Politics
2 The State
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• The purpose of the State is always the same: to lim
it the individual, to tame him, to subordinate him,
to subjugate him.
Max Stirner, The Ego and His Own
Max Stirner as portrayed
by Friedrich Engels
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• Is the state a force for good or a force for evil?
• What did they do in the past?
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2.1 What is the state
An ethical ideal and the highest expression of human free
dom.
—— Friedrich Hegel
Hegel identified three ‘moment’ of social existence:
the family civil society the state
Particular altruism universal egoism universal altruism
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2.1 What is the state
Functionalist:
State focus on the role or purpose of state institutions.
Organizational:
As the apparatus of government in its broadest sense.
The state comprise the various institutions of governme
nt: the bureaucracy, the military, the police, the courts, t
he social-security system and so on.
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2.1 What is the state
2.1.1 Concept:
The state is a political association that establishes sover
eign jurisdiction within defined territorial borders.
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2.1.2 Key features of the state
• The state is sovereign.
• State institutions are recognizably ‘public’.
• The state is an exercise in legitimation.
• The state is an instrument of domination.
• The state is a territorial association.
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2.1.3 difference between government and the state
• The state is more extensive than government.
• The state is a continuing, even permanent, entity.
• Government the means through which the authority of the
state is brought into operation.
• The state exercises impersonal authority.
• The state, in theory at least, represents the common good o
r general will. Government represents the partisan sympat
hies of those who happen to be in power at a particular tim
e.
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2.2 Rival theories of the state
• What is the nature of state power?
• What interests does the state represent?
• 4 contrasting theories:
• 2.2.1 the pluralist state
• 2.2.2 the capitalist state
• 2.2.3 the leviathan state
• 2.2.4 the patriarchal state
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2.2.1 The pluralist state
•The state act as an ‘umpire’ or ‘referee’ in society.
Thomas Hobbes
John Locke
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• Political obligation :
• The individual is obliged to obey and respect the state.
• Where there is no law there is no freedom.
• —— John Locke
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• The state is ‘the servant of society and not its mast
er’. The state can thus be portrayed as a ‘pincushi
on’ that passively absorbs pressures and forces exe
rted upon it.
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2.2.2 The capitalist state
• The state is nothing but an instrument of class opp
ression.
• —— Karl Marx
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• The state is an instrument for th
e oppression of the exploited cla
ss.
• ——Lenin
• An agent or instrument of the ru
ling class…
• ——Miliband
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2.2.3 The leviathan state
• The state is an independent or autonomous entity t
hat pursues its own interests.
• —— New Right Thinker
Leviathan:
A self-serving monster intent on
expansion and aggrandizement
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2.2.4 The patriarchal state
• The state is run by men, and it is run for men.
• The state power reflects a deeper structure of oppr
ession in the form of patriarchy.
• —— radical feminists
The state is run by men,
and run for men. Do you think so?
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2.3 The role of the state
• 2.3.1 The minimal state
• The minimal state is the ideal of classical liberals,
whose aim is to ensure that individuals enjoy the w
idest possible realm of freedom.
• This view is rooted in social contract theory.
• The state act as nightwatchman.
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2.3 The role of the state
• 2.3.2 The development state
• In Japan and Germany, the state assumed a more active
‘developmental’ role from outset.
• A developmental state is one that intervenes in economic
life with specific purpose of promoting industrial growth
and economic development.
Meiji Period
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2.3 The role of the state
• 2.3.3 The social-democratic state
• Whereas developmental states practice interventionism i
n order to stimulate economic progress, social-democrati
c states intervene with a view to bringing about broader
social restructuring. According to fairness, equality and
social justice.
• In countries such as Austria and Sweden
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2.3 The role of the state
• 2.3.4 The collectivized state
• Collectivized states bring the entirety of economic
life under state control.
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2.3 The role of the state
• 2.3.5 The totalitarian state
• The most extreme and extensive form of interventionism
is found in totalitarian states.
• The state brings not only the economy but education, cul
ture, religion, family life and so on under direct state con
trol.
• The totalitarian state abolish the ‘private’ sphere of life
altogether.
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2.4 The state in a global era
• 2.4.1 The state and globalization
• Whose Globalization? By who and for who?
• The idea, rule and result?
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2.4 The state in a global era
• 2.4.2 State transformation
• The difference between modern and traditional countries
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2.5 General elements of the state
• Population ？
• Sovereignty ？
• Territory ？
• Government ？
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2.6 National institutions
• The state legislature
• State administrative organs
• Judiciary authorities
• Armed forces
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