Changing Notions of State

Dr. Avinash Samal Assistant Professor Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Different Notions of State

Ethical State Legal State Church-State National Sovereign State State A man-made artificial institution State An Unnecessary Evil State A Necessary Evil Totalitarian State Pluralist State State A Class instrument Welfare State Regulatory State

Ethical State
Plato & Aristotle Emphasis on ethics & Philosophy State - first and foremost condition of virtuous life It is the highest form of moral order A supreme, all powerful, all comprehensive and allembracing institution It inculcates humanity in the being and hence human beings existence without state is not possible It regards the state as an end in itself Self-perfection and self-fulfillment can only be achieved through the state Moral, intellectual & material development can only be possible through the instrumentality of state

Cont.
The concept of Ideal State - In his 'Republic, Plato argued that the state should train men in a life of virtue. The end of the state, according to Aristotle, is good life for the citizens. State as an ethical institution creates conditions for the fullest development of human personality - Modern idealists like Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Green and Gandhi have accepted this The state exists to promote social and moral good on the largest possible scale. A good citizen is possible in a good state and perfect state cannot be conceived where wrong ethical principles prevail. Laws are obeyed with greater readiness if they are based on the moral ideas of the community.

Legal State
Roman empire emerged by merging the tiny city-states of the Greek world establishing: Unity, uniform law and order, strong administration, and a despotic political system While absence of unity was the weakness of Greek city-states, it was considered the strength of Roman empire Greece had developed democracy without unity, whereas Rome secured unity without democracy - Gettell Romans taught the world that a large state might be stable and successfully governed Rome three stages of development
Like Greek counterparts - city states Republic An Empire

The first two stages were replaced by the third stage by the close of the 1st Century BC

Cont
Successful Commanders like Marius, Caesar, Augustus etc. established despotic empires with concentration of authority, uniformity of law, sovereign organization, limited participation of citizens in public affairs Nursed ideals like unity, order, law, discipline, strength etc. Establishment of a universal code of law most important contribution Taught the world that large states are much better and can provide stability, peace, order and good government Liberty of citizens sacrificed for the sake of stable political system

Cont
This gave birth to legal notion of state State was viewed as highest law making power Laws had universal character Political problems of Romans were administrative and legal rather than ethical Gave birth to Roman Law which is the basis of most of the legal systems of world even today Philosophers like Polybius and Cicero concentrated on the art of governing and lawmaking

Cont
The Roman Empire lasted about 500 years with all its cruelty and despotism Class structure masters and slaves Roman empire became very weak in 4th century corruption of officials, dictatorial regimes of emperors, slave unrest, lack of liberty, equality and the advent of Christianity Emperor Constantine made a compromise with Christianity by declaring it a state religion leading to the establishment of Church-State

Church-State
There was mass unrest in the public against the dictatorial regimes of Roman emperors and they were faced with unprecedented crisis from within and without Christianity became very popular for its progressive ideas It raised its voice against injustice and exploitation Roman Emperors tried to crush Christianity In the verge of decline, Roman emperors forged an alliance with Christianity Assimilated Christianity and turned this potential enemy into an ally an act of highest statesmanship on the part of the state

Cont
Partnership between church and the state helped establish peace and order in the society for sometime Partnership between the cross and the Eagle brought gain and loss to both Lipson After the partnership, the progressive Church became a citadel of reaction, anti-progress and anti-people Becoming and integral part of the established order, the church ceased to be a victim of persecution and was able henceforth to do persecuting. Roman Empire could save itself from inner dangers but failed to face the external aggression In the fifth century, Teutonic people (Barbarians) attacked Roman Empire and destroyed it by establishing smaller kingdoms This led to the emergence of a feudal system

Feudal System
Instead of centralized authority of the Roman Empire, many political authorities emerged and unity was replaced by diversity Society was divided into feudal lords and Serfs Political authority rested with the landlords and individuals relationship with land determined his rights and duties The hierarchy of political authority was built on the basis of ownership of land Supreme lord tenants in-chief tenants serfs The supreme lord (King) had indirect authority over the people and it was divided amongst the local feudal lords The authority was decentralized

Church and the State

Feudalism and the Church Two important features of the medieval period Christian church survived the fall of Roman Empire Religion dominated the mentality of the people in the Middle Ages to a level unparalleled in the history of Western civilization Derived its strength from the absence of strong government In the name of religion it mustered good amount of power, wealth and prestige Taught that world is nothing prayer is the solution for everything religion is the main thing Diverted the attention of the exploited class by drawing them towards religion

Cont
As the Church was serving the interest of the ruling classes indirectly, it became popular among them and they adopted Christianity Started interfering on matters such as collection of taxes and maintenance of law and order Church power went on increasing and it began to claim superiority over kings and princes and virtually became the sate King should be under the power of the Church St. Augustine

Cont
Entry of Church into politics and, consequently, the bitter conflict between the two became the fundamental political issue of the age State was crushed between two forces Church and Feudalism Masses were exploited and were in slumber hoping for salvation in the next world

Socio-Economic & Political Structure

Pope Kings Feudal Lords Big Landlords Masses, Serfs & small producers

Conflict between the Church and the State

Churchs attempt to limit the authority of Kings and its interference in internal affairs Theory of two swords Pope Glasious interpreted differently King was not directly under the God but under the Pope who had the sole agency from God to conduct all the affairs Pope had acquired much wealth & power and started challenging the Kings Pope claimed to be the absolute master of all princes who were bound to kiss his feet, and whom he could depose at will This led to the open fight between the Church (religious order) and the King representing the secular order The kings became victorious, i.e. the Eagle swallowed the Cross This lead to the emergence of modern national sovereign states in European world putting an end to the feudal authority and the international order represented by the Pope

Nature of the Church-State

No development of knowledge, science technology, state etc. Feudalistic economy - within which poor peasants, serfs and small producers were badly exploited Scientific knowledge was the greatest enemy of Church which was based on faith-Scientist Bruno (1548-1600) was burnt State remained very weak throughout the medieval period (dark ages) and there was no concept of sovereignty

National Sovereign State

Modern national sovereign states emerged during the 16-17th centuries Political movements were directed against papacy and feudalism to support a strong monarchy Strong Kings emerged in the European world and were identified as sovereign and unified national powers Separation of religion from politics led to establishment of secular state The state and the king were identified as one Machiavelli and Bodin I am the state Luis XIV The state meant the power of the king and he personified the sate

State An Artificial Man-made Institution

Before the 17th century, in the ancient and medieval times, the was considered either as natural order (Greek Philosophers) or a legal order (Roman Thinkers) or a divine order (Church-Sate notion) During the 17th Century it was seen as a product of a social contract This view regards the state as a machine an artificial man-made institution which is the result of social contract among free individuals

State A Necessary Evil: Liberal Individualist Notion

Individualists supporters of negative freedom of the individual believe the state as an evil because it limits the freedom of the individual State is necessary as without it law and order can not be maintained in the market society composed of selfish and egoistic individuals Adam Smith, Herbert Spencer etc.

State An Unnecessary Evil: Anarchist Notion

Ultra individualists anarchists regard State not only an evil but also unnecessary State an instrument of oppression and with the moral development of man state will become redundant A healthy society does not need an unhealthy institution like the state Believes in a stateless society Aims at destroying state and placing the society under the control of self-governing institutions Godwin, Proudhon etc.

Totalitarian State
Emergence of Fascism State must have absolute powers and the individuals cannot be allowed any rights against the state State can do no wrong and hence it cannot be opposed by any individual, group or association of the society Philosophers like Hegel and dictators like Mussolini and Hitler supported this view of the state

Pluralist State
This notion of state gained currency because of views of the supporters of pluralist concept of sovereignty Decentralization of political power and opposition to absolute sovereignty of state State merely an association in society and in no way superior to other associations performing their functions Laski and MacIver

Marxist State A Class Instrument

The basis of any society is the economic sub-structure, i.e. the mode of production which determines classes in society Cultural, moral and political superstructure of the society is based on economic sub-structure State is an coercive instrument belonging to the capitalist class It uses it to oppress the other classes An instrument of political power of the economically dominating classes

Welfare State Contemporary Liberal State

Liberalism considers the state as an welfare or social service agency State is not merely a legal institution having law-making power and coercive power to make laws It must serve the society and satisfy the maximum demands pf the maximum number of people Not only law and order but also promote social welfare and serve common interest Green, Laski acIver

Regulatory State
Crisis in welfare state Failure of state to manage everything Withdrawal of state from many sector Outsourcing and contracting out of services earlier performed by the state Entry of private players and State competing with them as one of the players Need for independent and impartial regulation