Abstract
This article intervenes in the debate about political power and state autonomy by examining the 2011 reform to the Florida Retirement System pension plan. By analyzing a single case during the neoliberal period, it contributes to expanding knowledge of how state power functions, on the ground, contemporarily. First, I analyze the state’s role in creating and maintaining markets through legislative controls. Rather than removing state influence from the economy, the state plays a major role in securing markets exploitable for profit. Second, as neoliberal organizations and actors gain power and influence, at times infiltrating the state, the state loses autonomy to those actors, strengthening the political and economic power of the capitalist class vis-à-vis workers. The qualitative data show strong networks between organizations with corporate influence, legislators, and Governor Rick Scott. These networks allow organizations to set political priorities in a way that goes beyond normal interest group lobbying.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
