Individuals, each in pursuit of his or her private interests, cannot possibly take "the common interest", even of the capitalist class, into account in their actions. Thus, the capitalist state has also to function as a vehicle through which the class interests of the capitalists are expressed in all fields of production, circulation and exchange. It plays an important role in regulating competition, in regulating the exploitation of labor (through, for example, legislation on minimum wages and maximum hours of employment) and generally in placing a floor under the processes of capitalist exploitation and accumulation.