According to Marxism-Leninism, before the abolition of the state completely, a socialist state (the dictatorship of the proletariat) will exist in-between capitalism and communism (no state) as a means to create the conditions necessary for people to be able to live without a state. The amount of time this would take is unknown, but it is theorized by Marxist-Leninists that such a transitional state will be required for statelessness to become a reality. 1/2