State, Society And Nation 1 356i3g

State, Society and Nation State: State is a political institution. It is the greatest of all human associations. Nicole Machiavelli was the first person to use the term “state” in his book. Definitions for state from some political luminaries:Aristotle: State is a union of families and villages having for its end a perfect and self sufficing life by which we mean a happy and honorable life. Bluntschli- State is the politically organized national person of a definite country. Laski- State is a territorial society divided into Government and subjects claiming within its allotted physical area, a supremacy over other institutions. Garner- The state is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory. , independent of external control and organizing Government into which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. Gettel- State is a community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory, legally independent of external control, and possessing on organized government which creates and isters law over all persons and groups within its jurisdiction. Abstractly considered, the State is juridical entity or person, concretely considered, it is the community, the territory which it occupies and the Governmental organization through which it wills and acts. Salmond- State is an association of human beings established for the attainment of certain ends by certain means, the ends being defense against external enemies and the maintenance of peaceable and orderly relations within the community itself. Characteristics of a state:Population Territory Government Sovereignty International Recognition

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Territory – People must live permanently in a territory to make it a state. Some thinkers like Seeley and Hall don’t accept territory to be a clause in forming a state. But all the modern thinkers accept this clause. Bluntschli says that, “The state has its personal basis in the land. The people do not become a

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Population – There must be a sound number of families which can be considered to be the representatives of the State. A group of 100 people or five or six families can’t compose a state. Plato in his book “Laws” fixed the number of citizens for an ideal state to be 5040. Rousseau thought that 10,000 people would be an ideal number. There is no fixed parameter for the population. Aristotle says that, “A good citizen makes a good state and a bad citizen a bad State”

State until they have acquired territory”. Laski says, “The territories of a State are the regions over which it can exercise sovereignty”. Government – The State can’t exist without a Government. Government is the political organization setup to direct, regulate and control men’s activities to enable them to live together harmoniously and constructively and to solve their common problems more energetically and effectively. Government is an agency of the state through which the will of State is formulated, expressed and realized. Garner says, “Without government the population would be an incoherent, unorganized, anarchic mass with no means of collective union.” The Government comprises of legislature, executive, judiciary and internal bodies. Dictatorship is also a form of Government but it’s of a form which is criticized all over. Sovereignty – This is the most important element of the State. Sovereignty is supremacy of the state. It is a characteristic possessed by the State alone. Prof. Burghes says, “All comprehensiveness, exclusiveness and permanence are the peculiar characteristics of the State with sovereignty as the most essential principle.” International Recognition – Some thinkers are of the view that the recognition of the state by other countries as an essential element. The sovereignty can have due value only if it is internationally recognized. Securing hip in the UNO is also a part of this clause. States like China and Israel continued to act like States even when they weren’t recognized by other countries.

Sovereignty is an essential attribute of the State. State powers are original, unlimited, fundamental and primary. State is an abstract institution, we can’t see the State.

Loyalty of the citizen to the State is compulsory. State is the master because its purposes are served by the Government. It can place and replace the Governments.

Government Government is a body of some citizens. It is narrower. Government is one of the elements of the State. The State operates through Government. Government is not a permanent organization. It is temporary and change. Elections and revolutions can change Government. Government does not possess sovereignty. It acts on behalf of the State. Government has only limited powers delegated by the State Government is concrete and definite. It has physical existence and establishment. The machinery of Government with men and material can be seen. In a democracy, people have the right to criticize for its acts of omission and commission. Government is the servant of the State. It is regarded as the agency through which the State works.

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State The state consists of all the citizens. State is broader. State has four essential elements namely, population, territory, government and sovereignty. It is the whole. State is a permanent political institution.

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Differences between State and Government:-

Differences between State and Association:State State has fixed territory and its jurisdiction is limited to that area only. State is sovereign. The citizen is member of only one State. The aim of State is general welfare of people.

The State is an association of associations. State exercises its authority through laws. The basic of State functioning is coercion and compulsion.

Association Associations have no territorial limitations. They may be local, national and international. Association is not sovereign. One can be a member of any number of associations. The association thinks of the welfare of its own i.e. it has a limited and definite aim. There can be many associations in the State. Associations frame certain rules and regulations. The basis of association is co-operation of .

State and Society:For ancient Greeks these two had similar meanings. But sociologists differently defined society in a different manner. Thomas Hobbes – Society is a means for the protection of men against the consequences of their own untrammeled natures. Giddings – Society is the union itself, the organization, the sum of formal nations in which associating individuals are found together. Differences between State and Society:Society The scope of society is wider. It is an association of many associations. Society is natural and instinctive to human beings.

Society is a social organization. It indicates social system.

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Society is universal. Society doesn’t have territorial limitations. Society is the whole web of social relationship.

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State State is only a political association. It is part and parcel of society. State is artificial. It is the creation of will and reason. However, it has become a compulsory institution. State is territorial institution. It is limited to a definite territory. State is a small part of the society and is concerned only with the political activity of individual for social order. State is a legal organization. It indicates political system.

State and Nation:Nations is understood as people who are united in a feeling of oneness. The word nation is derived from the Latin word ‘natio’ meaning born. Definitions for nation:Lord Bryce – Nation is a nationality which has organized itself into a political body either independent or desiring to be independent. Gilchrist – Nation is very near in meaning to State plus nationality. Nationality is term which can be closely understood with nation. Lawleye says, “A nation is a group of men united under the same sovereignty while nationality is a group of men united by identity of origin and race. Nationality has been defined by many political thinkers in different ways. Gettel: “Nationality is to denote a population having common bonds of race, language, religion, tradition and history.” Lord Bryce: “A nationality is a population held together by certain ties, as for example language and literature, ideas, customs and traditions in such a way so as to feel itself a coherent unity distinct from other population similarly held together by like ties of their own.” Some characteristics of a nationality:Common race Common religion Common language Common residence Common historical traditions and culture Common interests Common political aspirations Common government Geographic unity

A State must be a sovereign character. A State needs organization in the form of government and sovereignty.

Nation Nation is cultural. Nation signifies the consciousness of unity prompted by psychological and spiritual feelings and nationality is subjective. A nation may consist of people who do not retain their sovereign character. Nation doesn’t necessarily need a government.

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State State is political. State is objective and non spiritual.

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Differences between nation and State:-

Genesis of theory - Origin and Theories of Evolution:Divine Origin Theory Natural Theory Force Theory Patriarchal Theory Matriarchal Theory Social Contract Theory Divine Origin Theory:State is the creation of God just as God has created human beings on earth. The king was the Divine authority delegated by God to rule. This theory was used to serve divergent ends. It was used to justify the argument of people that the king has a divine mission. This opinion was used to justify the tyranny and absolute authority many a times. People that time considered State to be a divine institution. Gettel says, “During a large part of human history, the State was viewed as a direct divine creation and its Government was theocratic in nature.” Criticism of the theory:This theory is used to justify the despotic rule and is against democracy. It is not suitable to the modern democratic States where people elect the rulers. It is not progressive as it doesn’t give right to the people to change the ruler. There is no historical evidence to prove that the State is created by the divine power. It is a religious theory and hasn’t got any logical backing. Natural Theory:State is the natural instinct of man as per the natural theory of State. Aristotle has said that man is a social animal and the instinct of sociability in man gives birth to State. In modern times the theory has been turned into utilitarian theory and is hardly accepted by anyone.

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State has come into being by due influence of physical coercion or compulsion or war. Leacock says, “Historically it means that government is the outcome of human aggression that the beginning of State is to be sought in the capture and enslavement of man by man in the conquest and subjugation of feeble tribes, and generally speaking, in the self seeking domination acquired by superior physical force.” Bluntschli says that, “Force is an essential element of the organization of State.”

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Force Theory:-

Criticism :- (Look for more points) Force theory definitely gives a reason for the emergence of State but it can’t be called a reason in all sorts. Kinship, religion, property and political consciousness are some of the other factors. Unified power of the citizens of the state can’t be dominated for a long time. It has got a very feeble possibility that people hadn’t revolted against such sort of aristocracy. Genetic Theory:Genetic Theory says that the State is a product of natural expansion of family. Now it can be easily understood that there can be two forms in which the genesis is possible. Patriarchal Theory Matriarchal Theory Patriarchal Theory:The idea of patriarchal theory has been given by Aristotle who said that the State began with the most natural group, namely, the family with father as the head. Henry Maine is the strongest er of this theory. Father is considered to be the head of normal families and henceforth patriarchal theory gets a good base. The system of this form of family can be easily seen in Aryans, Romans, Greeks and Hebrews. Criticism:This theory is criticized by Morgan, Jenks, MacIver and several others. Herbert Spencer has criticized this theory claiming that this theory can’t be accepted as a final solution for the origin of Government as societies were originally organized as matriarchal. Jenks has got the concept that the way Patriarchal theory talks about the evolution the model is completely the reverse of that. He considers the tribe to be the earliest and primary and family the second. Matriarchal Theory:MacLennan, Morgan and Edward Jenks were the foremost thinkers to discuss this theory. As per this theory, State hasn’t originated in the family, but in the Horde. Horde was an unorganized tribe in which sexual relations without any matrimonial intentions were common. On course of time the Horde left this practice and followed the way of group marriages and gradually they practiced polyandry. This institution of polyandry led to the establishment of matriarchal family. In this form the generations was seen through mothers’ lineage.

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Maine has criticized this theory citing the small number of females to this theory.

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This theory considers tribes to be the earliest form of society. Kinship is traced through females in this system. Marriage relationships are considered to be transient.

Social Contract Theory:This theory emerged as a reaction against the Divine Origin of State Theory. Sophists in Greece were the first to devise this theory. Lawyers like Cicero, Marigold and Old Testament this theory. Richard Hooker is considered to be the first modern writer for giving a logical analysis to the theory of social contract. This theory though got prominence in the writings of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Rousseau. It was ed by Grotius, Milton etc. This theory says that State is not a growth, but a make; it is not made by God, but deliberately and voluntarily created by man. This theory holds that men of the pre political society got together and agreed upon a contract establishing the State. It establishes that the State is man’s deliberate creation to serve its needs. Idea of social contract divides the phase into two parts: state of nature which was the life of people before the State came into existence and second is the creation of the State as a result of the contract entered by the people who earlier live in the state of nature. There are three elements in the social contract theory, state of nature, contract or covenant and civil society. The main exponents of this theory are Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Nature of social contract:Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau differ on the nature of contract though they agree on the theme that men made a contract and established a State and led a richer, fuller and happier life. Hobbes is of the opinion that there was only one contract with which both State and Government came into existence and people conferred their own rights upon the king. As per Locke, there were two contracts. The first contract called, social contract, was made by people themselves. By this they established a civil society i.e. State. The second contract was called Governmental contract or Political Contract. It was made between the people and the ruler. By this they established the Government.

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To Rousseau, there was one contract made by the people. By this, they established a civil society i.e. State.

Sovereign or Supreme Power:People entered into a contract with nature. They surrendered their rights to the sovereign and in return got liberty, security and order. Here again Locke, Hobbes and Rousseau differ. Hobbes believes sovereignty is indivisible, inalienable and absolute. People had completely surrendered their rights to a sovereign. His will was law and, law was his command. He called for absolute monarchy. Locke pleads for a limited Government or Constitutional monarchy. Community is considered to be the sovereign and Government is only a trust or a fiduciary agency. If it violates the contract, people have the right to rebel against it and change it. For Rousseau, general will is sovereign. His sovereign is responsible and also despotic. He pleads for direct democracy and popular sovereignty. Hobbes Theory for Social Contract:-

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Locke’s Theory for Social Contract:Locke gave a complete replica to the theories of Hobbes as far as the human nature is concerned. Hobbes had criticized the human nature those days because of the clash of interests and insecurity while Locke has appreciated and presented the good view of human nature. He regarded the Human nature to be peaceful, humane, sympathetic, friendly and moralistic and said that, “Divine spark rests with all human beings.” The coming up of the theory had the reason of vanishing of the peace and tranquility from the state. They wanted to protect their natural rights. The aim behind the contract was mutual preservation. Democratic Government has been considered as sovereign in this theory.

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This theory considers of a time which was pre-political, pre-social and pre-cultural. The society was very self-centered. Selfishness, enviousness etc. prevailed in the society which was leading to clash of interests and thus leading to insecurity. Thus people authorized a sovereign under a social contract according to which all the powers were surrendered to the sovereign. The foresight of people about the devastative consequences led to the social contract. Sovereign wasn’t a party to the contract and thus no withdrawal of powers was possible. Hobbes hasn’t provided the exact form of the sovereign in this theory. He hasn’t explained whether the sovereign was Government or a monarch. Criticisms for Hobbes theory:Hobbes has considered just one part of the human nature and neglected the good part, thus it can’t be termed as an absolute and exact inference. State and Government couldn’t be distinguished. Liberty of individuals hasn’t been considered.

Criticism:State of nature is unrealistic. He talks about the physical aspect of law and not the moral aspect. Consent of people has been provided as the only basis of State, while force was also a definite factor which led to the emergence of State. Political sovereignty has been recognized by Locke but ignored legal sovereignty. Rousseau Theory of Social Contract:Self preservation and love the second was the aim. Humans were noble salvage, sinless. They were independent, self sufficient and contended. Humans were very happy in the condition they were. Thinking of thine and mine emerged because of soaring population and concept of separate property and agriculture came up which remained the main cause. They made the contract to protect and defend. Considered sovereign to be general will. Criticism:Taking general will into note Rousseau has messed up with the concept of general will. At one side he has said that general will is the will of each and every single citizen on the other hand he has also said that general will if denied by somebody that person will be compelled to accept that, this makes the concept dubious. His views about the state of nature seem purely imaginary without any historical evidence. A distinction between State and society hasn’t been made.

Criticism for Social Contract Overall:From historical point of view, the Social Contract theory is not acceptable. History doesn’t give even single evidence which could indicate that there was a stable society. The theory is illogical and baseless. How can people who had no knowledge of political organization suddenly think about State and form one? The theory is dangerous because it leads to anarchy. The relation between individual and State is not by contract but by birth. Rights are always followed by duties but, the theory contains rights without duties and obligations. Contract among individuals does not create public rights as the contract primarily gives the personal benefit.

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It emphasized that State is a human institution and not divine. It helped in discouraging despotic rule of irresponsible monarchs.

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Importance or value of the Social Contract Theory:-

It laid the foundation of democracy and the growth of democratic ideas. It inspired to rebel people against cruel monarchs. This theory paved the way for the theory of separation of powers. The theory of Social Contract has helped the development of the modern concept of sovereignty. Evolutionary Theory or Historical Theory:It is the most widely accepted theory. This theory says that State is the result of continuous evolution i.e. a gradual process of social development. Aristotle has said that State came into being to fulfill the basic necessities of life and remained to exist for his good sake. Kinship, Religion, War on force, property, economic factors and political consciousness all are termed to be the reasons some or the other way for evolutionary theory.

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Copyright 2010- Vatsal Kishore

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