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The document outlines several theories regarding the nature of the state:
1) The juristic theory views the state as a legal person with an individual will and personality.
2) The organismic theory presents the state as a living organism with organs that function interdependently like a biological system.
3) The mechanistic theory considers the state an artificial machine created by individuals for specific purposes.
4) The idealistic theory sees the state as a moral entity that allows individuals to reach their fullest potential and as an end in itself with its own will.
5) The Marxian theory argues that the state emerged with social classes and serves the interests of the dominant economic class, using
The document outlines several theories regarding the nature of the state:
1) The juristic theory views the state as a legal person with an individual will and personality.
2) The organismic theory presents the state as a living organism with organs that function interdependently like a biological system.
3) The mechanistic theory considers the state an artificial machine created by individuals for specific purposes.
4) The idealistic theory sees the state as a moral entity that allows individuals to reach their fullest potential and as an end in itself with its own will.
5) The Marxian theory argues that the state emerged with social classes and serves the interests of the dominant economic class, using
The document outlines several theories regarding the nature of the state:
1) The juristic theory views the state as a legal person with an individual will and personality.
2) The organismic theory presents the state as a living organism with organs that function interdependently like a biological system.
3) The mechanistic theory considers the state an artificial machine created by individuals for specific purposes.
4) The idealistic theory sees the state as a moral entity that allows individuals to reach their fullest potential and as an end in itself with its own will.
5) The Marxian theory argues that the state emerged with social classes and serves the interests of the dominant economic class, using
Assistant Professor Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, Chhattisgarh Nature of State 2
State is the most complex and powerful of all
human institutions. State has been envisaged from different points of view Theories regarding the nature of state differ from one another both in form and substance The principal theories of the nature of the state are: Juristic theory Organismic theory Mechanistic theory Idealistic theory Marxian theory. Juristic Theory 2
Embodies the point of view of jurists
Regards the state as a person in the legal sense “State is a juridical creation having a personality, an individuality, a self-consciousness, and a will of its own, somewhat as a natural physical person has." Originated in the 19th century in the writings of a group of German writers such as Stein, Gettell, Bluntschli, Jellinek and many others They applied the conception of legal personality to the state in the nineteenth century. The state like other groups possessed 'real' not 'fictitious' personality - Gierke The state as par excellence a person in the sense of public law, having its own legal will distinct from the collective wills of individuals composing it, and a capacity for expressing its will in words and acts; and as the creator and possessor of rights. - Bluntschli The personality of state is not merely a juristic fiction or metaphor, but a reality. Cont… 2
As a legal person, the state can sue and be sued.
"States own property, direct economic enterprises, appear as plaintiffs in civil and criminal cases, and permit themselves to be sued in the courts in certain matters". Gettell A permanent and enduring institution having interests and purposes of its own Its interests and objectives differ from the temporary and self-oriented interests of individuals. It acts as a trustee or guardian of the interests of the present and future generations, and represents the collective interests of the community. Cont… 2
Most of the jurists attribute to the state
a legal or juristic personality. In constitutional law and international law the state is characterised as a 'person'. It is “treated as if it were a person and not as really being a person". It implies nothing more than "the juridical personification of the nation". Organismic Theory 2
Organic theory of state presents a biological
conception of the state. It presents the state as a living organism, a real person having organs that perform functions analogous to those of an animal or plant. It views the individuals who compose the state as analogous to the cells of an animal or a plant. It postulates a relationship of interdependence between the state and the individuals similar to that existing between a biological organism and its constituent parts. Cont… 2
The organismic theory represents the antithesis of
both the juridical theory Whereas the juridical theory conceives the state to be a legal fiction or a mental concept of the jurists, the organismic theory presents the state as a real person, a living organism. Whereas the mechanistic theory regards the state as a purely artificial mechanism deliberately created by formal contract, the organismic conception considers the state the result of organic growth based on unity and interdependence among its constituent parts. Cont… 2
The analogy between the state and a human being
goes back to Plato, Cicero, John of Salisbury and Althusius Hobbes described the state as "that great Leviathan which is but an artificial man, though of greater strength and stature than the natural" Rousseau compared the "body politic" (state) to the "human body". Bluntschli declared the state as the very "image of the human organism". The state, to him, was "no more artificial lifeless machine", but a "living spiritual organic being". Mechanistic Theory 2
The mechanistic theory regards the state as a
machine created by man for his own purposes rather than an organic growth The theory regards the state as a purely artificial mechanism or contrivance deliberately created by formal contract or convention, which operates and functions like a machine, and which can be arbitrarily reformed or reconstructed at the will of its creators in complete disregard of historical laws and established traditions - Garner Cont… 2
It looks upon the state as something made by man to
suit his purposes. Men want the state primarily to achieve peace, order and possibly prosperity. It presupposes a free individual who is sovereign over himself. State is something which exists for the individuals, not something for which they exist. It establishes a superior will which regulates the lives of atomistic individuals. There is no conception of a common or general good; what is promoted by state action is the good of every individual. Men can drastically change the state and its apparatuses to suit their conveniences. Cont… 2
Mechanistic theory was a product of the scientific progress
of 17th century which was beginning of the machine age. Men spoke more and more of the energy of a substance rather than its soul or life. While the Greeks considered human creations as copy of already existing reality, 17th century man considered it genuinely original and creative. This new approach created a new view of the state as being the result of human will and artifice. Society and the state were considered as artificial and genuinely free creations of men and not natural growths. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, utilitarian Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This view was maintained throughout the Enlightenment of the 18th century, to be rejected by French philosopher Rousseau and German idealists who stressed the organic view of state. Idealistic Theory 2
The idealistic theory of state is variously known as the
absolutist theory, the philosophical theory which forms an integral part of the great tradition of philosophical idealism. It had its origin in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle who regarded the state as both natural and necessary. The state was a self-sufficing moral entity, an ethical institution which made possible for individuals the good and virtuous life. The best in man could be realized through membership of the state. They practically identified the state with society and conceived it as an organic unity in which the individual must find his proper place. The Greek conception of man as a social and political animal reinforced the indispensability of the state as an ethical institution in which the real nature of man could be realized. Cont… 2
Generally speaking the idealistic theory regards the
state as the supreme ethical institution which glorifies almost to the point of deification. The state is indispensable to the fullest development of human personality. State creates and guarantees the real personality of the individual - It is man's best friend. Regards the state as an end in itself rather than a means and treat it as omnipotent. State has a will and personality of its own and an existence apart from the members who compose it. It is a super-personal entity possessing a will, rights, interests and even standards of morality of its own. As a general rule, the individual should obey the state and resistance to its authority is rarely permitted, by some idealists. Marxian Theory 2
Marxism emerged in the 19th Century as a scientific
revolutionary philosophy which aimed at a perfect social order free from injustice and exploitation. Marxian view of the nature of the state is based on his economic interpretation of history, otherwise known as historical materialism. State came into existence with the division of society into classes at a certain phase of historical development. In the struggle of classes, the state emerged as the instrument of the economically dominant class, and continues for the benefit of that class. Thus the Marxian view is diametrically opposite to classical Greek view which looks upon the state as a natural and necessary institution continuing in existence for the sake of good life for its members. Cont… 2
State and politics form a part of the superstructure that
rises upon the foundation (sub-structure) consisting of the productive forces. The mode of production and relations of production at every historical epoch determine the law, ideology, politics and form of government. The material conditions of life determine the relation of rulers and the ruled. State is merely an instrument of the dominant economic class and is used to safeguard its interests The nature of the state being what it is, its primary purpose is the protection of private property and its function is the oppression of the dispossessed by the possessing class.