CHRISTIAN JELO R.

ARTOZA
2019-01811
BS CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
TCW 0005 – THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

ACTIVITY 4
1. Rank the elements of the states from the most important to the least important and provide why
choose one over the other.

I would rank the four elements based on importance in the following decreasing order:
Population, Territory, Sovereignty, and Government.

Population and territory are first at being the necessary physical elements, or raw materials, to
the existence of states. But, without a population, the uninhabited land cannot be called a state.
Furthermore, the magnitude of populations determines the principles of political action. In fact,
it is the desire to put aside differences for the good of the community that fosters a sense of
community and belonging. When a political society's members are only united by their obedient
submission to a common authority, it is in an unsatisfactory state. To develop a larger, more
inclusive sense of community, it may be necessary to deny the right to exist for all diversity and
other loyalties. This is where the nostalgia for small communities can turn harmful if it is used as
a political action principle and applied to huge populations. The attempt to graft the
characteristics of simplicity onto a big, diversified society must naturally involve the rejection
and repression of other interests; this easily results in tyranny.

The State stands apart from other organizations in large part because membership is
determined by territorial requirements. (Membership of the State is often obtained through
birth on its soil or through an immigrant declaring his intention to settle there permanently.) In a
broad sense, we might say that a State is made up of all the residents who live there
permanently. There are some small exceptions, including citizens who are overseas or resident
aliens who have not yet become citizens, although even their status is dependent on specific
geographical requirements.

Government is the third key component of the State. Any collection of individuals that isn't a
casual crowd needs organization. Once shared goals are acknowledged, a system of organization
must exist to enable their accomplishment. All associations, whether they are churches,
universities, trade unions, or clubs, develop a system through which the pertinent activities of
the members are regulated. In such a system, some person or group of people are regarded as
speaking or acting on behalf of the whole in some way, and under the right circumstances, this
person or group of people may make decisions that are acknowledged as binding on the whole.

This fundamental idea in political science is characterized by its absolute legal authority, which is
its essence. In accordance with our basic understanding of the state, there must be a supreme
 authority that has the authority to impose its judgments on its people, even using force if
necessary.

2. Among the theories of the origins of the state, which do you think is the most logical in
explaining how states came about? Explain your answer

Among the theories, the social contract theory is in my opinion the most logical as it provides
the most fundamental explanations to the problems encountered in the modern society.

The more absurd belief that the state was created by God was first destroyed by the theory.
Although there may not have been a social contract anywhere in history, it did convey the idea
that the people should rule the state and encouraged the development of democracy while
acting as a disincentive to any government's use of arbitrary power.

The theory's second advantage is that it contributed to the development of the contemporary
idea of sovereignty. Thus, it is claimed that Thomas Hobbes' concept of the Leviathan and John
Austin's notion of legal sovereignty are mutually exclusive.

The third advantage of this view is that John Locke provided answers to some of the most
important queries by distinctly differentiating between the state and the government.

The idea of popular sovereignty as put out by Jean-Jacques Rousseau is the fourth outcome of
the social contract theory. Rousseau's social contract motivated many peoples around the world
to overthrow their detested rulers.