Marx's view of the relation between state and society was original, but hardly convincing. Do you agree? 'The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.' (1) This is the clearest assertion of the basic tenet of Marxist theory of the state. The state acts in the interests of the dominant class. Marx never elaborates on the topic of the state - the task of putting forward a full theory of the state was one the aims of the incomplete Das Kapital. In order then to find a Marxist theory of the state, modern scholars must piece one together from the references scattered throughout Marx's work. The above quote, however, is by far the most succinct way of putting forward the basic message of a Marxist theory of the state. The question is in two parts. In answer to the first, the roots of Marxist theory of the state shall be found in Hegel's political philosophy. It shall be shown that although Marx's conception of the state is just an adaptation of Hegel's, the application of that conception in relation to society is more original. The second part of the question demands an examination into the defensibility of Marx's state theory. The fact that Marx never clarifies his theory gives modern Marxists a great deal of leeway in adapting Marxist theory to counter its critics. Several different ways of defending Marxist theory will be set out below. In his Philosophy