The state: concept and origin theories

From the moment of the occurrence the state was ambiguously treated in the history of political thought as at various stages of history of mankind on the foreground there were those or its other functions and properties.

So, Aristotle considered the state as an embodiment of reason, justice, beauty and general welfare. In its opinion, it is reflexion of patrimonial essence of the person as «political animal», aspiring to «joint co-habitation». «The person who has found the end in the state, - noticed Aristotle, - absolute of creations. On the contrary, the person living out of the law and the right, occupies жалчайшее a place in the world».

On the contrary, English thinker T.Gobbs compared the state to Leviafanom - a monster described in the Bible: «its mouth leave пламенники, jump out fiery sparks. From its nostrils there is a smoke, as a boiling pot or a copper. Its breath heats coals, and the mouth leaves a flame. On its neck force lives, and before it the horror runs...»

In the European political science it is possible to allocate two images of the state: 1) understanding of the state as special type of коллективности, arisen for the sake of the general welfare, happy life, and 2) state interpretation as sets of institutes of the public power, officials, bureaucracy.

The first tradition proceeds from Aristotle who saw in the state the union, association of free and equal citizens. The state appears as the form of political dialogue, and its core is «the power in which force the person dominates over people similar and free». The understanding of the state as political community dominated in a political science up to XVI century Foma Akvinsky also perceived the state as political community: «the City-state is a perfect generality».

In a similar way considered the state and I.Kant. He noticed that «the state is a society of the people, which itself extends and operates itself». Besides, under the remark of the philosopher, «the state (civitas) is association of people under the aegis of legal laws».

From XVI century other interpretation of the state is formed. Its development is connected with a name of French scientist Z.Bodena (1530-1596). In work «Six books about the state» it has defined the state through concepts "sovereignty" and «the constant and absolute power of the state». It supervises over a generality of people, carries out this management by means of the sovereign power. The state the governor personifies, authorities.

The similar understanding of the state was defended also by T.Gobbs. The general power, capable to keep people in awe and by that to order their interactions to direct their aspirations for the public good, is concluded in the monarch. The monarch is an embodiment of essence of the state, its sovereignty, only it is capable to give the world subject and to provide their safety. Subsequently the state associated not so much with the governor, bureaucracy, the state device, how many with norms, relations, roles, procedures, institutes etc. So, марксисты, the states recognising presence only in классово the divided society, considered the state as the car for suppression of one class by another, as body to which is entrusted with the law observance, and in transitive from state to безгосударственному to a condition the period - as «the committee operating common causes».

The nature and social appointment of the state in a political science are understood ambiguously.

The theocratic theory

The theocratic theory considers the state as the Divine craft, being based on the thesis that «all power from God». The theocratic theory had under itself the real facts: the first states had religious forms (board of priests), the divine right gave to the government authority, and to state decisions - compulsion.

The patriarchal concept

The patriarchal concept treats the state as the big family in which relations of the monarch and its citizens are identified with relations of the father and members of a family. The state results from connection of sorts in tribes, tribes in a generality, the states. The monarch should care of the citizens, and those should obey the governor.

In XVII-XVIII centuries there is a contractual theory of an origin of the state. People with a view of reliable maintenance of the began to understand the state as the public contract, according to which

The natural rights, freedom, protection of the person and the property agree to create the state. Under the remark of French thinker D.Didro (1713-1784), «people have quickly guessed that if they will continue to use the freedom, the independence and impetuously to indulge in the passions position of each separate person becomes more unfortunate than if he lived separately; they have realised that each person needs to renounce a part of the natural independence and to obey will who would represent itself will of all society and would be, so to say, the general centre and point of a unification all of them воль and all of them forces. Such is an origin of sovereigns».

The Marxist theory (XIX century)

The Marxist theory (XIX century) explains an origin of the state society split on antagonistic classes owing to division of labour and private property occurrence. Economically the ruling class creates the state for submission to itself deprived. «The state, - underlined V.I.Lenin, - there is a body of class domination, body of oppression of one class another, there is a creation of" an order "which узаконяет and consolidates this oppression, moderating collision of classes».

According to supporters of the theory of violence, the state grows out of direct political action - internal or external violence, a gain. A consequence of a victory of the majority over minority or stronger tribe over weaker is the establishment the winner of the state. It becomes controls won. As a result of a gain arises not only the state, but also division of a society into classes, a private property.

In the considered theories one of aspects of social essence of the state is marked: it serves interests of a society and the person or acts as means of suppression by the propertied classes of the deprived. At certain stages of historical development the class nature of the state prevailed, however defining always was it общесоциальное appointment. If parties, movements express group requirements the state urged to represent general interest. The state acts as the major factor of social and economic and spiritual development of a society, integration of various groups round the conventional purposes. In this connection the state can be defined as the special form of the organisation of the political power in a society, possessing the sovereignty and exercising administration of a society on the basis of the right by means of the special mechanism (device).

Occurrence of the very first cities-states concerns to IV-III to millenia BC in Mesopotamia, in Mountain Peru etc.

However the term "state" has appeared only in XVI century It began to designate all state formations which were called before "republic", «a city community», «princely domination» etc. the Merit of introduction of concept of the state belonged N.Makiavelli using for a designation of the state the term «stato» (from an armour. «status» - "position", "status") which it united such concepts, as "republic" and «autocratic board». From now on the state and a civil society began to differ.

Signs and state structure

State occurrence as social institute has reflected processes of complication of public life, differentiation of economic, social, cultural interests and the requirements making a society of individuals and groups. State formation is caused by necessity of reflexion of the general requirements and the interests, which former institutes could not satisfy: requirements for safety concern them, observance of the rights and freedom of individuals, preservation of the civil world and the law and order etc. Advantages of the state in realisation of overall aims and interests have been connected by that it differs high specialisation and division of labour between the correcting. So, legislators develop rules of law, managers apply them to members of a society, judges supervise performance of rules of law from citizens and the power. Besides, the state possesses the big material and other resources for realisation of the decisions. For example, only the state owns modern army and the police, capable to appear solving argument in case of the open social conflict. At last, at the disposal of the state there is the full and organised system of sanctions allowing it to achieve of obedience from the members.

The state as political institute possesses a number of qualitative signs which distinguish it from not state political organisations (parties, movements etc.), making essential impact on a society.

First, the state acts as the uniform territorial organisation of the political power in scales of all country. The government extends on all population within certain territory. Integrity of a society and interrelation of its members provides citizenship institute, or citizenship. Available citizenship institute the essence of the state for the separate individual is expressed. Power realisation in certain territory demands an establishment of its spatial limits - frontier which separates one gosu -

дарство from another. Within the given territory the state possesses leadership and completeness legislative, executive and judicial authority over the population.

Fig. 11.1. State structure

Secondly, the state represents the special organisation of the political power possessing the special mechanism, system of bodies and establishments which directly operate a society. The state mechanism is presented by institutes of legislative, executive and judicial branches of the power. The state applies to maintenance of normal living conditions of a society also the compulsion which is carried out by means of bodies of violence - armies, order and safety protection services.

Thirdly, the state will organise public life on the basis of the right. Only the state possesses the right to regulation of life of a society by means of the laws having obligatory character. The state puts into practice requirements of rules of law by means of the special bodies (courts, administration).

Fourthly, the state represents the sovereign organisation of the power. The government sovereignty is expressed in its leadership and independence of any other authorities in the country or in mutual relations with other states. Verho -

венство the government it is shown: in общеобязательности its decisions for the population; in possibility of cancellation of decisions and decisions of not state political organisations; in possession a number of exclusive rights, for example, the right of the edition of the laws having for the population a binding character; available special levers on the population, absent at other organisations (enforcement machinery and violence).

Fifthly, the state has system of compulsory collection of taxes and other obligatory payments which provides its economic independence.

On an extent of history of mankind noted signs of the state did not remain invariable from the point of view of the maintenance and mechanisms of realisation of imperious will. They were transformed in structure of institutes of the government, their specialisation and differentiation. The parity of institutes legislative, executive and judicial authority is appreciably defined by those functions which are carried out by the state in a concrete society. The volume of these functions is caused by a maturity of economic, social and cultural spheres of a society, a role of the basic imperious institutes and principles of their formation. The mature civil society reduces quantity of the functions fixed to the state, to a minimum, leaving only the most important: maintenance of the law and order, safety of the person, preservation of the environment etc. Developing societies, on the contrary, are characterised всепроникающей by ability of the state to supervise all parties of ability to live of the person. In such countries there is no principle of division of the authorities, controls and counterbalances of three branches of the power, specialisation of political roles and functions, leadership of the right etc.

Functions and state forms

State functions

The state carries out a number of functions which distinguish it from other political institutes. Traditionally functions of the state subdivide into internal and external realisations on spheres of the valid purposes. It is possible to carry to internal functions economic, social, organising, legal, political, educational, cultural-educational etc.

Economic function of the state is expressed in the organisation, coordination, regulation of economic processes by means of the tax and credit policy, creation of stimulus of an economic post or realisation of sanctions.

Fig. 11.2. State functions

Social function consists in satisfaction of requirements of people in work, habitation, health maintenance; granting of social guarantees aged, to invalids, jobless, youth; life insurance, the property, health.

Legal function includes law and order maintenance, an establishment of rules of law which regulate public relations and behaviour of citizens, protection of a social order from destructive actions of extremists. Protection of rules of law is carried out by special law enforcement bodies of the state (court, Office of Public Prosecutor etc.).

Cultural-educational function is directed on creation of conditions for satisfaction of cultural requirements of the population, their familiarising with achievements of world art culture, self-realisation possibility in creativity.

One of the main things is political function of the state which consists in maintenance of political stability, realisation of imperious powers, development of the political policy meeting requirements and expectations of various strata of society or maintenance of political domination of a class-proprietor.

Among external functions it is possible to allocate function of mutually advantageous cooperation in economic, social, technological, cultural, trading and other spheres with other countries and function of defence of the country.

TYPES OF THE STATES

The western political thought in understanding of the nature of the state recognised that it cannot be neither kind, nor fair. The state all time aspires to tyranny. For restriction of its power the constitutionalism principle also has been entered: submission of the power and citizens to the constitution (organic law). Introduction of this principle has created a lawful state.

The lawful state represents such form of the organisation and government activity at which the state, all social a generality, the separate individual respect the right and are in the identical relation to it. In this case the right acts as way of interrelation of the state, a society and the individual. The lawful state principle assumes that all legal certificates correspond to the country organic law - constitutions.

The lawful state has a number of distinctive signs. Its first sign is the leadership of the law in all spheres of life of a society. The law establishes the rights and duties of participants of public relations. In laws tendencies of social development, the equality and justice requirement are considered, moral values of a society are protected. In this sense the law has legal character, instead of grows out of a state arbitrariness. As the second distinctive sign of a lawful state guarantees of the rights of the person, possibility of its free development serve. Realisation of these guarantees is provided thanks to realisation to principles of non-interference of the state in affairs of a civil society and a duty to create conditions for realisation of the rights of the person (the right to formation, social security, judicial protection, the property etc.). The third essential sign is mutual responsibility of the state and the person. It is mutual thanks to that the state and the individual are equally responsible for the actions before the law. Legal character of mutual responsibility of the state and the person is connected by that, submitting to the right, the state and citizens cannot break its instruction and bear liability of infringement of the duties taken on. At last, the fourth characteristic sign - a principle of division of the power on legislative, executive and judicial.

However, fixing legal equality of responsibility and equality of the rights of citizens, the law does not predetermine how these rights will be realised. Actual guarantees, especially social and economic rights and freedom, depend on state possibilities. The lawful state in industrially developed countries is supplemented with social orientation. Formation of the social state has begun after the Second World War.

The social state represents such form of the organisation of the government for which the care of well-being of citizens, creation of the worthy living conditions, equal possibilities of realisation of their talents and the abilities, favorable inhabitancy is peculiar. Such state forms new type of social communications between the people, based on social justice rules, the social world and the civil consent. Hence, functions of the social state are not reduced to support of needy families, invalids, pensioners, jobless. It takes up responsibility for maintenance of stable economic and social situation of the citizens, the social world in a society. Thus, formation of the social state in industrially developed countries represents a new step to the state building.

Добавка Куппаева Пособие Правовое государство