Marx and Public Services: Theory, Policy, and Practice

By evaluating previous public management research through Marxist concepts, this textbook offers innovative solutions to public service problems. It updates Marx’s framework to reflect the growth of public services, transitioning from abstract state notions to concrete service analysis. 

Addressing two critical gaps, the book highlights the benefits of a Marxist approach to public services and presents Marxist ideas to examine these services at a micro level. It demonstrates the relevance of Marxist frameworks for public service professionals, critically reviews current public management knowledge, and sheds light on the dynamic nature of public services against the background of neoliberalism. While doing so, the book goes beyond a Eurocentric perspective, providing cases and practical examples from developed and developing countries, with an additional focus on Asian practices.

Written by an award-winning author with years of practical experience and designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students, each chapter sets clear learning objectives and reviews existing tools and frameworks. The chapters also present new ways of improving public services, encouraging readers to apply Marxist concepts to their contexts and cultures. This will also make this book a practical resource for practitioners and professionals, seeking to resolve their grounded public services issues.

​Tony Kinder currently is a visiting Professor at Tampere University, Finland. Following a period as an engineering trade union official (1972-98), Kinder occupied leading positions in Lothian Regional and West Lothian local Councils (1982-1998).  He then worked at the University of Edinburgh Business School, Scotland, (1998-2016) as Director of Programmes and later as MBA Director.  His research is on learning in service innovation processes around which he has published over 70 papers in academic journals. His current research focuses on the governance of ecosystems, public value, mutuality, and the ethical use of advanced technology in integrated local public services in Finland and Scotland.  In 2024 he and Jari Stenvall published a book on Problem-solving and Learning for Public Services.