Marxist theories of the state are a tool of oppression against the class, designed by the dominant (bourgeoisie) class in order to safeguard private property and to maintain its control over working-class (proletariat) by using coercion and force, more than serving as a neutral arbiter.
The state is an apparatus to achieve class dominance, arising from the private sector and class divisions and in the end “wither away” after a revolution that is proletarian creates an unclassified, communist society, where it is no longer needed.
The term “state” refers to a collective of individuals that are in greater or lesser numbers with a permanent part of the territory that is not subject to just under the control of an external authority and having an organised government, to which the majority of its inhabitants voluntarily submit. – James Wilford Garner
Marxian Theory:
The Marxian theory states that the state isn’t an inherent institution. The state functions as an instrument of exploitation at the disposal of the class who is propertied. The first society was one that had no class.
All natural resources were managed by the population. The people were not exploited, and there were no formal institutions for politics at the time. As time passed, because of the rise of the property institution and the emergence of property, society was divided into two classes of antagonists – the wealthy and the less fortunate.
The need for a state was seen as necessary to protect those interests of a privileged class. The state is an instrument for the dominant class to ensure their power in the political and economic arena.
As per Frederick Engels, the division of labor at a particular level of progress led to formation that of a state.
- At the bottom they produced their immediate requirements.
- In the middle of the stage pastoral people held their cattle as a kind that was private property. A sort of division of labour was in existence between pastoralists and backward tribes with no herds.
- In the later phase there was another divide of labor between handicrafts and agriculture.
- As civilization grew There was a difference between country and city.
- Classes were associated with the production process – workers and managers.
The state was brought in the form of a society when it split into two opposing classes. The state is part of the politically and economically dominant class, which presides over the class that is oppressed.
- The condition of slave owners who hold the slaves.
- The nobility of the feudal state, holding the serfs.
- The representative state of the present is a means of exploiting wage labour through capital.
- Between Athens and Rome the rights were granted in accordance with the property.
- Under the feudal system the power was based on the size of the land owned by a particular person.
- In the earliest period of the bourgeois state the right of voting was granted by virtue of the wealth.
- Today wealth could be used to corrupt bureaucracy, or to form an alliance with the political party in power and the capitalist forces.
According to Lenin the state is the result of class animosity.
The state is in the midst of society and is separating it from society. A massive revolution is required to dismantle the state that was conceived in the hands of the dominant class. After the revolution, the rule of the proletariat will be established and the proletariat will create the foundation for a new economic and social order.
Engels insists his belief that state power will fade away following the dictatorship by the working class. After the abolishment of the class system, the state will be able to represent the interests of all society.
Features of Marxist Theory of State:
- The state isn’t an institution of nature, but rather, it’s an institution of class.
- It was invented by the privileged class to safeguard their interests.
- State is more likely to function as an instrument for exploitation of one group by another class.
- The state will disintegrate after the proletariat has destroyed capitalism.
- A society without class is what it appears to be.
Criticims:
It is not right to view the state only as a means of exploitative purposes. The dissolution of the state could cause chaos and anarchy.
The Marxian theory holds that the state will be maintained by the proletariat for some time. This appears unlikely, as proletariat’s rulers are unlikely to surrender their authority.
The history for the creation of the State is an intricate process that cannot be explained simply by tying it to the history in private property.
The Marxists believed that the state was one of many manifestations desires of the ruling class. Since the capitalist state has assumed a the welfare role and a class-based character, the nature of the state has experienced changes.
Capitalism itself has experienced fundamental changes from the time of Marx.
A) There is an increase in substitution of individual ownership with corporate ownership.
B) Transfer of power away from the owners of the industry to the professionals management class, the technocrats.
C) The introduction of the welfare state has the effect of an attempt to bridge the gap between the wealthy and the poor.
Conclusion
In the end it is said that it is said that the Marxist concept of state offers an incisive critique of political power, describing this as non-neutral mechanism that is a result of and sustained by the conflict between classes.
The state is an essential instrument for the dominant classes (the the bourgeoisie) to safeguard private property rights and to stifle those in the middle class (the class of the working people).
It keeps power in check through Repressive Apparatuses (military and police) and ideological Apparatuses (schools media, schools) which promote capitalist values in the form of “common sense”.
Contrary to liberal theories which view the state as something that is permanent, Marxism sees it as only a temporary structure. The theory is that it will “wither away” into a non-class, stateless society when the conflicts of private property are eliminated.