This perspective is a cornerstone of Marxist political theory, particularly as articulated by Friedrich Engels. Marxists argue that the state is not a neutral arbiter but an instrument of the ruling class used to maintain the status quo. According to this view, the state emerges only when society becomes divided into classes with conflicting economic interests that cannot be resolved through peaceful means, necessitating a coercive power to prevent total collapse.

Marx's historical materialism outlines a specific progression of modes of production: primitive communism, slave society, feudalism, and capitalism, eventually leading to socialism and communism. Neo-colonialism is a modern concept describing post-colonial economic influence, which does not appear as a formal stage in Marx's original historical framework.

Marx argued that in capitalist society, the population is increasingly polarized into two primary, antagonistic classes: the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, and the proletariat, who own only their labor power. This binary conflict is the engine of historical change in his theory.

Marxist theory distinguishes between private property, which refers to the means of production (factories, land, capital) used to exploit labor, and personal property, which includes individual belongings. Marxists advocate for the abolition of private property to end class exploitation, while generally acknowledging that personal property remains necessary for individual use in a socialist society.

Marxist theory posits that the economic base of society, specifically the class structure and the relations of production, determines the nature of the political superstructure. Therefore, for Marx, Engels, and Lenin, the primary analytical lens for comparing political systems is how they reflect and manage the underlying class struggles and economic hierarchies inherent in a given society.

Marxian theory posits that development is characterized by dialectical contradictions and revolutionary ruptures rather than a smooth, cumulative process. Marx argued that history progresses through class struggle and the overthrow of existing modes of production. Therefore, describing development as a purely cumulative, linear process is inconsistent with the core Marxian emphasis on conflict, crisis, and qualitative transformation through revolution.

Communist theory posits that traditional liberal constitutionalism is a tool of the bourgeoisie. Instead, it advocates for the establishment of a proletarian state guided by Communist ideology, which seeks to reorganize society and the state apparatus to serve the interests of the working class, ultimately aiming to transcend bourgeois constitutional frameworks.

According to Marx, the state is not a neutral arbiter of justice but rather an instrument of the ruling class. It exists to maintain the economic and social dominance of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat. In this view, the state's laws, police, and institutions are designed to protect private property and suppress class struggle, eventually withering away in a classless society.

Marxist historiography links the rise of the modern capitalist state to the Industrial Revolution and the consolidation of bourgeois economic power. While the transition began earlier, the late 18th century is often cited as the period where the political structures of the capitalist state became firmly established, coinciding with the rise of industrial capitalism and the decline of feudal political arrangements.

The term 'bourgeoisie' refers to the social class that, in Marxist and sociological theory, occupies the middle stratum of society. Historically, this group consists of individuals who own capital and property, distinguishing them from the working-class proletariat and the traditional landed aristocracy. In the context of French political history, the rise of the bourgeoisie was a pivotal development in the transition toward modern democratic structures.