While Das Kapital primarily focuses on the critique of capitalism, it implicitly outlines the conditions that could eventually lead to the “withering away of the state,” a key concept in Marxist theory regarding the transition to a communist society.
Marx argues in Das Kapital that the state, under capitalism, functions as an instrument of class rule, serving the interests of the bourgeoisie in maintaining their economic dominance and suppressing the proletariat. It is a tool of coercion used to uphold the existing social order.
The inherent contradictions and class struggles within capitalism, as analyzed in Das Kapital, are seen as the driving forces that will ultimately lead to a proletarian revolution and the overthrow of the capitalist state.
Following the revolution, Marx envisioned a transitional period known as the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” where the working class holds state power to dismantle capitalist structures and establish the foundations for a communist society.
However, this proletarian state is not meant to be a permanent fixture. As class divisions are abolished through the collective ownership of the means of production, the need for a state as an instrument of class oppression would gradually diminish.
In a fully communist society, as implied by the analysis in Das Kapital, the primary functions of the state – maintaining order through coercion and enforcing class rule – would become obsolete. Social organization would be based on voluntary cooperation and the administration of things rather than the governance of people.
The “withering away of the state” signifies the transition to a stateless society where social harmony is achieved through collective self-governance and the absence of antagonistic class interests. This is the ultimate vision hinted at within the broader framework of Das Kapital.
It’s important to note that Das Kapital does not provide a detailed blueprint for this stateless communist future. Instead, it focuses on analyzing the dynamics of capitalism and the historical forces that could potentially lead to its transcendence, including the eventual disappearance of the state as a tool of class power.