IMUS UNIDA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Quality. Christian. Education. 11

Philippine Politics and

Governance

Lesson 4: Concepts of States, Nation and

Globalization
WHAT IS A STATE?

 State is taken from the Latin word stare (to stand) which
means a political community that occupies a definite
 territory; having an organized government with the authority
to make and enforce laws without the consent of a higher
authority. 
 Composed of people who live in a certain territory, where
they have sovereign, and their own government.

Elements of the State

1. Government -- the set of personnel who manages the affairs
of the state in its act of allocating scarce values.
2. Sovereignty -- this is the capacity of a political system
to make independent decisions within its territory.
3. Territory -- the geographic space in which the sovereignty
of a state is exercised.
4. People -- the most important elements of state since the
existence of the people that concepts on government,
state, territory and sovereignty take shape.

Origin of the States

There are several theories concerning the origin of the states,

among which are:

1. Divine Right Theory

- It holds that the state is of divine creation and the
ruler is ordained by God to govern the people.
2. Necessity of Force Theory
- It mains that states must have been created through
force, by some great warriors who imposed their will
upon the weak.
3. Paternalistic Theory
- It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement
of the family which remained under the authority to the
father or mother. By natural stages, the family grew
into clan, then developed into a tribe which broadened
into a nation and the nation became state.
4. Social Contract Theory
- It asserts that the early states must have been formed
by deliberate and voluntary compact among people to
 form a society and organize government for their common
good.

Inherent Power of the State

1. Police Power
- Power of state to regulate freedoms and property rights of
individuals for the protection of public safety, health and
morals or the promotion of the public convenience and
general prosperity.
2. Eminent Domain
- Power to take private property for public use upon payment
of just compensation.
- Expropriation- the action by the state or an authority of
taking property from its owner for public use or benefit.
- Article III, Section 9 of the Constitution states that
private property shall not be taken for public use without
just compensation.
3. Taxation
- Power to impose tax on individuals and properties to support
the government.
 Tax- lifeblood of government.
 Uniform Taxation- Persons or things belonging to the same
class shall be taxed at the same rate.
 Equitable Tax- tax burden must be imposed according to
the taxpayer’s capacity to pay.
 Progressive Taxation- as the resources of the taxpayer
becomes higher as his rate likewise increase.

WHAT IS A NATION?
  group of people who share the same history, traditions and
language.

Difference Between Nation and State

STATE NATION

 It is legal  It is racial cultural

political

 People organized for  People psychologically joined

law within a together with common will to
definite territory. live together.

 A state must me  People continue as a nation

sovereign even if they do not remain
sovereign.

WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION?

 means the speedup of movements and exchanges (of human

beings, goods, and services, capital, technologies or
cultural practices) all over the planet. One of the effects
of globalization is that it promotes and increases
interactions between different regions and populations
around the globe.

Potential Benefits of Globalization

1. Free trade
- is a way for countries to exchange goods and resources.
When countries specialize there will be several gains
from trade:
o Lower prices for consumers Greater choice of
goods, e.g. food imports enable a more
extensive diet.
 o Bigger export markets for domestic
manufacturers.
o Economies of scale through being able to
specialize in certain goods.
o Greater competition
2. Free movement of labour
- Increased labour migration gives advantages to both
workers and recipient countries. If a country
experiences high unemployment, there are increased
opportunities to look for work elsewhere.
- Also, it helps countries with labour shortages fill
important posts.
3. Increased economies of scale
- Production is increasingly specialized. Globalization
enables goods to be produced in different parts of the
world. This greater specialization enables lower
average costs and lower prices for consumers.
4. Greater competition
- Domestic monopolies used to be protected by a lack of
competition. However, globalization means that firms
face greater competition from foreign firms.
5. Increased investment
- Globalization has also enabled increased levels of
investment. It has made it easier for countries to
attract short-term and long-term investment. Investment
by multinational companies can play a big role in
improving the economies of developing countries.

Potential Cost of Globalization

1. Free trade can harm developing economies

- Developing countries often struggle to compete with
developed countries, therefore it is argued free trade
benefits developed countries more. There is an infant
industry argument which says industries in developing
countries need protection from free trade to be able to
develop. However, developing countries are often harmed
by tariff protection, that western economies have on
agriculture.
2. Environmental costs
 - One problem of globalization is that it has increased
the use of non-renewable resources. It has also
contributed to increased pollution and global warming.
Firms can also outsource production to where
environmental standards are less strict. However,
arguably the problem is not so much globalization as a
failure to set satisfactory environmental standards.
3. Labour drain
- Globalization enables workers to move more freely.
Therefore, some countries find it difficult to hold
onto their best-skilled workers, who are attracted by
higher wages elsewhere.
4. Less cultural diversity
- Globalization has led to increased economic and
cultural hegemony. With globalization there is arguably
less cultural diversity; however, it is also led to
more options for some people.
5. Tax competition and tax avoidance
- Multinational companies like Amazon and Google, can set
up offices in countries like Bermuda and Luxembourg
with very low rates of corporation tax and then funnel
their profits through these subsidiaries. This means
they pay very little tax in the countries where they do
most of their business. This means governments have to
increase taxes on VAT and income tax. It is also seen
as unfair competition for domestic firms who don’t use
the same tax avoidance measures.