In this article you will learn about the Difference Between State and Society in Political Science.
State and Society
In ancient times, no difference was made between the State and Society. The ancient philosophers, like Aristotle and Plato, never made any distinction between the two. However, later on, in the 17th century, political thinkers came forward and recognised that the State was different from the Society. Since that time all the political thinkers, the idealists and the supporters of the concept of totalitarian state have been accepting this difference.
Society is often and widely defined as the sum total of social relations among people. It is the web of social relationships. The network of relations that naturally emerges in the process of collective living is known as society or the social system. Society is a vast and complex system of social relations. All human institutions, communities, structures, classes, associations and groups exist and work within the society. All human activities, social, economic, political, moral, cultural, regional, educational and others, take place in society.
Difference Between State and Society
The State came into existence after the birth or the evolution of society. The social relationships formed by the people needed protection and for this a need for an order-maintaining and regulating body was felt. State emerged as such an institution and it started providing through its agency i.e. government, law, order and security to the Society. The boundaries of State and Society are usually coterminous yet there are various differences between the two.
1. Society is wider in scope than State : Society is formed by all types of human relationships that emerge and develop among the people when they live together. It is a very vast and comprehensive organisation of human beings. It includes social, economic, moral, cultural, regional, political and in fact all types of relations. As against this, the State is only a political organisation, institution or community and it is concerned primarily with the exercise of power in society.
2. Society is prior to State : Society is firmly fixed in human nature. Human beings naturally entered into social relationships and formed a society. State has a very long history and the birth of society also took place in the earliest stages of history, yet everyone agrees that State came after the birth of society. The need for protecting the social relations as well as the need for laws and orders gave rise to the need of a State.
3. State represents an organised unity of human beings whereas Society reflects the natural unity of human beings into social relationships : Society includes both organised and unorganised groups of people along with their activities and relationships. It consists of a vast network of human relationships and has a basis in the social relation and nature of man. It reflects togetherness of organised as well as unorganised groups of people bound by a general and continuous system of mutual relations.
4. Government is the agency of the State, Society has no formal and organised agent : State acts through its government as it is the agent of the state. It exercises the sovereignty of the state and implements laws of the state. Society has no such agent or agency. It is a self-regulating system of relationships, and it is maintained through a network of customs, usages, traditions and naturally evolved codes of conduct.
5. Sovereignty belongs to the State and not to Society : Sovereignty is the most essential element and the hallmark of the State. State exercises its sovereign power over all the members and institutions of the Society. It is the law and order-maintaining institution of Society which binds all the members of the Society.
6. Territory belongs to the State and not the Society : State is a territorial entity. Definite territory is an important element of the State. Whereas, Society has no territory. It is just a system of social relations.
7. Society is concerned with both internal and external dimensions of human behaviour, but State is concerned only with the external dimension of human behaviour : State is concerned only with the external human behaviour. Its laws lay down rules which regulate the external behaviour of individuals, their associations, groups, institutions, economic groups, political groups and social-political-economic interactions. As against these, the society is concerned with all aspects of human behaviour in society. Social customs and traditions, and rules of morality govern all types of social relations at all levels - individual, family, neighbourhood, community, regional and national.
8. Politics/Political Science studies State and Sociology studies Society : Society and social relations constitutes the object of study of Sociology whereas State and political relations are the objects of study of Politics. However, all political relations and institutions are parts of the social system or the society, and Sociology is also interested in it.
Thus, these are some clear-cut and identifiable differences between State and Society, but both are deeply interrelated to each other.
This article on Difference Between State and Society in Political Science is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.