Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Statism, and the New Finance Capital

This symposium at Carleton University, looked at the legacy of Leo Panitch’s scholarship, education, and activism, featuring roundtables and a keynote address by Institute of Political Economy (IPE) visiting professor, Stephen Maher: “Liberal Democracy, Authoritarian Statism, and the New Finance Capital.”

The work of Leo Panitch left an immense impact on the field of political economy – from his critique of social democracy to his groundbreaking theorization, with Sam Gindin, of globalization and the American empire. As a professor at Carleton, he helped to place the University at the forefront of the study of political economy in Canada, and played a key role in the creation of the Institute of Political Economy. At the same time, he was deeply involved in politics, including the Waffle, the Ottawa Committee for Labour Action, and most recently, the Socialist Project.

Moderated by Justin Paulson.

This was the keynote address at the Leo Panitch Symposium: Global Capitalism, the State, and the Socialist Challenge, held at the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University, Ottawa, on 10 December 2022.

Stephen Maher is a postdoctoral fellow at Ontario Tech University, and the author of Corporate Capitalism and the Integral State: General Electric and a Century of American Power. He is also the Associate Editor of the Socialist Register.