According to the theory of capitalism, this economic system "creates wealth through advancing continuously to ever higher levels of productivity and technological sophistication; this process requires that the "old" be destroyed before the "new" can take over" (Gilpin 3). Therefore, one of the most important state functions in the process of continuation of capitalism is capital accumulation for the purpose of ensuring higher levels of productivity, which is realized through means of provide a legal and infrastructural framework. Taking this into consideration, another crucial state function is the regulation of capital flows and social distribution of surplus value generated by the capitalistic production. Considering that the primary feature of capitalism is continuing economic growth, such function as financing a wide range of state programs or environmental protection, should be considered as the least important state functions to the continuation of capitalism.
'Upscaling' state functions means the process of state activity enlargement with regard to different spheres and branches of activity it would not normally interfere with or any other actions, which were not considered as the primary state functions. This term may also be referred to the shift of local and regional agencies' and authorities' functions to the national scale level. For instance, various attempts in the early 1970's to establish and secure the legitimacy for the Bantustans of Transkei, which is nowadays a nominal parliamentary democracy in the South African region, may be considered as upscaling of state functions (Ferguson 58). To 'downscale' state functions means to shift state function "form the national scale to local and regional agencies" (Purcell 16). For instance, when a particular city or a region within a given country but not the state taken as a whole, agrees to abide by some agreement or protocol, e.g. the Kyoto Protocol, this may be referred to as downscaling of state function.
The phrase 'hollowing out the state' means a set of actions, which result in "potentially dramatic changes, notably local government reform, privatization and agencification, leading to the diminished central capacity" (Holliday 167). In the majority of cases, 'hollowing out the state' implies the "loss of functions by central and local government departments to alternative service delivery systems (such as agencies" (Rhodes 138). In essence, this process may be referred to as rescaling state functions. However, rescaling state functions does not have to involve ‘hollowing out the state'. One of the classical examples of rescaling state functions is the "inception of a European Union Naval Force's Operation in Atlanta", which presents "a clear case of the upward rescaling of military functions from the national scale to that of a super-national governing body" (Tarrósy, Szabó, and Hydén 90). This particular example of rescaling does not involve hollowing out.
Speaking from the perspective of economic functions downscaling, welfare state is the most likely to downscale its economic functions as economic processes and functions in such a state are diverse "both in its source and in the manner of its delivery" (Barr 7). In other words, when pursuing the fundamental objective of protection and promotion of the economic well-being of all citizens, the government of a welfare state may downscale its functions to local and regional authorities. In the meantime, the authoritarian type of national state is least likely to downscale its economic functions as their economic systems "are based on centralized management" (Vanderhill and Aleprete 125). Moreover, authoritarian governments "use its economic leverage to encourage or support authoritarian regimes" and, therefore, would exert every effort to prevent the loss of power and support on a national level (Vanderhill and Aleprete 224).
Neoliberalism is a set of economic policies and practices advocating extensive economic liberalization, including privatization, minimization of government control over businesses and industries, overall deregulation, free trade, and considerable reductions in government spending for the purpose of enhancing the role of the private sector in the economy.
N. Benelli refers to the street-cleaning situation in NYC as ‘neoliberal' as it involved substantial cuts in the resources allocated to DSNY, which is a fundamental feature of neoliberalism. Speaking from the viewpoint of the street-cleaning situation in NYC, another striking example of a neoliberalism feature was the emphasis on the role of the private sector in this process.
Works Cited
Barr, Nicholas. The Economics of the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.
Benelli, Natalie. "Sweeping the Streets of the Neoliberal City: Racial and Class Divisions among New York City's Sanitation Workers." Journal of Workplace Rights 16.3-4 (2011): 453-74. Web.
Ferguson, James. "Paradoxes of Sovereignty and Independence." Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order. Durham: Duke UP, 2006. 50-68. Print.
Gilpin, Robert. "The Fragile Global Economу." The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2000. 3-15. Print.
Holliday, Ian. "Is the British State Hollowing Out?" Political Quarterly The Political Quarterly 71.2 (2000): 167-76. Wiley Online Library. Web. 4 Mar. 2016. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-923X.00291/abstract>.
Purcell, Mark. Recapturing Democracy: Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban Futures. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.
Rhodes, R. A. W. "The Hollowing Out Of The State: The Changing Nature Of The Public Service In Britain." Political Quarterly The Political Quarterly 65.2 (1994): 138-51. Print.
Tarrósy, István, Loránd Szabó, and Göran Hydén. The African State in a Changing Global Context: Breakdowns and Transformations. Berlin: Lit, 2011. Print.
Vanderhill, Rachel, and Michael E. Aleprete. International Dimensions of Authoritarian Persistence: Lessons from Post-Soviet States. Plymouth: Lexington, 2013. Print.
