Conclusion: The Interdependence of Markets and States

Abstract

Political science is partly the product of its own political surroundings. Those of British political science have, for over a decade, been dominated by Thatcherism. Political argument in Britain in the 1980s took its cue from Thatcherism, even when that ideology was rejected. The most distinctive feature of Thatcherite ideology was the argument that ‘state’ and ‘market’ were two distinct, and contradictory, forms of social organisation. Even the opponents of Thatcherism have commonly accepted this argument — but have opted for the state rather than for the market. It is not surprising, therefore, that the political science produced in these surroundings should likewise instinctively assume that state and market were clearly separable.