State power and organized violence are economic necessities used to accelerate the transition from f… — Karl Marx

State power and organized violence are economic necessities used to accelerate the transition from feudalism to capitalism.

By Karl Marx, from Le Capital : Critique de l'économie politique

Key Arguments

The different methods of accumulation (colonial system, national debt, taxes) all employ the power of the state
Force is not just a political tool but an economic power that acts as a 'midwife' for the new society
State force is used to shorten the transition period between modes of production

Source Quotes

These methods depend in part on brute force, for instance the colonial system. But they all employ the power of the state, the concentrated and organized force of society, to hasten, as in a hothouse, the process of transformation of the feudal mode of production into the capitalist mode, and to shorten the transition. Force is the midwife of every old society which is pregnant with a new one.

But they all employ the power of the state, the concentrated and organized force of society, to hasten, as in a hothouse, the process of transformation of the feudal mode of production into the capitalist mode, and to shorten the transition. Force is the midwife of every old society which is pregnant with a new one. It is itself an economic power.

Force is the midwife of every old society which is pregnant with a new one. It is itself an economic power. W.

Key Concepts

employ the power of the state, the concentrated and organized force of society, to hasten, as in a hothouse, the process of transformation
Force is the midwife of every old society which is pregnant with a new one.
It is itself an economic power.

Context

Marx theorizing the role of violence and the state in the historical development of economics