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Contrary to the widely-held view that the East Asian developmental state is neutral in terms of the relationship between capital and labour, this text argues that the developmental state exists to promote the interests of capital over labour.

The nature of the struggle between capitalist forces & the working classes in contemporary South Korea is examined to understand how crisis tendencies developed in the country. Neoliberal & neoinstitutional accounts of the origins of the East Asian economic crisis of 1997 are reviewed & subsequently dismissed. After considering the social aspects of capitalist production, it is asserted that capitalist credit expansion is engendered by growing competitive pressures, which in turn cause the overproduction of commodities. Nevertheless, it is claimed that economic factors alone cannot adequately account for the South Korean economic crisis. It is subsequently argued that the nation's crisis tendencies are produced through class struggles. Specifically, it is maintained that capitalist states attempt to restructure social relations of production in order to diminish the working class's power; the case of South Korea's economic crisis is analyzed to illustrate this contention. It is concluded that the capitalist social relations are responsible for creating the nation's crisis tendencies & class struggles. 42 References. J. W. Parker