CLASS, STATE AND FASCISM THE WORK OF NICOS POULANTZAS NICHOLAS ABERCROMBIE, BRYAN TURNER AND JOHN URRY zyxw Lancaster Uniwrsity zyxwv I THESE three texts' have justifiably aroused great interest in Britain in the last few years. That all three are now translated provides a suitable justification for some assessment of Poulantzas' work. These three texts are amongst the most sophisti- cated and developed products of the Althusserian revolution in the reading of Marx by which the scientific character of his later writings has been outlined. The influence of Lenin and Gramsci can also be seen in Poulantzas, that of the first being mediated through Althusser, that of the second being more direct. Poulantzas is of course well known in Britain for various papers in New Left Reciew, and in particular for his debate with Ralph Miliband over the nature of the capitalist state and the proper method for its study, although in a recent issue of that journal Poulantzas seems to have changed his position in certain respects. In this review we wish to focus on a broader range of issues than this since it is part of Poulantzas' distinctive contribution to recent Marxist theory that he has tried to treat in a rigorous and scientific manner a wide range of topics that have roots in different Marxist traditions and writings. In Political Power and Social Classes (PPSC) Poulantzas attempts to theorize the nature of the capitalist state and in particular how it is relatively autonomous from the economic structure. (We should say that the verb theorize is frequently used transitively by Poulantzas to mean the construction of an adequate theory of the relations between elements as opposed to the demonstration of empirical connections between them.) The relationship between social classes and this form of state is also explored in PPSC, as well as in zyxwvut Fuscism and Dictatorship (FD) where he develops a complex non-reductionist theory of the development of fascism. In Classes in Contemporary Capitalism (CCC) Poulantzas analyses two aspects of monopoly capitalism: changes in the international division of labour and changes in the class position of the new petty bourgeoisie. Poulantzas would place his texts most firmly within the Marxist problematic of the general theory of modes of production. He takes it that there are two levels or stages of theoretical work. First, we produce the theory of different modes of production; each such mode consists of an articulated combination of economic, Nicos Poulantzas, PoIitical Power and Social Classes (translation editor: Timothy O'Hagan), New Left Books and S h e d and Ward, 1913,367 pp.. E5.75; Fascismand Dictatorship: The Third International and the Problem of Fascism (translated by Judith White, translation editors: Jennifer and Timothy O'Hagan), New Left Books, 1974,366 pp. f5.75; and CIasses zy in Contemporary Cupiralism (translated by David Fernbach), New Left Books, 1975, 336 pp. f7.00. We are very grateful to John Martin of the University of Lancaster who has contributed greatly to the formation of zyxwvu our ideas. Political Studies, Vol. XXW, No. zyxwvut 4 (510-519)