The article argues that the limits of the capitalist state’s navigability are determined by the need to ensure the most effective accumulation of capital within its own borders in competition with other such states, which also requires the defense of the existing social hierarchy. Such outlined goals allow for the selection of a wide range of means, starting with the forms of political regime. This selection takes place in relation to the development tendencies of capitalism, class and intra-class conflicts in a given state, and its economic and military position within the world system.