STATE AS POLITICAL AGENCY

The State as a Political Agency

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Table of Contents

Abstract1

Introduction1

The state as a political agency3

The state as politically-organized society3

Contract enforcement and the rule of law5

The capitalist states and the interests of capital5

Critical theories of the state6

Theories of class8

The state in practice9

The notion of the state12

The institutionalist criticism of Marxist theory13

The case of the United States14

Conclusion16

References18

The State as a Political Agency

Abstract

The Marxian theory of state looks at the state as a class-based organization. Hence, the Marxian theory suggests that the state is a political agent of the dominant class which stands to serve the interests of the dominant class while exploiting the subordinate class. The post-Marxist theories of state and other perspectives like the structuralist and others agree that such class-based organization of the state is not plausible. Furthermore, they agree that the state is autonomous of the elite or the dominant class. Hence, the state is not affected by the dominant class. Yet, others argue that the elite class also contributes through its share in the government and the policymaking process to reap the highest share of the national wealth. However, this proposition was not found to be rational when we considered the government in the United States of America. We found that all public services were equally available to all of the social classes living in the United States. Furthermore, there was no news of the politicians, statesmen, or other government officials in the United States serving the interests of the capitalists in the state.

Introduction

The concept of the state is very complex and has been vetted well by the various sociologists, political scientists, and philosophers. Furthermore, the ancient Greek philosophers also gave their views regarding the institution of the state with respect to the Greek city-states. These included Plato and Aristotle among the rest. However, most believed that the state was the most vital organization. It wielded considerable power and provided rights and privileges to its citizens and nationals. It was also the most vital institution or organization as the primitive man felt the indispensable need for the state.

Likewise, the state also promulgates laws and order in the society. These laws and order in the society allow people to live a better organized and safe life in their state. However, the state has been described as indicating numerous concepts. For example, some ingratiate state with society, government, or nation. Yet, it is also the fundamental unit of a confederation or federation of states, as in the United States.

The ancient Greeks called the state as the city-state. The city-states of Athens, etc. were considered as states. The Romans also considered the state as their nation. On the other hand, Machiavelli, an Italian statesman, called the state as a power system in the early sixteenth century.

The French philosopher Bodin first used the term 'republic' for the state. He believed that the state had sovereign power to wield. Likewise, Hobbes, who was a British philosopher, described the state as an institution with unlimited powers. Yet, Bluntschli described the ...