Power

In order to discuss the role of state regulation in the development of capitalism (as well as touch on current debates about "bigger government" versus "smaller government") it is necessary for me to make a brief excursus regarding theories of power.  (And a huge shout out to Michel Foucault, from whom much of this discussion is derived.)

Commonly, power is defined as an ability to coerce and mold the world according to one's own desires.  It is a thing that one either has or does not have, and  is centralized and concentrated in the hands of a few, especially in institutional apparatus like states.

Yet, more complex and nuanced theories of power shed some light on processes that otherwise remain disguised.  By drawing on these theories it is possible to challenge common sense ideas about state power and its relation to capitalism.

Foucault famously argued that power is not an object or thing of any sort that one can possess.  It has absolutely no material existence.  Rather, it is a property of relationships.  Without a relationship, there is no power.  Moreover, power is a property of every relationship, and is available to everyone.  Accordingly, power is diffuse, extending to all levels of society, and does not presuppose a fixed dominator-dominated relationship.

Power is a way of "acting on another's actions."  If the target of control is not able to act - in other words, if they are essentially a lifeless puppet - there is no power.  A distinction must therefore be made between power and control, for complete control is the end of power.  Power requires free will and the ability to resist.