Toward State Capacity Liberalism

Abstract

This paper maps an emerging school of thought that takes seriously the need for strong and stable state for the protection of liberal society. It often prioritises the maintenance of a strong state, for the sake of liberal values. I call it state capacity liberalism. This school of thought takes a long view of history and identifies three two correlated features of liberal societies: low levels of violence, high levels of economic growth, and high levels of state capacity. State capacity liberals believe that if we care about liberal society we should care about understanding and sustaining the seemingly paradoxical, and certainly contingent, equilibrium that generates it. State capacity liberalism is a form of non-ideal theory that is compatible with a wide range of ideal theories within the liberal family. It advises liberals on the right that their cherished free market and civil society require the kind of credible commitment to negative rights only a strong state can provide. It advises liberals on the left that their cherished welfare protections and democratic participation require economic openness and a growing economy to fund public goods and provide democratic stability. Whatever the policy outcomes a liberal prioritises, then, they ought to support state capacity as a matter of priority.

Keywords: State capacity, Liberalism, Non-Ideal Theory, Realism, Violence