Examining the role of the modern nation state, Dexter Whitfield assesses the achievements, failures, costs and benefits of the neo-liberal and 'third way' transformation of the state. He demonstrates that private finance of infrastructure, marketisation of government and privatisation of the welfare state are accelerating the globalisation process and generating ever larger financial, social and environmental crises. Whitfield analyses current trends which are exacerbated by the marketisation and partnership agenda advocated by global bodies such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO. He reveals how these policies further reduce the capacity of the state in the global economy, its ability to provide good quality public services and inevitably create a corporate welfare complex. Within a framework for understanding the extent, scale and impact of the transformation of the state, the author forecasts the implications of the continuation of current policies.

New Labour is creating markets in public services on an unprecedented scale. Education, health and social care, children's services, housing, planning and regeneration, the criminal justice system and the welfare state are all being marketised. It has gone well beyond even Tory expectations of the 1990s.Privatisation inevitably follows marketisation, eroding democratic accountability and embedding business interests. The impact will be far reaching. Any benefits in terms of economic, social and sustainable development that are gained through regional strategies and city regions could evaporate if market forces are allowed to run rampant across the public sector.As this timely book makes clear, action by alliances of trade unions, community organisations and civil society organisations is urgently required.