Few concepts present such a broad field of abstraction, while at the same time their material substance becomes so immediately and universally felt in the reality of everyday life, as the concept of the "state". [...] The image we have of the state varies or is confused: it starts from the extreme simulation of it as a supreme force of symbolic and physical power and imposition and ends in the angelic representation of a nurturing subject, whose mission is to defend the general interest and protect the life, security, prosperity, and freedom of its citizens. At the same time [...], under the influence of the gradual as well as inevitable unified, global market economy and the revolution of digital technology, the state itself is forced to transform... It undertakes new missions and functions in response to the need to address planetary-scale problems of human existence, such as ecological and energy issues, as well as the need to promote universal values, such as social solidarity, peace, justice, and equal freedom.