Most of our political leaders say that they hate “big government” and equate socialism with an oppressive, all-powerful state ruling over our lives. So why do they support endless wars, mass incarceration, and the NSA surveillance state? Marx called the state “the executive committee for managing the common affairs of the ruling class,” a product of irreconcilable class divisions in society. This talk is an introduction to Marxist thinking on what governments are and why we have them can help you see through these contradictions.