The interest in the theory of the state seems to be growing due to the turmoil in different parts of the world, which the state is otherwise assumed able to stabilise. This article distils the theory of the state that is inherent in the classics of ordoliberalism from the 1930s and 1940s, which is a specific German variant of liberalism. Based on structure-and-agency conceptualizations of the state, I offer an ordoliberal state theory that is constituted by some specific characteristics regarding the concepts of authority, power, and association, as well as a number of specific characteristics concerning individuals’ interests and values, the potential for influencing state employees, and regarding the factions of the state. The ordoliberal theory of the state is an original version of what the state is and should be in terms of (for example) economic growth and social order.