The phrase “state capitalism” originated in the revolutionary socialist movement over a century ago. In subsequent years, the notion was taken up by significant currents of Marxist reflection in political economy, including anti-Stalinist left portrayals of the Soviet Union, studies of the post-Second World War dirigiste state in the Western Bloc, and examinations of statist economic policies in Third World nations in the aftermath of decolonization. The most decisive incursions of this variegated Marxist literature on state capitalism addressed the state-class problematic, questioning the class character of the capitalist state. As of today, the notion of state capitalism is widely adopted in mainstream commentary and academic scholarship on the developing world; yet the issue of class has been entirely obliterated in favor of elite-centric interpretations.