Educational: Classes and the State

Date: 22 January 2023


Author: Indescribled 


Tags: N. America, Philosophy

New York Police Department officers stand in formation after arresting multiple protesters marching after curfew on Fifth Avenue in New York. John Minchillo / AP

Important Terms




Common Misconceptions

State equates government – The state is not the same as a government. The state exists because of class struggle. A government can exist without classes, such as administrative functions and planned economy. 


State equates nation – The state is not the same as a nation. A nation has certain requirements, such as common land, language, economic life, and culture, while the state requires none of these in order to exist. 

Purpose of the State

The state is the oppressive forces that maintain order within class society, both physical and political. It is necessary for us to be aware of the functions, purpose, and intent of the state to best understand how to combat it. The Marxist-Leninist analysis of the state can be summarized with the following three points:


First, it exists due to class struggle. The state is not a specific feature of capitalism, it is a feature of any class-based society. Whether discussing slavery, feudalism, or capitalism, there are oppressing and oppressed classes. These classes have conflicting goals—one of them wants to stay in power and the others seeks to survive until it is strong enough to overthrow or become the ruling class. In capitalism the class contradiction is between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the workers and the owners. The bourgeoisie needs the labor-power of the proletariat to amass more capital and the proletariat is in an unfortunate situation where it is required to sell its labor-power just to survive. These classes have such incompatible goals; goals that are completely opposite, and one class will never solve the other’s problems. No matter how the current state apparatus is used, even in a “perfect” welfare state where all needs are met for the proletariat, the bourgeoisie will naturally seek to expand their profits because it is in their class nature; the bourgeoisie will seek to dismantle the welfare state, or any parts of it they can.

Second, the state came into existence for a specific reason—for the benefit of the oppressing class. A state existed before capitalism; in feudalism it sought to maintain lords and landowners over serfs, slaves, proletariat, peasants, etc. Just as the feudal lords wanted to continue extracting wealth from the serfs, the bourgeoisie also seeks to maintain their rule and continue ravaging the world with the working class as their victim. The proletariat does not obey the bourgeoisie because it wants to, the proletariat is forced to comply because of the state. Maintaining and extending class struggle is not the case in the proletariat state, as we will discuss in a later section.

Third, the state has a monopoly on violence. The violence is exerted through the state’s police, military, legislative system, prisons, and other systems. The ruling class does not simply declare that it is in power and the oppressed class agrees and complies; the state, wielded by the ruling class, shows its power by implementing laws and rules that disproportionately impact the working class and often violently reminds them of the situation. In 2020 the Black Lives Matter & George Floyd protests were met with massive police violence, while these protests were not attempting to end bourgeois rule, they were still opposed by the bourgeois state because success could have led to further demands by the working class. However, the state does not have to physically enact violence to inflict pain upon the working class, an example would be Roe v Wade being overturned in the United States. The overturning removed access to abortion from millions, leading to deaths, a number of unwanted pregnancies and children, and financial instability. Laws which have fines as punishment do not affect the richer class, while a single fine could make a worker miss a payment on their house. There are countless manners in which the state uses its power to enforce bourgeois rule; these are only a few. Social violence is baked into the very nature of the state in order to maintain the ruling class.


Pop Quiz!

There exists a time in human history where classes, and therefore class struggle, did not exist.



Marian is a college student in her Junior year with straight A’s. She has been able to attend college after taking out student loans since her family is low-income. Due to a car accident, Marian is unable to finish her degree. Her student loan servicers start to call trying to collect since she is no longer in school. Because of her physical and financial state, Marian is unable to pay back her student loans as well as unable to pay for her hospital bills. Consequently, her credit score starts to decline and her student loan provider files a lawsuit against her.



Proletarian State

Just as all things are in motion, so is the state. The form of the current state under capitalism is not what the state will look like under socialism, and definitely not what it will look like under communism. The contradiction of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie will change over time, especially when considering a proletarian state.

When discussing the state under capitalism our language can have additional clarity by referring to it specifically as the bourgeois state—the state under the control of the bourgeoisie; the rich, ruling, capitalist class. The bourgeois state can be contrasted to the state under the control of the proletariat—the proletarian state, also known as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (DotP). The examples in the previous section, Purpose of the State, were of the bourgeois state, so what is the proletarian state, and how is it different from the bourgeois state?


The proletarian state is the inverse of the current contradiction under capitalism and appears under socialism. At the present, the bourgeoisie controls the state to oppress the proletariat. Under socialism and the DotP, the proletariat controls the state to oppress the bourgeoisie. Instead of seeking to extend the contradiction indefinitely, the proletarian state seeks to end the contradiction once and for all with the end goal of communism—a classless, moneyless, stateless society. The proletariat, through the course of the revolution and socialist transformation of society, would take the means of production and wield the state against the bourgeoisie; however, there is a problem with taking the existing state apparatus. The bourgeois state is designed by the bourgeoisie, for the bourgeoisie, and to oppress the proletariat. If the proletariat was to wield the bourgeois state in its current form then the state would be unable to accomplish its goal of eventually withering away because the purpose of the bourgeois state would not align with the needs of the proletarian state. Socialism requires revolution, and cannot be achieved through reform alone.


As mentioned, the proletarian state does not have the goal of extending the class struggle indefinitely as the bourgeoisie wants to, as the lords wanted to before them, and as the slave owners wanted to before them. The proletarian state exists for two reasons:

First, to defend the victorious proletariat. If the proletariat chose not to wield state power it opens the high possibility of a bourgeois counter-revolution to regain their power. Not only is a counter-revolution a threat immediately after a proletariat victory, it is continually a threat until the bourgeoisie is eliminated entirely. Oppressing the bourgeoisie can be seen in China and Vietnam today as the Communist Parties continue ramping up their anti-corruption campaigns, which keep their bourgeois class suppressed and even executes members of the bourgeoisie when they "step out of bounds".


Second, to bring an end to the contradiction of bourgeoisie and proletariat. We cannot say for certain how it will unfold, but the proletarian state will, in general, take the means of production entirely from the bourgeoisie, abolish private property, and proceed with the restructuring of society to begin the transition to communism. Transitioning from socialism to communism is commonly referred to as “withering away of the state” because it cannot be done in a single stroke and is instead a gradual process. The withering away of the state will take generations; children growing up in a society that does not seek to exploit them, having guarantees to education, healthcare, housing, employment, and so much more, then having their own children and continuing the process. Over time, withering away will continue as various functions of the state become less and less necessary; as liberal and bourgeois mindsets of greed and exploitation are replaced by socialist and communist mindset of cooperation, progress, and mutual benefit. 


Proletarian Revolution

Not only should we differentiate between the bourgeois and proletarian state, it is also imperative to discuss the necessity of revolution. The existing bourgeois state will not simply cease to exist one day—the proletarian revolution will destroy it. Leading up to and building the forces of revolution will consist of an immeasurable amount of actions, such as reading groups, forming unions, obtaining momentary concessions, joining Communist Parties, strikes, building Dual Power, and much more. These all are necessary actions, and communists should support them in various ways, but by themselves they will not end capitalism. The working class, guided by the professional revolutionary vanguard—the Marxist-Leninist Party—will carry out the revolution and destroy the bourgeois state.

Not only should we differentiate between the bourgeois and proletarian state, it is also imperative to discuss the necessity of revolution. The existing bourgeois state will not simply cease to exist one day—the proletarian revolution will destroy it. Leading up to and building the forces of revolution will consist of an immeasurable amount of actions, such as reading groups, forming unions, obtaining momentary concessions, joining Communist Parties, strikes, building Dual Power, and much more. These all are necessary actions, and communists should support them in various ways, but by themselves they will not end capitalism. The working class, guided by the professional revolutionary vanguard—the Marxist-Leninist Party—will carry out the revolution and destroy the bourgeois state.


The proletariat will destroy the bourgeois state, not use it for their own purpose. Destroying the existing state may seem counter-intuitive, a state already exists so why would the proletariat build anew? The bourgeois state exists for the bourgeoisie and has their interests in mind. The laws, the armed forces, the prisons, and all the other oppressive systems are meant to be used against the proletariat to extend class struggle. Taking that state, the one meant to oppress the proletariat, would conflict with their interests. Likewise, the proletariat does not only begin building the state after a revolution; the elements of the proletarian state begin construction  leading up to the revolution. Dual power is an especially key aspect—a power that exists alongside the bourgeois state and can consist of, among other things, community policing and mutual aid to help combat the oppressive nature of the state and many of its legislative attacks on the working class. 


Consider This!

Every ruling class has its own revolution associated with it. Just like the bourgeois revolution overthrew the aristocracy, the proletarian revolution will overthrow the bourgeoisie!


The language of a “dictatorship” is daunting to many people, primarily due to the lack of realization that the proletariat already lives in a dictatorship every single day: a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The proletariat cannot be blamed for coming to such a conclusion; they are faced with decades, sometimes centuries of propaganda, telling them the opposite. Imperialist media will often speak of and justify imperialism by claiming they are defending democracy, preserving freedom, or other idealist reasons.


How the State uses Oppressed Minorities

Control of the media, laws, police, prisons, education, and more gives the bourgeois state immense power to write almost any narrative it chooses. The narrative that it decides on is that there is no dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, everyone has the same opportunities through hard work, and the existence of rich and poor people is simply a fact of life. These are, of course, all lies. The bourgeois state obscures class struggle in nearly immeasurable ways—one of which is pitting the working class against themselves. Factors motivating the bourgeois state to continue their oppression are primarily the continued profiting and pillaging of the world while also stopping proletarian revolution; the only act that will cause their dictatorship to end (other than human extinction).


Before developing class consciousness, the proletariat does not see itself as a single, united working class. The proletariat often sees countless divisions in itself such as viewing themselves as members of the middle, upper-middle, or lower-middle class and some hold backwards views including various forms of bigotry and xenophobia. The bourgeoisie did not invent racism, nor is the bourgeoisie the sole reason it exists; the bourgeoisie does utilize racism and other forms of backwardness and division to their own advantage—to reinforce their dictatorship. The bourgeois state recognizes and amplifies these views through education and mass-media. The bourgeoisie’s response to immigration is one way that they amplify racism and other backwards views. Immigration is often painted as a boogeyman—villainizing the people trying to enter the country for reasons such as “taking our jobs” or “putting a burden on the healthcare system”. Sometimes walls are built to keep people out, and there are strict laws in place, so that even if someone does enter, they can further be villainized by calling them illegal. These actions are often done in a way that purposefully furthers bourgeois nationalism, racism, xenophobia, and similar counterrevolutionary and anti-worker ideas. The bourgeoisie benefits from these actions because they obscure class struggle. Some workers are angrier at immigrants than they are at their bosses that are paying them pitiful wages while taking home enough for yachts, mansions, space flight, multiple houses, and more. Some are angrier at the LGTBQ+ community than they are at their elected officials, as no actual change happens to benefit the working class, and more rights are taken away. Workers become divided and the bourgeoisie has no reason to fear divided workers.


Minority communities on the receiving end of hyper oppression by the state have great revolutionary potential. The most oppressed of the working class have been harmed and affected the most, and have the most to gain from proletarian revolution. These members of the working class are important to the revolutionary struggle—proletarian revolution is not only straight, white males. The proletariat consists of the whole of the diverse working class, and as communist agitation continues, the struggles become more intertwined—the contradiction between bourgeoisie and proletariat will sharpen. The bourgeoisie only has one fear—the revolutionary, united working class—and they will do anything they can to stop it from coming into existence; from establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Application

Dialectics has four laws:

Using these four laws, give a brief analysis on the state and how it develops and behaves. (2-3 sentences per law)

Recommended Reading on the State

On Authority
Friedrich Engels


The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State
Friedrich Engels


State and Revolution
Vladimir Lenin


Anarchism or Socialism
Josef Stalin