Centralization

In the section regarding centralization, Adriano claimed that one can see the process of centralization in the United States, and I was wondering if anyone could help me with the specifics? How are they "collecting, institutionalizing and enforcing all of the state’s interests"? Aren't all governments in the world like this at all periods of time throughout history?

I think that Adriano is simply using the example of the United states since it is a popular and well known example of different states that may have certain different state laws, but are united under one federal government and their laws. Similarly in canada is the idea of provincial government versus federal government. Many countries have similar ideas possibly in slightly different ways, but the underlying idea is the Unity under the centralized government that creates a strong authority. For Marx, this authority is from the capitalist class and is the base of the driving ideas in that society.

I think NofarLapidot offered a clear and helpful answer to the question. To add a little more, there exist some nations in which the process of centralization is not as visible and/or emphasized as that in the United States of Canada--for an example, South Korea, Japan, etc. Generally, countries composed of smaller geographical area and lesser states/provinces may not be used as prominent examples of centralization as there would be less to centralize--due to the already similar and initially centralized and/or similar system and ideals between different state/provincial governments.

I would argue that almost all nation states have a centralized government. To say that Canada and the United States are prime examples of centralization is valid, however South Korea and Japan have a prominent centralized government as well. Any developed countries or nation-states I would reason have some sort of centralized government, albeit in our Western society we tend to focus more on Canada and the United States. The idea of centralization in todays society tends to lean towards a possibility of economic success, and the developed countries are examples of this "success" by centralization.

Marx had argued that the bourgeois revolution was comprised of several crises in which the bourgeoisie was able to accumulate more and more political power. If this is the case, the state is then very much supportive of the bourgeois interests. Power are centralized like previous governments in history, but Marx adds that this authority also sustains ''bourgeois unity''. The United States is a prime example of this as the government actively create laws that benefit the wealthy, such as tax reductions for capital gains, and corporations are permitted to spend millions on lobbying efforts to push policies that work in their favour.