On State

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#

Links to this page
  • Trade Union

    Due to this nature, trade unions often act against the advancement of technology or 202205211156# under capitalism which is reactionary. They could also fall into the trap in aligning with the capitalists in order to control commodities’ prices and fix the scale of production. And since they are under capitalist state#, it renders them as merely a defensive apparatus for proletariat especially during the capitalist economy crisis. Therefore, they cannot be viewed as the main force on opposing capitalism.

  • The Eminent Collapse of Capitalism

    Capitalism will inevitable faces its own downfall even if it has developed #its highest form. Its own expansion# or development will bring three effects: the growing anarchy of capitalism (creates further antagonism within the system), the socialisation of process of production (which lay down the foundation for a socialist state) and the increasing organisation and class consciousness of proletariat#.

  • Socialist Democracy

    Democracy means the subordination of the minority to the majority, where in socialists sense, the minority means the oppressing class and the majority means the oppressed class. When the #state has been conquered by the armed working class in a violent revolution, it is necessary to enforce such democracy in order to suppress the capitalists.

  • Question of Socialism

    A: The oppressed class in feudal state is not necessarily serfs. They could be anyone that is being oppressed by the state apparatus, call it slaves or someone who are label as worthless or inferior. It is still undeniable that those class antagonisms exist albeit taking into another form.

  • Phase of Communism

    After the #capitalist state has been overthrown, the community will organise a transitional institution# in order to develop a socialist mode of economy. From that nature, communism will start to develop and establish itself into the newly built society.

    Turning the spotlight to #the state. The state itself has yet been eliminated as there is a necessity on safeguarding the common ownership of the means of production which secures the equality of labour and the distribution of products accords to the labour performed.

  • Participation in Liberal Democracy

    Socialists are encouraged to participate in a liberal democracy under capitalist state#. This is to guide and educate the proletariat in preparation of taking over the state power. However, it is not saying that winning the majority in the parliament would result in transforming the capitalist state into a socialist state. The purpose of organising the working class is not to attenuate the contradiction of capitalism that will bring to its inevitable collapse#, but to realise that such social reform will not bring the fundamental change to the current way of living.

  • Imperialism

    As the adjacent states grow stronger and larger, the state# itself get stronger. @VladimirLenin1918 This empowers the capability of the state to exercise imperialism upon other nations, and protect its interest against other imperialist states. It will also use tariff barriers as a mean of economic warfare against its rivals.

  • First Congress of the Communist International

    Therefore, justify the destruction of the capitalist state apparatus# in order to wield a new form of democracy that suited to the proletariat class.

  • Dictatorship of The Proletariat

    Dictatorship, in the context of socialist political thought, is the #conquest of political power and forceable suppression of the resistance from the exploiters. First Congress of the Communist International This is prevalent throughout the history in order for the exploited to retain the revolution, as could be seen in the English Revolution (the establishment of the Commonwealth of England) and the French Revolution.

  • Democracy and Dictatorship

    Lenin criticised the main figures of the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands), Scheidemanns and Kaustky for being defending the bourgeois democracy and refusing to destroy the On State# apparatus.

  • A United Proletariat

    The same is true to the bourgeoisie. Indeed, they could have conflict of interests such as the nationality, competition and political views. They will come together, when the people’s revolution came, to protect their profit, their private ownership of the means of production and the right to oppress the working class. This is why proletariat should be bind together in a single banner, unwaveringly carry out a violent socialist revolution# and build up a 202204211120#.

#philosophy #socialism