Genesis of State

Theories of Origin of State

• How the state came into existence is a subject of
cotroversial.Various theories have been
propounded by political and historical writers
regarding the genesis of state. These are :
1.The Divine Origin Theory
2.The Social Contract Theory
3.The Force Theory
4.The Patriarchal and Matriarchal Theories
5.The Historical or Evolutionary Theory
1.The Divine Origin Theory :
• It is the oldest theory regarding the origin of the state. This theory
was very popular in ancient times.
• Hindu thinkers regarded State as a divine institution. Muslim law
regarded King as a shadow of God.
• The Jews were the chief exponents of this theory. According to them
“The king owes responsibility to God alone for his acts”.
• The Greeks and Romans regarded state as a divine institution.
• The supporters of this theory believed that the King was given the
power to control and govern the people by the supreme power i.e.,
God.
• Kinship is hereditary. It is a sin to disobey the king.
2. The Force Theory Of The Origin of State :
• According to Leacock, Force theory means Government is the outcome of
human aggression. Force is the basis of the state.
• Herbert Spencer advocated the principle of the survival of the fittest.
• There are various stages in the development of state
• Firstly there is a continued process of aggression. The conquerors
captured the properties of the defeated person.
• Secondly, the weaker are enslaved and exploited.
• In the third stage, there is co-operation between the conquerors and
conquered for mutual benefit. People united to fight against common
enemies
• In the fourth stage a government is formed for the settlement of disputes.
• Mere force cannot maintain the state for a
long time.
• Might without right, can at best be only
temporary, might with right is a permanent
basis for the state.
• Force is short lived.
3.The Patriarchal and Matriarchal Theory :
• According to this theory, the state is a product of a natural expansion of family.
One family gave rise to several families, a group of families united to form a
village, the village expanded into settlements and they united to form the state.
• The idea of the patriarchal theory is given by Aristotle who said that the state
began with the most natural group, namely, the family with the father as the
head.
• Henry Maine is the strongest supporter of this theory. According to him father is
the head of the family and such family expanded into clan, the clan into the tribe
and finally the aggregation of tribes constitutes the common wealth or state.
• Blood relationship played an important role in the origin of the state.
• The system of permanent marriage prevailed in primitive times and paternity
was an established fact.
The Matriarchal Theory
• This theory was propounded by Edwin Jenks and Morgan.
• Tribe is the earliest form of society. It is the oldest and primary social
group.
• According to this theory, the state is organized not in the family, but in
the Horde. The Horde was an unorganized tribe in which sexual relations
without any matrimonial intentions were common.
• In course of time the Horde left this practice and followed group
marriages and gradually they practiced polyandry. This institution of
polyandry led to the establishment of matriarchal families.
• Relationship was traced through the female line and even succession of
property is through female line only.
• Kinship traced through females.
4.The Theory of Social Contract :
• Social Contract theory propagated that the state was a deliberate
creation of man. Popular consent was the basis of the state.
• The Social Contract theory states that state is not a growth, but a make;
it is not made by God, but deliberately and voluntarily created by man.
• The state is the result of an agreement entered by men who originally
had no government.
• Different exponents agreed that state is a human creation, the result of a
contract.
• Hooker and Milton were supporters of this theory.
• During the latter half of the seventeenth century and in the eighteenth
century this theory was developed by most famous exponents, Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke and J.J.Rousseau.
Thomas Hobbes(1588-1679)
• His famous treatise “The Leviathan” justified the
absolute power of the sovereign.
• According to him life of the man in the state of
nature was ‘solitary, poor , brutish, nasty and short.
• The law of nature was ‘might is right’. The law of
nature is stated that men should be willing along
with the others to give up their natural rights.
• Men came out of the state of nature through a
contract. The contract as conceived by Hobbes was
between the people themselves to establish a
sovereign ruler.
• The sovereign himself was not a party to the contract.
• According to him the freedom of expression was the
greatest evil.
• He did not made any distinction between the state
and the government
2.John Locke(1632-1704) :
• John Locke, an opponent of absolute monarchy and advocated
constitutional government in his book ‘Two Treatises on Civil
Government’.
• According to him human nature is essentially social, rational and
moral. Human actions are guided by reason.
• In the state of nature, there was peace, goodwill, mutual assistance
and preservation.
• The state of nature was governed by laws of nature,i.e.,Reason which
is the law.
• According to him every individual was endowed with natural rights of
life, liberty and property.
• Man abandoned the state of nature because
1.No common and independent arbiter to decide disputes.
2.There was need for universal interpretation of the law of nature
3.There had to be an authority to enforce decisions in agreement with the
law of the nature.
• Locke postulates two contracts : 1.Social Contract 2.Governmental
Contract.
• The social contract put an end to the state of nature and organized a
society for safeguarding life, liberty and property of individuals.
• Only one right was surrendered by the individual I.e. right of interpreting
and enforcing the law of nature.
• The Governmental contract was between the community and the
government.
• The people did not surrender their natural rights to the
sovereign
• Locke thus makes ‘consent’ the basis of government and
authority.
• Locke lays down the constitutional government, and he
distinguishes between the legislature and the executive.
• Locke recognized the people’s right to revolution. To him
individual is prior to state.
• The government aims at the good of the community.
• The doctrine of Constitutional Monarchy is a great
contribution of Locke to political science.
3.Rousseau’s Theory of Social Contract(1712-1776) :
• Rousseau explained this theory in his famous book ‘Social Contract’.
• According to him man is essentially good and sympathetic.
• Man in the state of nature was noble savage and lived an idyllic life.
• The natural man lead innocent life and with perfect freedom and
equality.
• He was not bound by any artificial laws and lived in highest happiness.
• Rousseau says ‘original man had not the least notion of mine and
thine, no true of justice.
• Man is guided by a conscience and has two primal instincts 1. self love
2. sympathy.
• There was no competition, no jealousy and no private property.
• With the increase in population, development of science and technology,
emergence of culture and property the peace of the state of nature was
vanished.
• By a social contract every one surrendered all his rights to the
community. The community became sovereign.
• Rousseau identified sovereignty with the general will of the community.
• Law was the expression of the general will.
• Sovereignty resided in general will which was infallible, indivisible,
inalienable and absolute.
• The absolutism of Rousseau’s sovereign is based on consent.
• General will corresponds to the common interest of all the members of
the community. It aims at common good.
5. The Evolutionary or Historical Theory of Origin of State :
• This is the most acceptable theory regarding the origin of state.
• The state is a growth not a product ,state is an evolution and not an
artificial product. The state is a natural, gradual and evolved
institution.
• The origin of the state can be attributed to a number of factors. These
are
1.Kinship
2.Religion
3.Force
4.Economic Interests
5.Political Consciousness
1.Kinship : Family is the basic unit of kinship. The blood relationship is the bond
brought family members together.
• Blood bond accepted authority as legitimate.
• According to MacIver' Kinship creates society and society at length creates the state’.
2.Religion : Religion was more powerful since it brought people together on the basis
of common worship.
• It created a sense of solidarity and close relationship between religion and politics.
3.Force : War and coercive force facilitated the creation of state. Individual leadership
was established and this leader had the power to use force.
4.Political Consciousness : The necessity of a common authority to settle disputes, to
establish law and order and the awareness of social and political relations
contributed to the organization of a state.
5. Economic Interests : Economic conditions determine the development of political
institutions. State originated to regulate economic activities.