Marx's theory of the state

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Karl Marx's thought envisages dividing the history of the State into three phases: pre-capitalist states, states in the capitalist (i.e. present) era and the state (or absence of one) in post-capitalist society. Complicating this is the fact that Marx's own ideas about the state changed as he grew older, differing in his early pre-communist phase, in the young Marx phase which predates the unsuccessful 1848 uprisings in Europe, and in his later work.

Marx initially followed an evolutionary theory of the state. He envisioned a progression from a stateless society marked by chaos to the emergence of organized communities as nomadic groups settled due to agricultural developments. With settlement came the division of labor, gender roles, and territorial boundaries, sparking disputes that birthed slave societies where vanquished people were subjugated.

Subsequently, feudal societies arose, characterized by a hierarchy involving nobility, clergy, and peasantry, wherein power predominantly resided with the former two. The growth of commerce introduced a new player, the bourgeoisie, within the peasantry, catalyzing a power-shift through revolutions, and birthing capitalist societies.

Marx's narrative anticipated the proletariat rising against capitalist exploitation, fostering a socialist society through their own revolution. Ultimately, he envisioned the dissolution of the state,^{[citation needed][a]} paving the way for a classless, communist society to flourish.
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