Quite often, some say that the state is the main institution of the political system. Moreover, this is told in a peremptory tone, and many do not think about why everything is so. So let's look at why the state is considered as the main institution of the political system.
general information
The state is a historical phenomenon.
Primitive society did not possess it. Then there was no
political system. This state of affairs was formed due to the fact that this was not necessary. All contradictions that arose were resolved, as a rule, by authority, public opinion and brute force. But, as society developed, it was necessary to create a certain mechanism that could adequately and unambiguously resolve disputes and conduct common affairs. The implementation of this functionality without the availability of appropriate controls was impossible. It was at this stage that it was established that the main institution of the political system is the state. Of course, now it looks clear, and then this understanding was only being formed. How did this process go?
Developing an understanding of the situation
Now they confidently say that the state is the main institution of the political system of society . But how did mankind come to this conclusion? Initially, the processes of differentiation of the social structure took place. They accelerated significantly when the social division of labor appeared. New, previously non-existent social groups arose (later called layers and classes). Each of them had its own specific needs and interests. Private property stood out. There was a need for an effective mechanism of relations between different public groups to be created, as well as the principles of protection and preservation of private and collective property of their owners. These circumstances (as well as a number of others) led to the emergence of such a regulatory and protective structure of society.
That is why the state is the main institution of the political system, uniting society. There are a number of aspects and nuances, with a reservation for which it is necessary to make such statements. What are they?
We understand the nuances
Why is the status of the main institution in the political system assigned to the state, and not to the church, political party or public organizations? After all, religions existed even in the time of the primitive system. There are several reasons for this.
The very first one is that society delegates to a certain state the basic power and authority. So, he has the main levers (political, economic, military) of influence on society. The state is the owner of all power in a certain territory. He also has the exclusive right to publish laws and other normative acts, which are binding on the entire population. In addition, only the state has the right to use force. See how many possibilities he has? Therefore, it is believed that the state is the main institution of the political system. That is, this is not the subjective opinion of an individual person, but the conclusion of many people, which is based on real facts. Indeed, for example, churchmen can persuade individuals to do something, but acting with such success within the entire state is beyond their means. No, of course, one can recall the city-state of the Vatican, but it exists solely because Italy allowed it.
Functions
What does the state do? What role does it play in modern society? For this, there is a division into types of state functions:
- Internal This includes economic, social, cultural, educational and legal functions. It should be noted that in various literature, in addition to the above, you can find a number of others. An example is the defense of the constitutional order, the environmental function, and so on.
- External This includes protecting society from external enemies and building civilized relations with other states.
Functions are performed through an organ system. It is also called the state apparatus. For greater specialization and effectiveness, a system of separation of powers works. The most popular is the allocation of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Although some people talk about another component - the media. Legally, this is not true. About their power functions we can only speak in a figurative sense. They are not directly included in the power structure. They cannot make decisions, laws and regulations that will be binding on all citizens. But the media can have a strong psychological and moral impact on society and people's minds.
Evolutionary process
We know that the state is the main institution of the political system. But it did not immediately appear in its modern form, but developed gradually. But the interest for us is not only and not so much the past as the future. One may encounter speculations that over time the state will "wither away" as unnecessary. Despite the fact that such forecasts are made from century to century, until this moment, humanity has not yet reached. Attempts to organize something like this (Marxism and the USSR) were unsuccessful. On the contrary, now we can only talk about the fact that more and more differentiation (stratification) of society is being carried out, the number of tasks that the state is involved in and so on is growing. There are also various problems that need to be addressed. Therefore, now the state is the main institution of the political system.
Conclusion
It should be noted that there is no unanimous opinion on the role of the state in the development of society. It is also difficult to achieve a unified point of view about when exactly for the first time it became the main political institution. As an argument, various scholars cite a wide variety of information, ranging from simple and small states of antiquity, ending with the situation already formed in the Middle Ages - the division into countries.