Since postcolonial independence, Arab regimes have struggled to capture an ideological center that would keep the circulation of value within the triad of state, labour and capital to a certain degree of balance, and ensure that working-class consciousness is at the level required to steer capital for its benefit. Instead, what often happens is the increasing estrangement and alienation of the working class from the ruling regime, leading to the consequent weakening of the state and inter-working class violence. The alliance is no longer with the professional working class and bureaucratic elites, but with the international financial class whose profits come at the expense and suffering of the local people.