I think its possible to preserve the state with a socialist government without it withering it away. Pls answer in simple english, it would be helpful for me to understand.
You’re thinking of communism.
Before I can answer (which I am most willing to do), I need to understand what you mean by “state” and “stateless” exactly. Because in philosophical terms, these words can mean very different things from what regular people have in mind.
It’s also important to be able to tell apart socialism from communism, so which one specifically are you asking about? Or are the two interchangeable for you?
Your question is important, because a lot of leftists have a similar question, but are too afraid to ask it I think, which leads to confusion and infighting.
Within Marxism-Leninism, the state has a specific, technical meaning. It don’t simply mean a government. It means a government that exists to enforce the rule of one class over other classes.
Under capitalism, the state enforces bourgeois rule over the proletariat.
Under socialism, the state enforces proletarian rule of the bourgeoisie.
Once a socialist state eventually becomes fully proletarianized, there are no other classes left to suppress; it has effectively become classless. That is the point at which the state has withered away, and communism has been achieved.
A stateless classless society is Communism. In order to achieve it, first a socialist state must be established (where there is a dictatorship of the proletariat, instead of a dictatorship of capital). The socialist state must then create the needed material conditions for communism. But, for communism to exist, the socialist state must wither away.
Priciples of Communism by Friedrich Engels explains this best.
