Notas para uma crítica marxista da Administração Pública

Abstract

The development of capitalism led to an expansion of the state's role and, along with it, to a growth in public administration. This event further reinforced the fetishized image of the state's neutrality, whereas it would act according to the criteria of legality, rationality, and impersonality. The expansion of the neoliberal state resulted in new forms of domination, which should also lead to changes and adaptations in forms of resistance and emancipatory struggles. The Marxist theory, however, has given little attention to the matter of public administration, being more concerned with criticizing the bourgeois or capitalist state than discussing the specificities and concreteness of its apparatus. Nevertheless, nowadays, it is no longer enough to point out the capitalist or class character of the state. A more accurate examination of public administration under a Marxist approach reveals not only a relevant theoretical problem but also a practical issue of the utmost importance in emancipatory struggles.