As a reply to this thesis, Nicos Poulantzas criticises Miliband by ignoring some fundamental aspects of Marxist theory. Poulantzas reminds Miliband that class is determined by the position in the process of production, and that any class origin must be seen to 'fade into the background'. The relation between state and society must take place in the 'objective relations between the dominant class and the state'. These will be objective as they are independent of the individual actors in the economy. Miliband's thesis is subjective, as the actual positions of individuals in society is relevant to his theory of class domination. Miliband's thesis can be defended by showing that the process through which there is 'circulation of elites', such as the education and recruitment processes, are examples of the objective relations between class and state. They are examples of the way in which the superstructure ensures the reproduction of the dominant class by the domination of the state. Claus Offe gives another reason why the state acts in the interests of capital. He shows how the state can be 'self-limiting' in that the 'institutions of the state respect and are subordinate to the power of private capital' (9). This is a reassertion of the idea of relative autonomy - the state may have a degree of autonomy, but will still act in the interests of capital. He also gives another example of how the state protects the interests of the dominant class as a whole. He says that, 'the state