Approaches to the state in Marx

Abstract

This article analyzes Marxian formulations about the state, articulating some polemics, such as structure and superstructure, economy and politics, autonomy and determination. It aims to establish the foundations of Marx's theoretical construction of the state, its general relationship with the social reproduction of capital and the particular functions it performs in this given historical totality. From a historical and dialectical materialist perspective, we adopted a bibliographical review of part of Marx's oeuvre, concluding that the author recorded in his work basic elements for the development of a Marxist theory of the state, uncovering its material links with the processes of capital valorization; its ideological role in presenting itself as a state above the classes; and its outstanding repressive character in the face of class antagonisms.