State is an organism that exercise the apparatus of systemic violence and exploitation. It arose from class antagonism, where the oppressor uses it to suppress the oppressed, and grows stronger as the class antagonism deepen. Such being should not be justified even with the intention of benefiting working class. Socialists should aim for the total abolition of the state as a whole rather than strengthen it in the sense that refines or extends its functions.
The capitalists use the state in order to exploit the workers and maximise their profits. They refine it in a way that workers could not comprehend and participate, so they could rule in obscurity rather in transparency where they could choose freely on the so-called representatives among them. Furthermore, as long as the rule of capital, that is the justification of the private ownership on means of production, still imposed on the working class, the capitalists can still oppress the working class by making them poor without passing any legislation. Any reform on such state is the same as any passed laws in order to oppress the working class or #strengthen itself, which is merely an extension of itself to serve only the capitalists’ interests. Even if those reforms are #benefiting the working class, it is just a coincidence that capitalist interests are aligned with society interests.
Within the capitalist state, the antagonism between the capitalist development and capitalist interests grow when capitalist means of production has developed to a certain stage. As the state is increasingly intervened in societal matters, thus bring the increasing fusion of the state and the society, its function as the tool of the ruling class prevent such complete fusion. This could be seen the introduction of the #tariff barriers and militarism. The capitalist state has set up the #preconditions for the working class to take over it are that they have imposed universal literacy, trained disciplined workers from large, complex and highly socialised apparatuses, and advanced the 202205211156# in such that it is easy to operate. Only revolution, or the working class rises up to be the ruling class with the complete destruction of the state apparatus, could then truly come up with a #political system that can represent every member in the society.
The working class need that state power, that is an organised violence, to suppress the previously oppressing class# that is the capitalists, and lead the masses in building up a socialist economy. As the working class has overthrown the capitalists, the state will be then controlled by the community which lost its purpose of suppressing the armed organisation of the majority. Such state is not in the sense of in previous state, it is now serving and imposing the interests of the community. Engels would like to call it as Commune in French or Gemeinwesen in German.
The mode of production will continue its evolution#, the state machine will become simpler and simpler where everyone could take their turn to run it. There will be a day that everyone get used to the executive power of the administration, it will become a habit that instil into the community members’ body and brain. At that day, the state simply cease to exist, or abolished, or destroyed, or withering away in Engels’s term.
References
@VladimirLenin1918# @InDefenseOfNationalityRosaLuxemburg1900#