Which one of the following political theories advocates the withering away of the State?

The concept of the "withering away of the state" is a fundamental tenet of Marxism. According to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the state is an instrument of class oppression used by the bourgeoisie to maintain power over the proletariat [c1][t5]. In Marxist theory, the transition from capitalism to communism involves a revolutionary phase known as the "dictatorship of the proletariat" [t2][t9]. During this transitional stage, the working class seizes political power to dismantle capitalist structures and eliminate class divisions [t5][t8]. As a classless society emerges and the need for organized class suppression vanishes, the state apparatus becomes redundant and gradually "withers away," eventually leading to a stateless, communist society [t4][t5][t7]. In contrast, theories like Fascism advocate for an absolute, all-encompassing state, while Capitalism and Democratic Socialism generally view the state as a necessary entity for market regulation or social welfare [c3][c5].

Sources

1. [1] Political Theory, Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 3: Equality > Natural and Social Inequalities > p. 43