Corporate Statism
Encyclopedia
Corporate statism or state corporatism is a political culture
and a form of corporatism
whose adherents hold that the corporate group
is the basis of society
and the state
. The corporate group is typically comprised by political-economic power elites, for example those represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In other countries, the corporate group may be a specific national or ethnic group.
As with other political cultures, societies have existed historically which exemplified corporate statism, for instance as developed by Othmar Spann
and Benito Mussolini
.
Corporate statism most commonly manifests itself as a ruling party acting as a mediator between the workers, capitalists
and other prominent state interests by institutionally incorporating them into the ruling mechanism. Corporatist systems were most prevalent in the mid-20th Century in Europe and later elsewhere in developing countries. However, both in academia and practice, Corporate Statism (or Corporatism as it is also sometimes known) has fallen out of favour. Globalisation and economic and social diversification are both credited with corporate statism's decline. According to this critique, interests, both social and economic, are so diverse that a state cannot possibly mediate between them effectively through incorporating them. Social conflicts go beyond incorporated dichotomies of labour and capital to include innumerable groups. Furthermore, globalisation presents challenges, both social and economic, that a corporate state cannot sufficiently address because these problems transcend state borders and approaches. It therefore differs from Corporate nationalism
in that it is a social mode of organization rather than an economic nationalism through private business corporations.
Political culture
Political culture is the traditional orientation of the citizens of a nation toward politics, affecting their perceptions of political legitimacy.Conceptions...
and a form of corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
whose adherents hold that the corporate group
Corporate group
A corporate group is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. The concept of a group is frequently used in tax law, accounting and company law to attribute the rights and duties of one member of the group to...
is the basis of society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
and the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
. The corporate group is typically comprised by political-economic power elites, for example those represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In other countries, the corporate group may be a specific national or ethnic group.
As with other political cultures, societies have existed historically which exemplified corporate statism, for instance as developed by Othmar Spann
Othmar Spann
Othmar Spann was a conservative Austrian philosopher, sociologist and economist whose radical anti-liberal and anti-Socialist views, based on early 19th century Romantic ideas expressed by Adam Müller et al...
and Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
.
Corporate statism most commonly manifests itself as a ruling party acting as a mediator between the workers, capitalists
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and other prominent state interests by institutionally incorporating them into the ruling mechanism. Corporatist systems were most prevalent in the mid-20th Century in Europe and later elsewhere in developing countries. However, both in academia and practice, Corporate Statism (or Corporatism as it is also sometimes known) has fallen out of favour. Globalisation and economic and social diversification are both credited with corporate statism's decline. According to this critique, interests, both social and economic, are so diverse that a state cannot possibly mediate between them effectively through incorporating them. Social conflicts go beyond incorporated dichotomies of labour and capital to include innumerable groups. Furthermore, globalisation presents challenges, both social and economic, that a corporate state cannot sufficiently address because these problems transcend state borders and approaches. It therefore differs from Corporate nationalism
Corporate nationalism
Corporate nationalism is a phrase that is used to convey various meanings, including:*A political culture, in which members believe the basic unit of society and the primary concern of the state is the corporate group rather than the individual, and that the interests of the corporate group are the...
in that it is a social mode of organization rather than an economic nationalism through private business corporations.