The sad truth about New Statism

The spectre for state capitalism haunting the globe

By Mani Basharzad

“A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of Communism.”

That’s how Karl Marx began The Communist Manifesto. Today, a different spectre haunts not just Europe, but the entire globe: the spectre of state capitalism. This is the central theme of The Spectre of State Capitalism, a thought-provoking book by Ilias Alami and Adam D. Dixon. In it, the authors demonstrate with striking empirical clarity that over the past two decades, the state has dramatically expanded its role in the global economy.

Many still believe state capitalism is primarily a Chinese or East Asian phenomenon. Alami and Dixon decisively refute this. Their research shows that it is a global phenomenon, increasingly reshaping markets, distorting finance, and redefining ownership.

Photo by Li Yang on Unsplash