The capitalist state is the state, its functions and the form of organization it takes within capitalist socioeconomic systems. This concept is often used interchangeably with the concept of the modern state, though despite their common functions there are many recognized differences in sociological characteristics among capitalist states. According to Dylan John Riley, Nicos Poulantzas argued that "all capitalist States had the dual task of preventing the political organization of the dominated classes, and of organizing the dominant class".