Further remarks on the three sources

pp. 313-335

in: Bob Jessop, Nicos Poulantzas, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1985

Abstract

We have now completed our detailed review of Poulantzas's theoretical and strategic development and it is time to present some more general reflections on his work. In this chapter I return to a theme introduced in Chapter 1, namely, the three sources of Poulantzas's theoretical and strategic innovations. It will be recalled that these are French philosophy, Italian Marxism, and Romano-German law. I now want to consider their influence on Poulantzas's work in more detail. Particular attention will be paid to the influence of three French philosophers — Sartre, Althusser, and Foucault. I shall also consider how these intellectual sources were brought to fruition through Poulantzas's political involvements.