Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 12, 2025

The Evolutionary Logic of Marx’s Theory of the State

(Abstract)

Cheng Guangyun

Marx’s early engagement with the issue of the state within the philosophy of law led him to identify a more fundamental issue: the nature of civil society. Through his research on philosophical anthropology, he further recognized the real individuals who constitute civil society. Using this insight as the basis for his critique of the philosophy of history, he established the historical materialist theory of the state. Marx incorporated this theoretical foundation into empirical historical research and, after analyzing capitalist society through political economy, attempted to extend his critique to the bourgeois state. Thereafter, the critique of political economy marked Marx’s overall transition from speculative philosophy to positive science. He was clearly prepared to undertake a critique of positive anthropology and historical science, and work on jurisprudence was also clearly underway. Systematically, Marx’s theory of the state evolved through four cardinal anchors—civil society, the real individual, the economic base, and capitalist society—and progressed through four stages of critique: the critique of the philosophy of law, of philosophical anthropology, of the philosophy of history, and of political economy. Taken together, this trajectory reflects Marx’s broader movement from critiquing speculative philosophy to critiquing positive science.