What is a 'state'?

A video lecture for a Humanities course I teach titled "Stateless Societies."

[jeromyrutter]

My own conception of the state is that it is a social construct, a tool of society where power is given to a few (from a parliament...ie representative democracy... to a king, who represents privatized government...much like right-wing libertarians who want to, essentially, privatize the functions of the state into private institutions, creating a private, surrogate government....like private courts) in order to make decisions for the society it is limited to. It is generally seen as amoral, as, like capitalism, its morality depends on the players....the people who wield the power. it is amoral, because it is like money: it IS power, as it is a means, not an end. the idea that power corrupts is born when people pursue power, making a means an end, and use it for their own purposes, rather than its public function. It's a construct because it is a system of ideas and thought, that comes with all sorts of titles, whose responsibilities are defined by humans for sociopolitical and socioeconomic purposes (rights, market regulation, etc). These things aren't natural, but are the product of human social relations. like all conceptions of god, its existence and meaning depend on social acceptance, and if people were to collectively stop believing in it, it would fade into mythology.

[KWmohamed]

could provide a good list
books focus on State, its characterisc and so on

[melihsever]

I have a questions ; The word state has many meanings.
For example ;
State : Florida . Or
State : Country name, like Canada
Is this why Florida has the same name as the state? because he is governed like the state. For example, there are law enforcement, laws and council.

[ozein-wrnp]

I never understood how just because it being no longer necessary means the state will whither away?

[ofthesunofficial]

I can see how these definitions are fluid with one another, clarifying different aspects of the state in order to paint separate sections of the same picture. I think Engels' has the most comprehensive breakdown in this instance.

[p.a.andrews]

I wonder what makes you think people need your biases instead of a dictionary ?

[lampshade]

Man, I really wanna learn politics. But god damn do I not understand big words. These philosophers really need to start writing picture books, not these paragraphs that are so dense that they're about to form black holes.

[kodiekulp]

As for politics, I'm an anarchist. I hate governments and rules and fetters. Can't stand caged animals. People must be free.

[redsickle]

The capitalist state is an institution designed to protect the interests of the Bourgeoisie and hence represses the Proletarian (laboring) class. This state needs to be destroyed and replaced by the socialist (i.e. proletariat) state, which will eventually wither away (due to the culmination of bourgeois-proletariat class antagonisms) and be superseded by communist society (a stateless, classless, moneyless society). The state, in its general form, cannot be abolished overnight.

[Moodboard]

Different between city police and state police...😊

[PoliticalEconomy]

Socialism needs the state and we need socialism now more than ever!

[paganlecter]

Great to see that socialism seeps into modern society...

This is reprehensible beyond any belief.