> > This
> > combination of things "work" well for the US bourgeoisie, the
> > petty-bourgeoisie and the aristocracy of labour. All of this tends to
> > detract from any interest in and pressure for a welfare state, which is
> > perceived ---- probably correctly --- as increasing their taxes.
>
> I don't disagree with this; individual capitalists are usually motivated
by their immediate interests. (In
> India, the ratio of taxes to GDP has come down from about 14% to 8% in a
decade.) But isn't the
> bourgeois state supposed to represent the permanent and long term
interests of capitalist system as a
> whole? Is that a myth?
I'm not sure what you're getting at here. IMO each capitalist state represents a particular balance of class forces at a particular time in a particular society. "A committee for organising the common affairs of the bourgeoisie," but with the proviso that the bourgeoisie is riven by internal dialectics, based on the perceived best interests of particular industries or companies.
Grant.