism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/state-capitalism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“State capitalism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/state-capitalism/>.