> In all periods, stable and unstable, it's my view that the balance of forces
> between the contending parties is what determines the outcome, both within
> the ruling class and in the relations between the classes, and that
> ideology, morality, etc. are important but secondary effects.
I reckon 'the balance of class forces' is more effect than cause, or at least that it doesn't make sense to talk about it as being causally prior to the form of the state and economy. Actually I'm uncomfortable with the idea of a 'class force' as if it were something quantifiable. Having a 'balance of forces' implies that the strength of each force is something internal to each one, with them meeting each other as external objects. When class is really relational, and the fields on which classes are formed aren't flat but tangled up and highly structured.
Jeez, it's hard to write about this stuff clearly!
Cheers, Mike scandalum.wordpress.com