Socialism vs. the State

By VUW International Socialists / ISO

We hear all the time that socialism is “when the government does stuff”, but is that actually true? To clear things up, here are a few ways of thinking about the state:

The state is a limited territory enforced through a border. And as we have seen in recent months with ICE agents kidnapping immigrants (or anyone who simply looks like an immigrant) off the street, the border itself is a kind of violence. It is best understood not as a physical place but as a process, which continues to exist through patrolling and surveillance. The border, then, is not contained at the wall or checkpoint. It slices through courts, voting booths, families, and communities. It is the present history of colonialism, where the old lines of empires persist into today. The anti-ICE protestors in LA explained this perfectly: “we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”. 

This brings us to the second point: even democratic states are not “neutral” or “equal”. Rather, they reflect the balance—or imbalance—of material power. Just consider how oil and gas exploration is now legal in Aotearoa, but obstructing it is illegal. Or how the Crown rules over land and people, despite Māori never ceding sovereignty. In this way states serve to protect the interests of colonialism and capitalism. Ordinary people can challenge these powers within the arranged framework (fighting for better laws or voting in elections) but may not challenge the framework itself (such as choosing a different legal system altogether). Needless to say these restrictions have proven unable to prevent our current crises, like runaway climate heating or the genocide in Palestine.

As a result, politics becomes a spectator sport: something you see on TV or leave to officials, rather than something you participate in. Change becomes a clogged, boring process. This is why socialists have weekly meetings, organise campaigns, and attend protests—not to “let the government do stuff”, but to build a democratic culture from below. One where we can challenge the racist structure of the state and take responsibility for ending its cruelties. 

Socialism, then, means abolition. It means unravelling all the assumptions and arguments which make suffering ordinary, and it means building something new.