Like any human creation, the state has undergone major transformations over its five centuries of existence. The purpose of this paper is to analyse ideological conceptions of the state. A biography of the state allows us to see how some of its features have altered. These alterations have been influenced by changes in its economic, social and cultural environment, leading to variants of the state form. It is concluded that the emergence of the modern state is generally situated in the Renaissance, while the contemporary state was born after the French Revolution. The state is a form of political organisation that can by no means be considered universal within the long historical process of the Western world. This research is part of the theoretical results of the graduate thesis entitled "Neoliberalism, structural adjustment and the state in Latin America", presented for the degree of Magister Scientiarum in Political Science and Public Law, Political Science at the University of Zulia, under the tutelage of Dr. Antonio Tinoco.