The Historical Materialist Analysis of the State

The state, according to Marxism, is the product of irreconcilable class antagonisms. Its existence is proof of these irreconcilable conflicts and it plays a historical role until economic conditions evolve to a point where it is no longer needed. This perspective critiques liberal social contract theory by emphasizing that the state serves partisan interests and creates its justification through mythologies. The state is not a timeless concept but a development of historical stages, and its analysis benefits from a historical materialist approach.