Bobbitt, the Rise of the Market State, and Race

The importance of Philip Bobbitt’s seminal works is already being recognized as on par with such classics as Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. In these books, Bobbitt argues that the nature of the state is changing in a fundamental way in that our country is shifting from a nation-state into a market-state. Bobbitt's theories have profound significance for many areas of law which scholars are just beginning to explore. This article is seeking to fill a gap in the literature by considering the implications of his views in the area of race and immigration law. Specifically, the article contends that Bobbitt's theories explain much of what we observe in the area of race, including hyper-incarceration of blacks, the current beneficiaries of affirmative action, radical changes in pleading requirements in civil rights actions, and that sub-national attempts to preserve culture through the control of immigration will fail. This paper argues that race theorists must take into account Bobbitt's theories regarding the changing nature of the state.