12. The Withering State as Freedom
Marx saw the state as a tool of the ruling class that would eventually “wither away” after the proletariat took power. “The state is nothing but an instrument of oppression of one class by another,” he argued, predicting its eventual irrelevance in a classless society. This withering would happen naturally as class antagonisms disappeared, leaving a self-governing association of producers. The end goal was less government, not more, with administration of things replacing coercive power over people.
