The State

The state is the most universal and most powerful of all social institutions.
The state is a natural institution. Aristotle said man is a social animal and by nature
he is a political being. To him, to live in the state and to be a man were identical.

The modern term 'state' is derived from the word 'status'. It was Niccolo
Machiavelli ( 1469 - 1527) who first used the term 'state' in his writings. His
important work is titled 'Prince'.

The state is the highest form of human association. It is necessary because it

comes into existence out of the basic needs of life. It continues to remain for the
sake of a good life.

The aims, desires and aspirations of human beings are translated into action
through the state. Though the state is a necessary institution, no two writers agree
on its definition.

To Woodrow Wilson, 'State is a people organized for law within a definite

territory.'

Aristotle defined the state as a 'union of families and villages having for its end a
perfect and self - sufficient life by which it meant a happy and honourable life'.

According to Bluntschli, “The state is politically organised people of a definite

territory.”According to Burgess “The state is a particular portion of mankind
viewed as an organised unit,” According to Sidgwick. 'State is a combination or
association of persons in the form of government and governed and united together
into a politically organized people of a definite territory.'
According to Garner, 'State is a community of people occupying a definite form of
territory free of external control and possessing an organized government to which
people show habitual obedience.'

Prof. Laski defines 'state as a territorial society divided into government and
subjects whose relationships are determined by the exercise of supreme coercive
power.

Elements of the State

Population :

It is the people who make the state. Population is essential for the state.
Greek thinkers were of the view that the population should neither be too big nor
too small. According to Plato the ideal number would be 5040.

According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too large nor too small. It
should be large enough to be self - sufficient and small enough to be well
governed. Rousseau determined 10,000 to be an ideal number for a state. Greek
thinkers like Plato and Aristotle think the number was based on small cities -
states like Athens and Sparta. Modern states vary in population. India has a
population of 102,70,15,247 people according to the 2001 census.
Territory :

There can be no state without a fixed territory. People need territory to live
and organize themselves socially and politically. It may be remembered that the
territory of the state includes land, water and air - space.

The modern states differ in their sizes. Territory is necessary for citizenship.
As in the case of population, no definite size with regard to extent of area of the
state can be fixed. There are small and big states.

In the words of Prof. Elliott 'territorial sovereignty or the Superiority of state

overall within its boundaries and complete freedom from external control has been
a fundamental principle of modern state life'.

India has an area of 32,87,263 sq. km. Approximately India occupies 2.4% of the
global area.

Government :

Government is the third element of the state. There can be no state without a
government. Government is the working agency of the state. It is the political
organization of the state.

Prof. Appadorai defined government as the agency through which the will of the
State is formulated, expressed and realized.

According to C.F. Strong, in order to make and enforce laws the state must have
supreme authority. This is called the government.
Sovereignty :

The fourth essential element of the state is sovereignty.The word

'sovereignty' means supreme and final legal authority above and beyond
which no legal power exists.

The concept of 'sovereignty' was developed in conjunction with the rise of the
modern state. The term Sovereignty is derived from the Latin word superanus
which means supreme. The father of modern theory of sovereignty was Jean Bodin
(1530 - 1597) a French political thinker, Sovereignty has two aspects :

1) Internal sovereignty

2) External sovereignty

Internal sovereignty means that the State is supreme over all its citizens, and
associations.External sovereignty means that the state is independent and free from
foreign or outside control.

According to Harold J. Laski, 'It is by possession of sovereignty that the state is

distinguished from all other forms of human association.

The state is a set of institutions which has an unquestionable authority over

people. It is hence all modern States have their own Constitution that moderates the
freedom and privileges of the citizens of the State with the coercive and
unquestionable power of the State. Hence the Constitution is considered as a
limiting agent on the overwhelming authority of the State.

The Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States held in 1933

gave the fundamental understanding of State. A State must have a permanent
population, a defined territory and a government that can control the territory and
its people and conducts international relations with other States. Consequently, the
recognition of a State by other States becomes crucial for the legitimacy of the
State from an external point of view. You would be reading more when you read
about Sovereignty.

FUNCTIONS OF A MODERN STATE

“ State came into being for the sake of life and it continues for the
sake of good life.” ---Aristotle

According to T H Green, “ The business of state, is not merely the

business of a policeman, arresting wrongdoers or ruthlessly enforcing contracts,
but of providing for men in equal chance as far as possible of realising what is best
in their intellectual or moral natures.” According to Berns, “ The state should give
full help to make the national life complete and to develop the national health,
welfare, morality and intellect of the society.”

Professor Garner, classified the functions of state in three categories, as follows:

1. Essentials functions- peace, order and security etc.
2. General functions- post, dam, road and irrigation etc.
3. Other necessary functions- rail, post, telephone and education etc.

The functions of a state are as comprehensive as its rights. Among them

some functions are compulsory while others are voluntary. The major ones in the
compulsory category are:

Essential functions:

1. Defence against external attack: The most urgent function of a state is

defence of the country against external attack. It has to make adequate
preparations in the form of weapons and land, sea and air forces. It has to take
special notice of things which can create the danger of attack from other countries.

2. Internal peace and security: The policy of a state at home is quite as

important as is its foreign policy. It is the prime duty of the state to maintain
internal peace and security. An increase in communal riots, thefts, cases of dacoity
and rebellion can endanger the existence of the state itself. The state maintains
peace and order through police and army.

3. Protection of the rights of citizens: In every state the citizens possess

certain rights like rights of life, property, freedom of thought etc. It is incumbent
upon the state to protect these rights, or which it has to formulate essential laws,
arrange for proper administration and organise justice.

4. Ensure Justice: In this way justice is a compulsory function of the state.

This provides for obedience of laws in the state, maintains order and protects the
rights of everyone.

Woodrow Wilson, sums up the essential functions as follows:

1.To maintain law and order and to protect life and property against theft and
violence.
2.to establish legal relations between husband and wife and between children and
their parents.
3. To make rules regarding property.
4.Todecide the rights which come out as a result of agreement between the
individuals.
5.To fix the crimes and to award punishment.
6.To give justice in civil matters.
7.To fix mutual relations between the citizens and their rights and duties, and
8.Relations with foreign countries and protection against foreign aggression.

Besides these compulsory functions of state, the following are its voluntary
functions:
Optional functions:

1. Educational functions: In the modern age, all states consider it their duty to
make adequate arrangements for the education of their citizens. A state of
uneducated citizens can never progress. Thus the state makes arrangements for
primary schools and colleges and universities so that higher education in sciences,
agriculture and the humanities may become possible. Arrangements are made for
adjoining research centres, libraries, zoos, store houses and art classes etc. Efforts
are made to provide free primary education. Capable students are awarded
scholarships by the state. But the state should avoid unnecessary interference in
educational centres.

2. To make publicHealth: Along with education, modern states try to provide

for the protection of health. Provision is made for sanitation, hospitals, free
medicine, vaccination and essential energizing foods for the poor. Medical colleges
are opened to end the dearth of capable doctors. Government research centres and
training schools for nurses are opened.

3. Protection of the old,poor and invalid: Modern states have also begun
making arrangements for the old, impecunious unemployed and invalid citizens.
They are given financial aid. The old people are given pensions. The facility of
insurance ensures the security of everyone. Orphanages and homes for the
destitute are created.

4. Arrangement of Public Welfare services: The state organizes the

railways, postal and telegraphic facilities, wireless, etc. it is the duty of the state to
make arrangements for means of transportation such as buses, railways, aeroplanes
and ships etc.

5. Social and Economic improvement: Another of the state;'s duties is

affecting social and economic improvement. The state lays down laws against
harmful customs and makes necessary arrangements for their enforcement.

6. Encouraging trade and industry; It is also the duty of the state to

encourage trade and industry and to develop it as well. Almost everywhere in the
world, it is the state which controls the economic system and the mint. It is the
state which standardizes the standards of measurement and weighing. The country
cannot benefit from international trade if it does not make the proper law for
import and export. The state should establish factories of the key industries in
order to implement and initiate other industries in the country. The state should
also encourage cottage industries.

7. Organization of labour: The state should direct its efforts to the

improvement of conditions of labourers and lay down rules to obviate the
probability of their exploitation. It is the responsibility of the state to make efforts
towards labour welfare.

8. Proper use of natural resources of the country: A country can become

powerful by land, forests, rivers, minerals and agricultural products. Maximum
benefit should be extracted from them. On this subject, the state should direct the
necessary precautionary measures, research and search for new mineral products
and lay down laws for the utilization of forests, mines, land etc.

9. Arrangement of recreation: In order to maintain the novelty and

excitement in the life of the public the state should provide means for recreation.
For this film industry, dramatic societies, etc. ought to be encouraged.

According to Woodrow Wilson, the following are the optional functions of a

state:
1. To make regulations relating to commerce and industry.
2. To make laws for the benefits of the labourers.
3. To make care of the poor and invalid.
4. To make arrangements for post and telegraph.
5. To construct roads and highways.
6. To make arrangements for water, gas etc.
7. To make arrangements for health and cleanliness.
8. To plant jungles to protect their production and to increase fish in the rivers.
9. To eradicate social evils like child marriage, drinking etc.
10.Education, and
 11.To make arrangements for import and export and to make laws in this
regard.

Actually the function of a modern state is not merely administration but an

integral welfare and development of its subjects. Thus, its functions have been
aggrandized. The turbulence of local situations does make an appreciable though
slight alteration in them, while different political schools of thought have
recognized different functions of the state. Thus nothing final can be said upon this
subject. The only theory which can be universally acceptable is that the state
should function in a manner calculated to add to public welfare but the scholars
differ in their opinions about that in which lies this public welfare. It is here that
the guidance of ethics is needed. Ethics is to determine the supreme and ultimate
objective of the individual. The state shall collect the means to the attainment of
this ideal. As an example the supreme ideal of an individual is self realization or
an integral development. Thus, it is for the state to utilize the means to his
physical, mental and spiritual development.