Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy

Analyses the historical origins of the contemporary British capitalist state and the long struggle for democracy and political rights, from the Levellers to the Chartists and beyond.

Describes the changes to the state under globalisation and how representative democracy has been undermined.

Makes a series of proposals for a new, transitional state to extend democracy into workplaces and society as a whole.

Print version first published in 2008. Absolutely relevant for today.

"This is a trenchant and timely re-statement of the classical Marxist analysis of the nature of the capitalist state, brought up to date. The author has combined a concise survey of the bloody history of the British state and empire, with illuminating critiques of a number of recently popular accounts, for example those of John Holloway, and Hardt and Negri. The aim is to show 'how seemingly disparate struggles for rights can find their lasting solution in the struggle for democratic power itself', and he sets out his ideas as to what a democratic state might look like. This well-informed and sophisticated book can be recommended to students and activists alike."

Bill Bowring, Professor of Law
Birkbeck College, University of London