Theories of Nature of State

Dr. Avinash Samal

Assistant Professor
Hidayatullah National Law University
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Nature of State
2

 State is the most complex and powerful of all

human institutions.
 State has been envisaged from different
points of view
 Theories regarding the nature of state differ
from one another both in form and substance
 The principal theories of the nature of the
state are:
 Juristic theory
 Organismic theory
 Mechanistic theory
 Idealistic theory
 Marxian theory.
Juristic Theory
2

 Embodies the point of view of jurists

 Regards the state as a person in the legal sense
 “State is a juridical creation having a personality, an individuality,
a self-consciousness, and a will of its own, somewhat as a natural
physical person has."
 Originated in the 19th century in the writings of a group of German
writers such as Stein, Gettell, Bluntschli, Jellinek and many others
 They applied the conception of legal personality to the state in the
nineteenth century.
 The state like other groups possessed 'real' not 'fictitious'
personality - Gierke
 The state as par excellence a person in the sense of public law,
having its own legal will distinct from the collective wills of
individuals composing it, and a capacity for expressing its will in
words and acts; and as the creator and possessor of rights.
- Bluntschli
 The personality of state is not merely a juristic fiction or metaphor,
but a reality.
Cont…
2

 As a legal person, the state can sue and be sued.

 "States own property, direct economic enterprises,
appear as plaintiffs in civil and criminal cases, and permit
themselves to be sued in the courts in certain matters".
Gettell
 A permanent and enduring institution having interests
and purposes of its own
 Its interests and objectives differ from the temporary and
self-oriented interests of individuals.
 It acts as a trustee or guardian of the interests of the
present and future generations, and represents the
collective interests of the community.
Cont…
2

 Most of the jurists attribute to the state

a legal or juristic personality.
 In constitutional law and international
law the state is characterised as a
'person'.
 It is “treated as if it were a person and
not as really being a person".
 It implies nothing more than "the
juridical personification of the nation".
Organismic Theory
2

 Organic theory of state presents a biological

conception of the state.
 It presents the state as a living organism, a
real person having organs that perform
functions analogous to those of an animal or
plant.
 It views the individuals who compose the
state as analogous to the cells of an animal or
a plant.
 It postulates a relationship of interdependence
between the state and the individuals similar
to that existing between a biological organism
and its constituent parts.
Cont…
2

 The organismic theory represents the antithesis of

both the juridical theory
 Whereas the juridical theory conceives the state
to be a legal fiction or a mental concept of the
jurists, the organismic theory presents the state
as a real person, a living organism.
 Whereas the mechanistic theory regards the state
as a purely artificial mechanism deliberately
created by formal contract, the organismic
conception considers the state the result of
organic growth based on unity and
interdependence among its constituent parts.
Cont…
2

 The analogy between the state and a human being

goes back to Plato, Cicero, John of Salisbury and
Althusius
 Hobbes described the state as "that great Leviathan
which is but an artificial man, though of greater
strength and stature than the natural"
 Rousseau compared the "body politic" (state) to the
"human body".
 Bluntschli declared the state as the very "image of the
human organism".
 The state, to him, was "no more artificial lifeless
machine", but a "living spiritual organic being".
Mechanistic Theory
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 The mechanistic theory regards the state as a

machine created by man for his own purposes
rather than an organic growth
 The theory regards the state as a purely
artificial mechanism or contrivance
deliberately created by formal contract or
convention, which operates and functions like
a machine, and which can be arbitrarily
reformed or reconstructed at the will of its
creators in complete disregard of historical
laws and established traditions - Garner
Cont…
2

 It looks upon the state as something made by man to

suit his purposes.
 Men want the state primarily to achieve peace, order and
possibly prosperity.
 It presupposes a free individual who is sovereign over
himself.
 State is something which exists for the individuals, not
something for which they exist.
 It establishes a superior will which regulates the lives of
atomistic individuals.
 There is no conception of a common or general good;
what is promoted by state action is the good of every
individual. Men can drastically change the state and its
apparatuses to suit their conveniences.
Cont…
2

 Mechanistic theory was a product of the scientific progress

of 17th century which was beginning of the machine age.
 Men spoke more and more of the energy of a substance
rather than its soul or life.
 While the Greeks considered human creations as copy of
already existing reality, 17th century man considered it
genuinely original and creative.
 This new approach created a new view of the state as being
the result of human will and artifice.
 Society and the state were considered as artificial and
genuinely free creations of men and not natural growths.
 Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, utilitarian Jeremy Bentham
and John Stuart Mill.
 This view was maintained throughout the Enlightenment of
the 18th century, to be rejected by French philosopher
Rousseau and German idealists who stressed the organic
view of state.
Idealistic Theory
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 The idealistic theory of state is variously known as the

absolutist theory, the philosophical theory which forms an
integral part of the great tradition of philosophical idealism.
 It had its origin in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle who
regarded the state as both natural and necessary.
 The state was a self-sufficing moral entity, an ethical
institution which made possible for individuals the good and
virtuous life.
 The best in man could be realized through membership of
the state.
 They practically identified the state with society and
conceived it as an organic unity in which the individual must
find his proper place.
 The Greek conception of man as a social and political animal
reinforced the indispensability of the state as an ethical
institution in which the real nature of man could be realized.
Cont…
2

 Generally speaking the idealistic theory regards the

state as the supreme ethical institution which glorifies
almost to the point of deification.
 The state is indispensable to the fullest development of
human personality.
 State creates and guarantees the real personality of
the individual - It is man's best friend.
 Regards the state as an end in itself rather than a
means and treat it as omnipotent.
 State has a will and personality of its own and an
existence apart from the members who compose it.
 It is a super-personal entity possessing a will, rights,
interests and even standards of morality of its own. As
a general rule, the individual should obey the state and
resistance to its authority is rarely permitted, by some
idealists.
Marxian Theory
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 Marxism emerged in the 19th Century as a scientific

revolutionary philosophy which aimed at a perfect social
order free from injustice and exploitation.
 Marxian view of the nature of the state is based on his
economic interpretation of history, otherwise known as
historical materialism.
 State came into existence with the division of society into
classes at a certain phase of historical development.
 In the struggle of classes, the state emerged as the
instrument of the economically dominant class, and
continues for the benefit of that class.
 Thus the Marxian view is diametrically opposite to classical
Greek view which looks upon the state as a natural and
necessary institution continuing in existence for the sake of
good life for its members.
Cont…
2

 State and politics form a part of the superstructure that

rises upon the foundation (sub-structure) consisting of
the productive forces.
 The mode of production and relations of production at
every historical epoch determine the law, ideology,
politics and form of government. The material conditions
of life determine the relation of rulers and the ruled.
 State is merely an instrument of the dominant economic
class and is used to safeguard its interests
 The nature of the state being what it is, its primary
purpose is the protection of private property and its
function is the oppression of the dispossessed by the
possessing class.