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Theory of the State

State power, democratic forms, class rule, revolutionary power, and public authority.

国家革命公社staterevolutioncommune

Open Topic WorksBack to Map Overview
108Related works
5Study stages
8Related authors
Covered study stages

02 Method: From Experience to Historical Materialism; 04 State, Class Rule, and the Question of Revolution; 05 Imperialism, Colonial Systems, and World Revolution; 06 Organization, Mass Work, and Lawful Public Practice; 08 Internationalist Collaboration and Contemporary Tasks

Related authors

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V. I. Lenin, Mao Zedong, Antonio Gramsci, Rosa Luxemburg, IMRA Editorial Collective, Louis Althusser

Reading Path

From questions to texts, station by station

Start with the core questions, then follow the entry, core, and advanced readings into concrete book and article pages.

Core Questions

  1. Why is the state not a supra-class neutral machine?

  2. How are democracy, law, military, and administration embedded in class rule?

  3. How do the Paris Commune and transition debates change the state question?

Entry Reading

4 texts
1871 · Karl MarxFull textThe Civil War in FranceSummarizes the Paris Commune and proletarian forms of state power.1875 · Karl MarxFull textCritique of the Gotha ProgrammeDiscusses transition, distribution, the state, and workers' party programs.1884 · Friedrich EngelsFull textThe Origin of the Family, Private Property and the StateStudies kinship, private property, and state origins through social formations.1917 · V. I. LeninFull textThe State and RevolutionCore work on the state, Paris Commune, dictatorship of the proletariat, and transition.

Core Reading

5 texts
1844 · Karl MarxFull textIntroduction to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of RightSets out religious criticism, the proletariat's role, and the task of German critique.1852 · Karl MarxFull textThe Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis BonaparteClassic political analysis of class, state, masses, and leadership.1917 · V. I. LeninFull textThe April ThesesSets out the turn from February toward socialist revolution.1928 · Mao ZedongFull textWhy Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China?Analyzes rural base areas, armed struggle, and the Chinese revolutionary path.1945 · Mao ZedongFull textOn Coalition GovernmentSeventh Party Congress report on China's post-war political future.

Advanced Reading

5 texts
1843 · Karl MarxFull textCritique of Hegel's Philosophy of RightEarly critique of state, law, and civil society; key to Marx's political turn.1843 · Karl MarxFull textOn the Jewish QuestionExamines political emancipation, human emancipation, and bourgeois rights.1850 · Karl MarxFull textThe Class Struggles in France, 1848 to 1850Analyzes revolution, class alliances, state power, and political conjuncture.1851-1852 · Friedrich EngelsFull textRevolution and Counter-Revolution in GermanyAssesses class relations, state structure, and defeat in the German 1848 revolution.1872 · Friedrich EngelsFull textOn AuthorityAddresses authority in organization, production, and revolution against anarchist arguments.

Common Misreadings

  • Treating the state as a neutral tool for anyone to use.
  • Separating democratic form from class content.
  • Mechanically applying historical experience to different social conditions.