Impersonal power : history and theory of the bourgeois state / by Heide Gerstenberger ; translated by David Fernbach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gerstenberger, Heide.

Series:

Historical materialism book series ; 15.

Historical materialism book series, 1570-1522 ; v. 15

Standardized Title:

Subjektlose Gewalt. English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elite (Social sciences)--Great Britain--History.

Elite (Social sciences).

Power (Social sciences)--Great Britain--History.

Power (Social sciences).

Elite (Social sciences)--France--History.

Power (Social sciences)--France--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (815 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The point of departure of Heide Gerstenberger’s path-breaking work is a critique of structural-functionalist theory of the state, in both its modernisation theory and materialist variants. Prof. Gerstenberger opposes to these a historical-theoretical explanation that proceeds from the long-term structuring effect of concrete social practice. This is elucidated by detailed investigation of the development of bourgeois state power in the two key examples of England and France. The different complexions that the bourgeois state assumed are presented as the results of processes of social and cultural formation, and thus irreducible to a simple function of capitalism. This approach culminates in the thesis that the bourgeois form of capitalist state power arose only where capitalist societies developed out of already rationalised structures of the Ancien Régime type.

Contents:

Preliminary Material / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Part One. The Rise Of Bourgeois States: Preconditions For An Explanation / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Part Two. From Ancien Régime To Bourgeois State: England / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Part Three. From Ancien Régime To Bourgeois Society: France / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Part Four. Results Of The Historical Comparison / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Part Five. The Organisation Of Generalised Power: A Conceptual Framework For Historical Epochs / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Annotated Bibliography / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach

Index / H. Gerstenberger and D. Fernbach.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [689]-789) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-92571-3

9786611925710

90-474-2152-3

OCLC:

310203197

Publisher Number:

10.1163/ej.9789004130272.i-803 DOI