The organization of political power exercising control. The state is a special organization of political public power, which has a special apparatus or mechanism for managing society.

The concept and features of the state

The state is a product of the development of society, product of the irreconcilability of class contradictions. The state appears there, then and to the extent where, when and insofar as class contradictions objectively cannot be reconciled, when society is divided into exploiters and exploited. Everywhere and always, along with the growth and strengthening of this division, a special institution arises and develops - the state, which in no way represents a force imposed on society from the outside. The state is the product of society at a certain stage of development; the state is the recognition that this society has become entangled in irresolvable contradictions, split into irreconcilable opposites, which it is powerless to get rid of. A force was needed that would moderate conflicts, keep society within the boundaries of "order". And this force, originating from society, placing itself above it, becoming more and more alienated from it, is the state.

The emergence of the state is the adaptation of society to new conditions, which does not eliminate what happened in production (i.e., in the economy), but, on the contrary, serves to ensure that the new economic relations of private property are preserved, maintained, and developed. Economic relations are the basis, the cause of all transformations taking place in the superstructure, to which the state also belongs.

The state differs from the tribal organization in the following features. Firstly, public authority, not coinciding with the entire population, isolated from it. Peculiarity public authority in the state consists in the fact that it belongs only to the economically dominant class, it is political, class power. This public power is based on special detachments of armed people - initially on the squads of the monarch, and later on - the army, police, prisons and other compulsory institutions; finally, to officials who are specially engaged in managing people, subordinating the latter to the will of the economically dominant class.

Secondly, division of subjects not by consanguinity, but on a territorial basis. Around the fortified castles of monarchs (kings, princes, etc.), under the protection of their walls, the trade and craft population settled, cities grew. Rich hereditary nobility also settled here. It was in the cities that, first of all, people were connected not by consanguinity, but by neighborly relations. With the passage

time, kinship ties are replaced by neighbors and in countryside.

The reasons and basic patterns of the formation of the state were the same for all the peoples of our planet. However, in different regions of the world, different peoples the process of state formation had its own characteristics, sometimes very significant. They were associated with the geographical environment, the specific historical conditions in which certain states were created.

The classical form is the emergence of the state due to the action of only internal factors in the development of a given society, stratification into antagonistic classes. This form can be considered on the example of the Athenian state. Subsequently, the formation of the state went along this path among other peoples, for example, among the Slavs. The emergence of the state among the Athenians is in the highest degree a typical example of the formation of a state in general, because, on the one hand, it occurs in its pure form, without any forcible interference, external or internal, on the other hand, because in this case it is very high developed form state - a democratic republic - arises directly from the tribal system, and, finally, because we are quite well aware of all the essential details of the formation of this state. In Rome, the tribal society turns into a closed aristocracy, surrounded by numerous, standing outside this society, disenfranchised, but duty-bearing plebs; the victory of the plebs explodes the old tribal system and erects a state on its ruins, in which both the tribal aristocracy and the plebs soon completely dissolve. Among the German conquerors of the Roman Empire, the state arises as a direct result of the conquest of vast foreign territories, for domination over which the tribal system does not provide any means. Consequently, the process of state formation is often "pushed", accelerated by factors external to a given society, for example, a war with neighboring tribes or already existing states. As a result of the conquest by the Germanic tribes of the vast territories of the slave-owning Roman Empire, the tribal organization of the victors, which was at the stage of military democracy, quickly degenerated into a feudal state.

1.5. The essence of the state

In order to more deeply understand what a state-organized society is, it is necessary to consider the essence of the state.

The essence of any phenomenon is the main, basic, defining in this phenomenon, it is a set of internal characteristic features and properties, without which the phenomenon loses its peculiarity, originality. What is the essence of the state? There are several approaches to researching this issue.

class approach consists in the fact that the state is seen as a machine for maintaining the domination of one class over another, and the minority over the majority, and the essence of such a state lies in the dictatorship of the economically and politically dominant class. This concept of the state reflects the idea of the state in the proper sense of the word, which is the instrument of the dictatorship of this class. Thus, certain ruling classes carried out the dictatorship of slave owners, feudal lords, and the bourgeoisie. The dictatorship of the class determines the main goals, tasks and functions of these states;

The socialist state, at the stage of the dictatorship of the proletariat, already exercises it in the interests of the gigantic majority of the population, and thus it is not a state in the proper sense of the word. This is already a semi-state. With the demolition of the bourgeois state apparatus, designed to carry out primarily the functions of suppression, creative goals and functions come to the fore, the social base of the new state expands, the essence of which is the expression of the will and interests of the working people through the state. Unfortunately, many theoretical propositions in the socialist states remained only in theory, but in practice power in society turned out to be usurped by the bureaucracy; the state apparatus served not the broad strata of the working people, but the party-state elite.

Another approach is to consider the essence of the state from universal, general social principles. Changes took place both in the socialist and in the bourgeois Western states: Contrary to the predictions of political scientists, the capitalist society survived, managed to successfully overcome the crisis, the decline in production, largely using the experience of developing states of a socialist orientation. The state, as an active force, intervening in the economy, brought society out of depression, thereby confirming the idea that any state is called upon to solve common affairs in the interests of the whole society. True, as a result of the struggle of the masses for their civil and political rights, social guarantees were introduced for various segments of the population, and material incentives were expanded. There was a combination of the ideas of socialism with the practice of a civilized civil society, which gave reason to Western scientists to consider modern society already "non-capitalist in the proper sense of the word." Indeed, modern Western society is sometimes more oriented towards socialism than the countries that called themselves socialist.

The state mechanism has turned from an instrument of predominantly suppression into a means primarily for the implementation of common affairs, an instrument for reaching agreement and finding compromises.

In the essence of the state, depending on historical conditions, either the class principle (violence) can come to the fore, which is typical for exploitative states. in, or general social (compromise), which is more and more manifested in modern

post-capitalist and post-socialist societies. These two principles are combined in the essence of the state, characterize it in its entirety. If, however, to abandon any of them, then the characterization of the essence of the state will be flawed. The whole point is which state is considered and in what historical conditions.

Therefore, any modern democratic state, from the point of view of its essence, can be characterized as an instrument and means of social compromise in content and as a legal one in form. The essence of the state as a political organization is especially clearly manifested in its comparison with civil society, which includes all the richness of social relations outside the political state. The state and civil society appear as a unity of form and content, where the form is represented by the rule of law, and its content is represented by civil society.

Modern theory comes from the multidimensionality of the actual existence of the state: it can be viewed from the standpoint of national, religious, geographical and other approaches.

In addition to the fact that the state is a public authority, separated from the population, having a management apparatus, material appendages, it can also be considered as a political organization-association, imbued with a variety of systems of power relations and institutions. I. Kant wrote that the state is an association of people subject to legal laws. K. Marx proceeded from the fact that the state should be considered as a certain association in which its members are united into a single whole by public power structures and relations.

Thus, the state in the proper sense of the word (class approach) is a political organization that maintains the domination of one class over another, and minorities over the majority, the essence of such a state lies in the dictatorship of the economically and politically dominant class.

From the point of view of the general social approach, the state is a political organization-association, whose members are united into a single whole by public-power relations and structures, it is a tool and a means of achieving a compromise between them.

1.6. Theories of the origin of the state

The most famous and widespread theory of the origin of the state is the class theory, developed by the founders of Marxism-Leninism (for details, see question 1.3). However, the question of the essence of the state, its origin and patterns of development attracted the attention of many scientists and thinkers long before Marx. They developed various original theories of the emergence of the state, which enriched world science and made a certain contribution to the process of human cognition of the world around.

1. Theological theory quite multifaceted, which, undoubtedly, is explained by the special historical and material conditions for the existence of various states of both the Ancient East and the Ancient West (Greece, Rome).

Among the ancient peoples, political and legal thought goes back to mythological sources and develops the idea that earthly orders are part of the global, cosmic, divine origin. In line with this understanding, the topics of the earthly life of people, the social and state system, their relationship with each other, rights and obligations are covered in myths.

The main idea of theological theory is the divine primary source of the origin and essence of the state: all power is from God. This gave her unconditional obligation and holiness.

2. According to patriarchal theory the state grows out of a family in which the power of the monarch is personified with the power of the father over the members of his family, where there is a correspondence between the cosmos as a whole, the state and the individual human soul; the state is a hoop holding its members together on the basis of mutual respect and paternal love. Supporters of this theory (Plato, Aristotle) definitely speak out in favor of the city-polis, they talk about the division of labor between the townspeople, which is the Athenian idealization of the Egyptian caste system. Life in the state is based on the principles of justice, community, equality, collectivism. "No one should have any private property, unless it is absolutely necessary, there should not be a dwelling or storeroom to which anyone would not have access." Plato ~ opponent of the extremes of wealth and poverty. He subtly notes the political significance property stratification society that leads to the state of the poor and the rich. His ideal is an aristocratic state system.

3. Contract theory origin of the state became widespread at a later time - at the time bourgeois revolutions XVII - XVIII centuries. According to this theory, the state arises as a result of the conclusion of a social contract between people who are in a "natural" state, turning them into a single whole, into a people. On the basis of this primary contract, civil society and its political form- state. The latter ensures the protection of private property and the safety of the individuals who have concluded the contract. Subsequently, a secondary agreement is concluded on their subordination to a certain person, to whom power over them is transferred, who is obliged to exercise it in the interests of the people. Otherwise, the people have the right to revolt.

4. Theory of violence. One of the founders and leading representative of the sociological direction of the bourgeois theory of state and law in the second half of the 19th century was L. Gumplovich (1838 - 1909), professor state law in Austria, Vice President International Institute sociology in Paris. One of the supporters of this theory was K. Kautsky.

Cause of origin and basis political power and they saw the state not in economic relations, but in the conquest, violence, enslavement of some tribes by others. It was argued that as a result of such violence, a unity of opposite elements of the state is formed: ruling and subject, ruling and ruled, masters and slaves, winners and vanquished. Not divine providence, social contract or the idea of freedom, but the clash of hostile tribes, the brutal superiority of power, war, struggle, devastation, in a word, violence, this is what leads to the formation of the state. The tribe of victors subjugates the tribe of the vanquished, appropriates all their land and then forces the defeated tribe to systematically work for themselves, pay tribute or taxes. In any case of such a conquest, classes arise, not as a result of a split of the community into various subdivisions, but as a result of the union of two communities, one of which becomes the dominant class, the other the oppressed and exploited class, while the coercive apparatus, which is created by the victors to control the vanquished, turns into state.

Thus, according to this concept, the state is a “naturally” (that is, through violence) organization of the rule of one tribe over another. And this violence and subjugation of the ruled by the ruled are the basis for the emergence of economic domination. As a result of wars, tribes are transformed into castes, estates and classes. The conquerors turned the conquered into slaves, turning them into "living tools". However, adherents of the theory of violence are unable to explain why private property, classes and the state appear only at a certain stage of conquest. It is well known that violence only affects the process of state formation (the ancient Germans), but it itself, as such, without appropriate economic prerequisites, cannot be the cause of its occurrence.

5. organic theory the origin of the state, the largest representative of which was G. Spencer, considers the state the result of organic evolution, a variety of which is social evolution. Just as in wildlife, G. Spencer believed, the fittest survive, so in society in the process foreign wars and conquests going on natural selection, which determines the emergence of governments and the further functioning of the state in accordance with the laws of organic evolution.

6. Psychological the theory explains the reasons for the emergence of the state by the properties of the human psyche, his biopsychic instincts, etc. The well-known Russian scientist L.I. Z. Freud - the founder of the psycho-analytical trend in bourgeois sociology - deduced the need to create a state from the human psyche. Out of the originally existing patriarchal horde, the state emerges to suppress the aggressive inclinations of man in the future.

E. Durkheim, in contrast to the individual psychological theory, developed a view of man as, first of all, a social, and not a biopsychological being. Society is understood as a product of not individual, but collective consciousness of people, in which the idea of social solidarity is formed, and appropriate state-legal institutions are created to ensure it.

State - organization of political power that manages society and ensures order and stability in it.

Main signs of the state are: the presence of a certain territory, sovereignty, a broad social base, a monopoly on legitimate violence, the right to collect taxes, the public nature of power, the presence of state symbols.

State performs internal functions among which are economic, stabilization, coordination, social, etc. There are also external functions, the most important of which are the provision of defense and the establishment of international cooperation.

By form of government states are divided into monarchies (constitutional and absolute) and republics (parliamentary, presidential and mixed). Depending on the forms state structure distinguish unitary states, federations and confederations.

State

State - this is a special organization of political power, which has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal activity.

AT historical In terms of the state, the state can be defined as a social organization that has ultimate power over all people living within the boundaries of a certain territory, and has as its main goal the solution of common problems and ensuring the common good while maintaining, above all, order.

AT structural plan, the state appears as an extensive network of institutions and organizations that embody the three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

Government is sovereign, that is, supreme, in relation to all organizations and persons within the country, as well as independent, independent in relation to other states. The state is the official representative of the whole society, all its members, called citizens.

The loans collected from the population and received from it are directed to the maintenance of the state apparatus of power.

The state is a universal organization, distinguished by a number of attributes and features that have no analogues.

State signs

Coercion - state coercion is primary and priority in relation to the right to coerce other subjects within the given state and is carried out by specialized bodies in situations determined by law.
Sovereignty - the state has the highest and unlimited power in relation to all persons and organizations operating within historically established borders.
Universality - the state acts on behalf of the whole society and extends its power to the entire territory.

Signs of the state are territorial organization population, state sovereignty, tax collection, lawmaking. The state subjugates the entire population living in a certain territory, regardless of the administrative-territorial division.

State Attributes

Territory - defined by the boundaries separating the spheres of sovereignty of individual states.
The population is the subjects of the state, on which its power extends and under the protection of which they are.
Apparatus - a system of organs and the presence of a special "class of officials" through which the state functions and develops. The issuance of laws and regulations binding on the entire population of a given state is carried out by the state legislature.

The concept of the state

The state arises at a certain stage in the development of society as a political organization, as an institution of power and management of society. There are two main concepts of the emergence of the state. In accordance with the first concept, the state arises in the course of the natural development of society and the conclusion of an agreement between citizens and rulers (T. Hobbes, J. Locke). The second concept goes back to the ideas of Plato. She rejects the first and insists that the state arises as a result of the conquest (conquest) by a relatively small group of militant and organized people (tribe, race) of a significantly larger, but less organized population (D. Hume, F. Nietzsche). Obviously, in the history of mankind, both the first and the second ways of the emergence of the state took place.

As already mentioned, in the beginning the state was the only political organization in society. Later, during the development political system societies, other political organizations also arise (parties, movements, blocs, etc.).

The term "state" is usually used in a broad and narrow sense.

In a broad sense the state is identified with society, with a particular country. For example, we say: "UN member states", "NATO member states", "State of India". In the above examples, the state refers to entire countries together with their peoples living in a certain territory. This idea of the state dominated in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

In a narrow sense the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system, which has supreme power in society. Such an understanding of the role and place of the state is substantiated during the formation of civil society institutions (XVIII-XIX centuries), when the political system becomes more complex and social structure society, there is a need to separate the actual state institutions and institutions from society and other non-state institutions of the political system.

The state is the main socio-political institution of society, the core of the political system. Possessing sovereign power in society, it controls the life of people, regulates relations between various social strata and classes, and is responsible for the stability of society and the security of its citizens.

The state has a complex organizational structure, which includes the following elements: legislative institutions, executive and administrative bodies, the judiciary, public order and state security bodies, the armed forces, etc. All this allows the state to perform not only the functions of managing society, but also the functions of coercion (institutionalized violence) in in relation to both individual citizens and large social communities (classes, estates, nations). Yes, in the years Soviet power in the USSR, many classes and estates were actually destroyed (bourgeoisie, merchants, prosperous peasantry, etc.), political repression Entire peoples were exposed (Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Germans, etc.).

State signs

The state is recognized as the main subject of political activity. FROM functional from the point of view, the state is the leading political institution that manages society and ensures order and stability in it. FROM organizational point of view, the state is an organization of political power that enters into relations with other subjects of political activity (for example, citizens). In this understanding, the state is seen as a set of political institutions (courts, social security system, army, bureaucracy, local authorities, etc.) responsible for organizing social life and funded by the community.

signs, which distinguish the state from other subjects of political activity, are as follows:

Presence of a certain territory- the jurisdiction of the state (the right to judge and resolve legal issues) is determined by its territorial boundaries. Within these boundaries, the power of the state extends to all members of society (both those who have the citizenship of the country and those who do not);

Sovereignty- the state is completely independent in internal affairs and in the conduct of foreign policy;

Variety of resources used- the state accumulates the main power resources (economic, social, spiritual, etc.) to exercise its powers;

The desire to represent the interests of the whole society - the state acts on behalf of the whole society, and not individuals or social groups;

Monopoly on legitimate violence- the state has the right to use force to ensure the implementation of laws and punish their violators;

The right to collect taxes- the state establishes and collects various taxes and fees from the population, which are directed to finance state bodies and solve various management tasks;

The public nature of power- The state ensures the protection of public interests, not private ones. When implementing public policy usually there is no personal relationship between the authorities and citizens;

The presence of symbols- the state has its own signs of statehood - a flag, emblem, anthem, special symbols and attributes of power (for example, a crown, scepter and orb in some monarchies), etc.

In a number of contexts, the concept of "state" is perceived as close in meaning to the concepts of "country", "society", "government", but this is not so.

Country- the concept is primarily cultural and geographical. This term is usually used when talking about area, climate, natural areas, population, nationalities, religions, etc. The state is a political concept and denotes the political organization of that other country - the form of its government and structure, political regime, etc.

Society is a broader concept than the state. For example, a society can be above the state (society as all of humanity) or pre-state (such are the tribe and primeval race). At the present stage, the concepts of society and the state also do not coincide: public authority (say, a layer of professional managers) is relatively independent and isolated from the rest of society.

Government - only a part of the state, its highest administrative and executive body, an instrument for exercising political power. The state is a stable institution, while governments come and go.

General signs of the state

Despite all the variety of types and forms state formations that arose earlier and exist at the present time, it is possible to distinguish common features which to some extent are typical for any state. In our opinion, these features were most fully and reasonably presented by V. P. Pugachev.

These signs include the following:

public authority, separated from society and not coinciding with social organization; the presence of a special layer of people who carry out political administration society;
a certain territory (political space), delineated by the boundaries, to which the laws and powers of the state apply;
sovereignty - supreme power over all citizens living in a certain territory, their institutions and organizations;
monopoly on the legal use of force. Only the state has "legitimate" grounds for restricting the rights and freedoms of citizens and even depriving them of their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: the army, police, courts, prisons, etc. P.;
the right to levy taxes and fees from the population, which are necessary for the maintenance of state bodies and the material support of state policy: defense, economic, social, etc.;
compulsory membership in the state. A person receives citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of any person;
a claim to represent the whole of society as a whole and to protect common interests and goals. In reality, no state or other organization is able to fully reflect the interests of all social groups, classes and individual citizens of society.

All functions of the state can be divided into two main types: internal and external.

While doing internal functions the activity of the state is aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, at maintaining its power. By implementing external functions, the state acts as a subject international relations, representing a specific people, territory, and sovereign power.

State performs internal functions among which are economic, stabilization, coordination, social, etc. There are also external functions the most important of which are the provision of defense and the establishment of international cooperation.

By form of government states are divided into monarchies (constitutional and absolute) and republics (parliamentary, presidential and mixed). Depending on the forms of government distinguish unitary states, federations and confederations.

State

The state is a special organization of political power, which has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal activity.

AT structural plan, the state appears as an extensive network of institutions and organizations that embody the three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

State power is sovereign, that is, supreme, in relation to all organizations and persons within the country, as well as independent, independent in relation to other states. The state is the official representative of the whole society, all its members, called citizens.

Collected from the population taxes and loans received from him are directed to the maintenance of the state apparatus of power.

The state is a universal organization, distinguished by a number of attributes and features that have no analogues.

State signs

§ Coercion - state coercion is primary and priority in relation to the right to coerce other entities within the given state and is carried out by specialized bodies in situations determined by law.

§ Sovereignty - the state has the highest and unlimited power in relation to all persons and organizations operating within historically established borders.

§ Universality - the state acts on behalf of the whole society and extends its power to the entire territory.

The signs of the state are the territorial organization of the population, state sovereignty, tax collection, lawmaking. The state subjugates the entire population living in a certain territory, regardless of the administrative-territorial division.

State Attributes

§ Territory - is determined by the boundaries separating the spheres of sovereignty of individual states.

§ Population - subjects of the state, which extends its power and under the protection of which they are.

§ Apparatus - a system of organs and the presence of a special "class of officials" through which the state functions and develops. The issuance of laws and regulations binding on the entire population of a given state is carried out by the state legislature.

Main features states are: the presence of a certain territory, sovereignty, a broad social base, a monopoly on legitimate violence, the right to collect taxes, the public nature of power, the presence of state symbols.

The state performs internal functions, among which are economic, stabilization, coordination, social, etc. There are also external functions, the most important of which are the provision of defense and the establishment of international cooperation.

According to the form of government, states are divided into monarchies (constitutional and absolute) and republics (parliamentary, presidential and mixed). Depending on the form of government, unitary states, federations and confederations are distinguished.

State

The concept and features of the state

The state is a special organization of political power, which has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal activity.

In historical terms, the state can be defined as a social organization that has ultimate power over all people living within the boundaries of a certain territory, and has as its main goal the solution of common problems and ensuring the common good while maintaining, above all, order.

Structurally, the state appears as an extensive network of institutions and organizations that embody the three branches of power: legislative, executive and judicial.

Taxes levied on the population and loans received from it are directed to the maintenance of the state apparatus of power.

The state is a universal organization, distinguished by a number of attributes and features that have no analogues.

State signs

Coercion - state coercion is primary and priority in relation to the right to coerce other entities within the given state and is carried out by specialized bodies in situations determined by law.

Sovereignty - the state has the highest and unlimited power in relation to all persons and organizations operating within historically established borders.

Universality - the state acts on behalf of the whole society and extends its power to the entire territory.

State Attributes

Territory - is defined by the boundaries separating the spheres of sovereignty of individual states.

Population - subjects of the state, which extends its power and under the protection of which they are.

Apparatus - a system of organs and the presence of a special "class of officials" through which the state functions and develops. The issuance of laws and regulations binding on the entire population of a given state is carried out by the state legislature.

The concept of the state

As already mentioned, in the beginning the state was the only political organization in society. In the future, in the course of the development of the political system of society, other political organizations (parties, movements, blocs, etc.) also arise.

The term "state" is usually used in a broad and narrow sense.

In a broad sense, the state is identified with society, with a particular country. For example, we say: "UN member states", "NATO member states", "State of India". In the above examples, the state refers to entire countries together with their peoples living in a certain territory. This idea of the state dominated in antiquity and the Middle Ages.

In a narrow sense, the state is understood as one of the institutions of the political system, which has supreme power in society. Such an understanding of the role and place of the state is substantiated during the formation of civil society institutions (XVIII - XIX centuries), when the political system and social structure of society become more complex, it becomes necessary to separate state institutions and institutions from society and other non-state institutions of the political system.

The state has a complex organizational structure, which includes the following elements: legislative institutions, executive and administrative bodies, the judiciary, public order and state security bodies, the armed forces, etc. All this allows the state to perform not only the functions of managing society, but also the functions of coercion (institutionalized violence) against both individual citizens and large social communities (classes, estates, nations). So, during the years of Soviet power in the USSR, many classes and estates were actually destroyed (bourgeoisie, merchants, prosperous peasantry, etc.), entire peoples were subjected to political repressions (Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Germans, etc.).

State signs

The state is recognized as the main subject of political activity. From a functional point of view, the state is the leading political institution that manages society and ensures order and stability in it. From an organizational point of view, the state is an organization of political power that enters into relations with other subjects of political activity (for example, citizens). In this understanding, the state is seen as a set of political institutions (courts, social security system, army, bureaucracy, local authorities, etc.) responsible for organizing social life and financed by society.

The features that distinguish the state from other subjects of political activity are as follows:

The presence of a certain territory - the jurisdiction of the state (the right to judge and resolve legal issues) is determined by its territorial boundaries. Within these boundaries, the power of the state extends to all members of society (both those who have the citizenship of the country and those who do not);

Sovereignty - the state is completely independent in internal affairs and in the conduct of foreign policy;

The variety of resources used - the state accumulates the main power resources (economic, social, spiritual, etc.) to exercise its powers;

The desire to represent the interests of the whole society - the state acts on behalf of the whole society, and not individuals or social groups;

Monopoly on legitimate violence - the state has the right to use force to enforce laws and punish their violators;

The right to collect taxes - the state establishes and collects various taxes and fees from the population, which are directed to finance state bodies and solve various management tasks;

The public nature of power - the state ensures the protection of public interests, not private ones. In the implementation of public policy, there is usually no personal relationship between government and citizens;

The presence of symbols - the state has its own signs of statehood - a flag, emblem, anthem, special symbols and attributes of power (for example, a crown, scepter and orb in some monarchies), etc.

In a number of contexts, the concept of "state" is perceived as close in meaning to the concepts of "country", "society", "government", but this is not so.

Country - the concept is primarily cultural and geographical. This term is usually used when talking about area, climate, natural areas, population, nationalities, religions, etc. The state is a political concept and denotes the political organization of that other country - the form of its government and structure, political regime, etc.

Society is a broader concept than the state. For example, a society can be above the state (society as all of humanity) or pre-state (such are the tribe and the primitive family). At the present stage, the concepts of society and the state also do not coincide: public authority (say, a layer of professional managers) is relatively independent and isolated from the rest of society.

The government is only a part of the state, its highest administrative and executive body, an instrument for exercising political power. The state is a stable institution, while governments come and go.

General signs of the state

Despite all the variety of types and forms of state formations that arose earlier and currently exist, one can single out common features that are more or less characteristic of any state. In our opinion, these features were most fully and reasonably presented by V. P. Pugachev.

These signs include the following:

public authority, separated from society and not coinciding with social organization; the presence of a special layer of people who carry out the political management of society;

a certain territory (political space), delineated by the boundaries, to which the laws and powers of the state apply;

sovereignty - supreme power over all citizens living in a certain territory, their institutions and organizations;

monopoly on the legal use of force. Only the state has "legitimate" grounds for restricting the rights and freedoms of citizens and even depriving them of their lives. For these purposes, it has special power structures: the army, police, courts, prisons, etc. P.;

the right to levy taxes and fees from the population, which are necessary for the maintenance of state bodies and the material support of state policy: defense, economic, social, etc.;

compulsory membership in the state. A person receives citizenship from the moment of birth. Unlike membership in a party or other organizations, citizenship is a necessary attribute of any person;

a claim to represent the whole of society as a whole and to protect common interests and goals. In reality, no state or other organization is able to fully reflect the interests of all social groups, classes and individual citizens of society.

All functions of the state can be divided into two main types: internal and external.

When performing internal functions, the activity of the state is aimed at managing society, at coordinating the interests of various social strata and classes, at maintaining its power. Carrying out external functions, the state acts as a subject of international relations, representing a certain people, territory and sovereign power.

Secondly, the state is a special organization of political power, which has a special apparatus (mechanism) for managing society to ensure its normal functioning. The mechanism of the state is the material expression of state power. Through a whole system of its organs and institutions, the state directly manages society, consolidates and implements a certain regime of political power, and protects the inviolability of its borders.

The parts of the state mechanism, diverse in their structure and tasks, are united by a common purpose: to ensure the protection and functioning of society and its members in accordance with the law. The most important state bodies, which to some extent were inherent in all historical types and varieties of the state, include legislative, executive and judicial. Special place the mechanism of the state has always been occupied by bodies that carry out coercive, including punitive functions: the army, police, gendarmerie, prison and correctional labor institutions.

The mechanism of the state is not a constant. At various stages of social development, state bodies change structurally and solve tasks that are different in their specific content. However, these changes and differences do not exclude common elements that are inherent in the mechanism of any state.

Thirdly, the state organizes public life on a legal basis. Legal forms of organizing the life of society are inherent in the state. Without law, legislation, the state is not able to effectively manage society, ensure the unconditional implementation of decisions. Among the many political organizations, only the state, represented by its competent authorities, issues decrees that are binding on the entire population of the country. Being the official representative of the whole society, the state, if necessary, enforces the requirements of legal norms with the help of its special bodies (courts, administration, and others).

Fourthly, the state is a sovereign organization of power. This makes it different from other political entities society.

State sovereignty- this is such a property of state power, which is expressed in the supremacy and independence of this state in relation to any other authorities within the country, as well as in the sphere of interstate relations, with strict observance of generally recognized norms of international law.

Sovereignty is a collective sign of the state. It concentrates all the most essential features state organization society. The independence and supremacy of state power is specifically expressed in the following:

in universality - only decisions of state power apply to the entire population and public organizations given country;

in the prerogative - the possibility of canceling and recognizing as null and void any illegal manifestation of other public authorities;

in the presence of special means of influence that no other public organization has.

The supremacy of state power does not at all exclude its interaction with non-state political organizations in solving various issues of state and public life. In the sovereignty of the state, the sovereignty of the people finds its political and legal expression, in whose interests the state exercises leadership of society.

Under certain conditions, the sovereignty of the state coincides with the sovereignty of the people. The sovereignty of the people means the rule of the people, their right to decide their own destiny, the fundamental issues of state and social development, to form the direction of the policy of their state, the composition of its bodies, to control the activities of state power.

The concept of state sovereignty is closely related to the concept of national sovereignty. National sovereignty means the right of nations to self-determination up to secession and formation of an independent state. AT multinational states formed by the voluntary association of nations, the sovereignty exercised by this complex state cannot be the sovereignty of a single nation.

These are the most general features of the state, characterizing it as a specific organization of society. By themselves, the signs do not yet give a complete picture of the essence and social purpose of the state in its historical development. With the improvement of social life, the person himself, with the growth of his social, political and moral maturity, the state also changes. Its general features, while remaining unchanged in principle, are filled with new, more rational content. The essence of the state is enriched, obsolete ones die off and more progressive functions and forms of its activity appear, corresponding to the objective needs of social development.

The essence of the state as a social phenomenon is, figuratively speaking, a multifaceted core, which consists of many interconnected internal and outside parties, giving it the qualitative certainty of a universal control system. To reveal the essence of the state means to reveal the main thing that determines what determines its objective necessity in society, to understand why society cannot exist and develop without the state.

The most important, qualitatively constant feature of the state is that it, in all its varieties, always acts as the only organization of political power that governs the entire society. In the scientific and practical sense, all power is control. State power is a special type of government, characterized by the fact that, along with colossal organizational capabilities, it also has the right to use forcible coercion to fulfill state decrees.

The state arises as a class organization of political power. This position is directly or indirectly proven by world science and historical practice. Indeed, the slave-owning state was essentially a political organization of slave-owners. Although to some extent it protected the interests of all free citizens. The feudal state is an organ of political power, primarily of the feudal lords, as well as other wealthy classes (merchants, artisans, clergymen). The capitalist state at the first (classical) stages of its development acted as an organ for expressing the interests of the bourgeoisie.

An analysis of certain economic and social patterns of the emergence and functioning of the state, mainly from class positions, made it possible to give a "universal" definition of the essence of the state, covering all historical types of states, including modern ones.

The peculiarity of the historical types of states that preceded modern times is that they basically expressed the economic interests of a minority (slave owners, feudal lords, capitalists).

Thus, due to objective reasons, the state turns mainly into the organizing force of society, which expresses and protects the personal and common interests of its members.

Private property, which has become an objective factor in the emergence of the state, is also a constant companion in the process of its development. With the improvement of public life, forms of ownership, including private ones, become more diverse. The property of the minority gradually turns into the property of the majority. As a result of revolutionary and evolutionary transformations of property relations, the socio-economic essence of the state, its goals and objectives are also changing. With the formation of state, collective, joint-stock, cooperative, farmer, individual and other forms of ownership, private property, that is, the property of the individual, began to acquire new qualitative features.

The social purpose of the state stems from his entities. What is essence state, such is the nature of its activities, such are the goals and objectives that it sets for itself. One can talk about the social purpose of the state in general, abstracting from those historically transient tasks that it solved at one stage or another of the development of society. Attempts to determine the social purpose of the state in the historical perspective were made by thinkers different eras and various scientific fields. So, Plato and Aristotle believed that the purpose of any state is moral affirmation. Later this view of the social purpose of the state was supported and developed by Hegel. Representatives of the contractual theory of the origin of the state saw in its existence common good(Grotius); general security(Hobbes); general freedom(Russo). Lassalle main task states also seen in development and realization of human freedom

So, views on the social purpose of the state are determined by those objective conditions that are characteristic of a given level of development of society. With their change, the views on the social purpose of the state also change.

At the same time, the content of the activities of the state in separate historical periods also have a significant impact subjective factors. These include, first of all, the truth of a certain theory, its universality, the ability to foresee the historical perspective, possible changes in social life, its implementation in the practice of state building.

Being still the main governing system of society, the state is increasingly turning into an organ for overcoming social contradictions, taking into account and coordinating the interests of various groups of the population, and implementing such decisions that would be supported by various social strata. In the activities of the state, such important general democratic institutions as the separation of powers, the rule of law, publicity, pluralism of opinions, high role court.

The role of the state in the international arena, its external activity, which requires mutual concessions, compromises, and reasonable agreements with other states, is also changing significantly.

All this gives grounds to characterize the modern civilized state as a means of social compromise. (by content) and as a rule of law (in form).