Kontrapunkti teorijskih naučavanja o državi / Counterpoints of Theorethical Teachings About the State

Abstract

The state is the organizational achievement of the development of human social and political consciousness. It is a mechanism of unifying power over people and territory, on the one hand, or, on the other hand, solving the historical issue of the right to power. The theoretical understanding of the state is observed from the theological, philosophical, evolutionist, rationalist, historical and functionalist points of view, from which its different conceptions arise. The actual existence of the state goes back to the deep history of the human race, while theories about its existence and development are ancient and modern creations. Depending on the time of looking at its content, the state was a monarchy, an oligarchy and a democracy. The first two types of rule are interpreted as personal, while the third type is described for general benefit, which in today’s sense of the word we understand as the state. In its development, the state went through a path from direct, personal-status, to delegated and representative rule. In the modern sense, the state is depersonalized, sovereign and democratic, the rule of law and institutions, over a clearly defined territory and population. The state unites the social totality on its territory, positioning itself as the unifier and arbiter of all particularities, from whose consent it derives its power. Today’s science often breaks down the concept of ancient government and modern state. The first one is deprived of its territoriality, legality and depersonalization, while the second one is associated with the renaming of man as a citizen, i.e. the victory of codified law over the arbitrary will of the ruler. No matter when and where they were created, all forms of government were a response to the historical situation faced by a certain human community. Therefore, the state is the result of the understanding of a historical moment by a given human community.