Vladimir Lenin was hiding from the police during the 1917 Russian Revolution while he finished State and Revolution. Lenin’s most widely read—and most misunderstood—book, it describes the role of the state under capitalism and its function in the monstrous oppression of working and oppressed people around the world. This talk will explore the historical context in which State and Revolution was written, the arguments Lenin makes and the debates he takes up, and what’s at stake in clarifying our understanding of the state: our ability to dismantle the current system and replace it with a democratic society by and for ourselves.