Political Science

4.
Sovereignty:
Sovereignty is the most exclusive element of State. State alone posses sovereignty. Without
sovereignty no state can exit. Some institutions can have the first three elements (Population
Territory and Government) but not sovereignty.
State has the exclusive title and prerogative to exercise supreme power over all its people and
territory. In fact, Sovereignty is the basis on which the State regulates all aspects of the life of
the people living in its territory.
As the supreme power of the State, Sovereignty has two dimensions:
Internal Sovereignty and External Sovereignty.
(i) Internal Sovereignty:
It means the power of the State to order and regulate the activities of all the people, groups
and institutions which are at work within its territory. All these institutions always act in
accordance with the laws of the State. The State can punish them for every violation of any of
its laws.
(ii) External Sovereignty:
It means complete independence of the State from external control. It also means the full
freedom of the State to participate in the activities of the community of nations. Each state
has the sovereign power to formulate and act on the basis of its independent foreign policy.
We can define external sovereignty of the State as its sovereign equality with every other
state. State voluntarily accepts rules of international law. These cannot be forced upon the
State. India is free to sign or not to sign any treaty with any other state. No state can force it
to do so.
No State can really become a State without sovereignty. India became a State in 1947 when it
got independence and sovereignty. After her independence, India got the power to exercise
both internal and external Sovereignty. Sovereignty permanently, exclusively and absolutely
belongs to the State. End of sovereignty means end of the State. That is why sovereignty is
accepted as the exclusive property and hallmark of the State.
These are the four essential elements of a State. A State comes to be a state only when it has
all these elements. Out of these four elements, Sovereignty stands accepted as the most
important and exclusive element of the State.
No other organisation or institution can claim sovereignty. An institution can have

population, territory and government but not sovereignty. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Orissa, Punjab, Sikkim, in fact all states of the Indian Union have their populations, territories
and governments.
These are also loosely called states. Yet these are not really states. These are integral parts of
the Indian State. Sovereignty belongs to India. Sikkim was a state before it joined India in
1975. Now it is one of the 28 states of India. UNO is not a state and so is the case of the
Commonwealth of Nations, because these do not possess sovereignty. SAARC is not a state.
It is only a regional association of sovereign states of South Asia.
India, China, U.S.A., U.K., France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil,
Argentina and others such countries are States because each of these possesses all the four
essential elements of state. The presence of all these four elements alone vests a State with
real statehood.
Meaning and Definition of State

The state is the most universal and most powerful of all social institutions. The
state is a natural institution. Aristotle said man is a social animal and by nature he
is a political being. To him, to live in the state and to be a man were identical.
The modern term “state” is derived from the word “status”. It was Niccolo
Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) who first used the term “state” in his writings. His
important work is titled as “Prince”.
The state is the highest form of human association. It is necessary because it

comes into existence out of the basic needs of life. It continues to remain for the
sake of good life.
The aims, desires and aspirations of human beings are translated into action
through the state. Though the state is a necessary institution, no two writers agree
on its definition.
State is an association and it means a nation or territory considered as an

organized political community under one government. State in another sense, the
political organization that has supreme civil authority and political power
and serves as the basis of government and a government or politically
organized society having a particular character.
According to Wikipedia, A state is a type of polity that is an

organized political community living under a single system of government. States
may or may not be sovereign. For instance, federated states are members of
a federal union, and may have only partial sovereignty, but are, nonetheless,
states. Some states are subject to external sovereignty or hegemony, in which
ultimate sovereignty lies in another state. States that are sovereign are known
as sovereign states.
According to Aristotle : “ a union of families and villages having for its end a
perfect and self –sufficing life by which we mean a happy and honorable life”
According to Woodrow Wilson : “The state is people organized for law within a
definite territory.”
According to Bluntschli : “ The state is a politically organized people of a definite
territory”
To Holland, the state is “a numerous assemblage of human beings generally

occupying a certain territory amongst whom the will of the majority or class is
made to prevail against any of their number who oppose it.”
Burgess defines the state as “a particular portion of mankind”
According to Sidgwick, “State is a combination or association of persons in the

form of government and governed and united together into a politically organized
people of a definite territory.”
According to Garner, “State is a community of people occupying a definite form of

territory free of external control and possessing an organized government to which
people show habitual obedience.”
Prof. Laski defines “state as a territorial society divided into government and

subjects whose relationships are determined by the exercise of supreme coercive
power.”
So, We can say that A state is a association or organized political institution or
community where has a government to govern within a definite territory.
Sovereignty: Meaning and Characteristics

of Sovereignty
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Characteristics or Attributes of Sovereignty:
According to Dr. Garner, following are the characteristics or attributes of Sovereignty:
(1) Permanence.
(2) Exclusiveness.
(3) All-Comprehensiveness.
(4) Inalienability.
(5) Unity.
(6) Imprescriptibility.
(7) Indivisibility.
(8) Absoluteness or illimitability.
(9) Originality.
(1) Permanence:
Permanence is the chief characteristics of sovereignty. Sovereignty lasts as long as an

independent state lasts. The death of the king, the overthrow of the government and the
addiction of power does not lead to the destruction of sovereignty.
We should keep in mind the basic fact that the king or the ruler exercises sovereign power on
behalf of the state and, therefore, sovereignty lasts as long as the state lasts. The death of the
king or the overthrow of the government does not affect sovereignty. This is the reason why
people in England used to say “The King is dead, long live the King”.
Dr. Garner has beautifully summed up this idea in the following manner:
“Sovereignty does not cease with the death or temporary dispossession of a particular bearer
or the re-organisation of the state but shifts immediately to a new bearer, as the centre of
gravity shifts from one part of physical body to another when it undergoes external change”.
(2) Exclusiveness:
By exclusiveness we mean that there can be two sovereigns, in one independent state and if
the two sovereigns exist in a state, the unity of that state will be destroyed. There cannot exist
another sovereign slate within the existing sovereign state.
(3) All Comprehensiveness:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The State is all comprehensive and the sovereign power is universally applicable. Every
individual and every association of individual is subject to the sovereignty of the state. No
association or group of individuals, however, rich or powerful it may be, can resist or disobey
the sovereign authority.
Sovereignty makes no exception and grants no exemption to anyone. It grants exemptions

only in the case of foreign embassies and diplomatic representatives of foreign countries on
the reciprocal basis. This does not in any way restrict the sovereignty of the state in the legal
sense. The state can abolish and withdraw the diplomatic privileges granted to foreigners.
(4) Inalienability:
Inalienability is another characteristic of sovereignty. Sovereignty is inalienable. By

inalienability we mean that the State cannot part with its sovereignty. In other words, we can
say that the sovereign does not remain the sovereign or the sovereign state, if he or the state
transfers his or its sovereignty to any other person or any other state.
Sovereignty is the life and soul of the state and it cannot be alienated without destroying the
state itself. Lieber has very aptly remarked in this connection: “Sovereignty can no more be
alienated than a tree can alienate its right to sprout or a man can transfer his life or personality
to another without self-destruction”.
(5) Unity:
Unity is the very spirit of Sovereignty. The sovereign state is united just as we are united.
(6) Imperscriptibility:
By imprescriptibility, we mean that if the sovereign does not exercise his sovereignty for a
certain period of time, it does not lead to the destruction of sovereignty. It lasts as long as the
state lasts.
(7) Indivisibility:
Indivisibility is the life-blood of sovereignty. Sovereignty cannot be divided state, American

statesman Calhoun has declared, “Sovereignty is an entire thing; to divide it is to destroy it. It
is the supreme power in a state and we might just well divide it is to destroy it.
It is the supreme power in a state and we might just well speak of half square or half a
triangle as half a sovereignty”. Gettell, has also very aptly remarked in this regard, “If
sovereignty is not absolute, no state exists. If sovereignty is divided, more than one state
exists”.
(8) Absoluteness:
Sovereignty is absolute and unlimited. The sovereign is entitled to do whatsoever he likes.

Sovereignty is subject to none.
(9) Originality:
By originality we mean that the sovereign wields power by virtue of his own right and not by
virtue of anybody’s mercy.
Citizenship: Definition, Nature and Other

Details
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Each one of us is a citizen of a state. Each one of us has either inherited the citizenship of the
state of his parents or has got the citizenship of his birth place or has specially acquired the
citizenship of a state. No one is or can be without a citizenship of a state. No one can have
citizenships of two states. Some persons without citizenships are there due an accident of
fate. Citizenship of a state is a natural and essential condition for each human being.
Who is a Citizen?
Those people who have citizenship status in a state are the citizens of that state. Citizenship
refers to the legal status of each citizen. It reflects the fact that as a citizen of a state enjoys
the protection of his state in respect of his security and rights.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Citizenship: Definition
“Citizenship is the status of an individual due to which he enjoys civil and political rights in
the state and is ready to fulfill his obligations.” -Gettell
“Citizenship is the contribution of one’s instructed judgment to public good.” -Laski
“Citizen is one who owes allegiance to the State, has access to the civil and political rights
and is inspired with a spirit of service to humanity” —A K Siu
ADVERTISEMENTS:
“Citizen is one who is a member of a State and tries to fulfill and realize himself within it
with an intelligent appreciation of what should conduce to the highest moral welfare of the
community” -Shastri
The Positive Aspect of Citizenship:
To say that a citizen enjoys rights guaranteed by the State and owes allegiance to it is to take
a rather narrow and formal view of citizenship. Laski’s definition offers a more positive
conception of citizenship. This definition assigns a positive role to the citizen, viz., his duty
to contribute his best towards the material and moral advancement of his fellow-citizens and
that of humanity as a whole.
Citizenship implies three things:
(1) Legal and Political Rights which citizens enjoy under the protection of the State;
(2) Duties which citizens render to the State including the duty to promote general welfare;
and
(3) The allegiance, i.e., loyalty to the state or the sentiment of patriotic devotion.
Citizenship: Nature
(1) In the past. Citizenship was confined to a few persons of the state:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In the past, citizenship used to be a privilege enjoyed by a comparatively small number of
people. In ancient Greece, which is usually referred to as the cradle of democracy, citizenship
was confined only to the ‘leisured’ few who possessed wealth and ability. Women, slaves and
manual workers such as artisans and traders were not regarded as citizens.
In Rome also the ‘plebeians’ or the lower classes had fought hard and long before they got a
share in the benefits of citizenship. In the middle ages, society was organised on feudal lines.
As a result, a vast majority of the people lived as “serfs” without the rights and privileges of
citizenship.
(2) Direct Participation in Administration no longer necessary for Citizenship:
The modern conception of citizenship is not based on the traditional principle of participation
in the administration of state as a criterion to get citizenship of the state. In ancient Greece,
citizenship meant direct participation in the business of government.
Aristotle defined citizen as one “who has the power to take part in the administration of the
State”. At that time, it was possible in the Greek City State, with its small area and
population, for every citizen to take a direct and active part in lawmaking and administration.
This is no longer practicable in the Nation-States of today with populations running into tens
and, often, hundreds of millions. In a modern State the main business of the average citizen is
not to make laws or run the administration but to choose a number of representatives who
discharge these functions on his behalf.
(3) Now citizenship belongs to all the people of each state:
At present, however, democratic ideas have established their empire on the minds of men and
citizenship has come to be regarded as the birth-right of all those who belong to a State and
not as the monopoly of a privileged class.
Citizenship: Features
1. Membership of a state
2. Enjoyment of several rights and freedoms in the state.
3. Commitment to perform certain duties towards the state, particularly to defend the state
against any war or aggression.
4. Loyalty towards the state.
5. Citizenship is acquired right at the time of birth. A child inherits the citizenship of his
parents (Jus Sanguine) or he inherits the citizenship of the state where he is born (Jus Soil).
Such citizens are called natural born citizens.
6. Citizenship of a desired state can be acquired by any person after relinquishing his natural
born citizenship. However such a citizenship can be acquired only when that state is willing
to admit him as its citizen when he has fulfilled certain conditions. Such a citizenship is
called naturalised citizenship.
7. Natural Born and Naturalised Citizens:
In contemporary times citizens are categorized into two groups: Natural Born Citizens and
Naturalised Citizens. Natural born citizens are citizens of a State by birth. Naturalised
citizens are those who have adopted the citizenship of a particular country although they do
not belong to it by birth.
Natural citizenship is a birth-right but naturalised citizenship of a State can be acquired by a

foreigner only if he satisfies certain prescribed conditions. In some states natural born citizens
and naturalised citizens are given the same civil and political rights.
In some others, natural born citizens have a higher status than naturalised citizens, because
the latter are excluded from certain political posts. For instance, in the United States of
America a naturalised citizen cannot become the President or Vice-President of the U.S.A.
8. Citizens and Subjects:
A distinction is sometimes made between citizens and subjects. Strictly speaking, all citizens
may be called subjects because they are subject to the authority of the State which possesses
sovereignty. But the term ‘subject’ has become distasteful because of its association with
absolute monarchy and feudalism. Nowadays, only the citizens of a country which as a
monarch, absolute or limited, as in Britain or Japan, for example, are termed subjects.
9. Citizens and Aliens:
An important distinction is there between citizens and aliens. An alien is an individual who
resides temporarily or permanently on the territory of a State without owing allegiance to it.
For instance, there are many foreigners in India working as doctors, teachers, missionaries,
traders or technicians.
Some of them have spent a life-time in the country but they are not Indian citizens, because
they continue to enjoy the citizenships of their parent state and continue to owe allegiance to
the country of their origin. As a rule, aliens enjoy the same civil rights as citizens do. They
obey the laws of the country and pay taxes like citizens. The difference between a citizen and
an alien lies in respect of political rights.
An alien does not enjoy these rights. He has a right to reside but does not enjoy the right to
vote or to take an active part in the affairs of the State. Secondly, a citizen is permanent
member of the State and has a right to reside on its territory.
An alien, on the other hand, cannot claim the right of permanent residence. He stays on
sufferance and not on right. He can be turned out of the country, if his presence is considered
prejudicial to the interests of the State.
10. Alien Friends and Alien Enemies:
When a State is at war against another, aliens living in it are called “alien friends” when they
belong to a friendly power, or “alien enemies” (or enemy aliens) if they belong to a country
against which the State is fighting the war. Thus, during World War II aliens in India
belonging to Italy or Germany were treated as “alien enemies”.
These persons were placed under various restrictions while the war was on. They were not
allowed to move freely and their property was temporarily “freezed” and placed under
government possession.
Basis/Grounds for Getting Citizenship:
Citizenship is normally acquired by each person right at the time of his birth either on the
basis of the citizenship of his parents or on the basis of his place of birth. In both cases, it is
called citizenship by birth.
I. Citizenship by Birth. (Jus Sanguine and Jus Soil):
A vast majority of persons acquire citizenship by birth and seldom change it afterwards. It
has been, therefore regarded as the most prominent of all the methods of acquiring
citizenship. Normally each person gets a citizenship at birth either on the basis of parentage
(Jus Sanguine) or on the basis of the principle of Birth Place (Jus Soli) or on the basis of both
of these principles.
(i) Citizenship on the basis of Parentage (Jus Sanguine):
States like Germany and France recognize parentage as the only decisive factor for the
determination of citizenship. This principle is termed as ‘Jus Sanguine’. It confers citizenship
of the home state upon the children born of their citizens at home or abroad. The illegitimate
children, according to this rule, acquire the nationality (citizenship) of their mother.
(ii) Citizenship on the basis of Birth Place (Jus Soli):
On the other hand, Argentina recognises the principle of ‘Jus Soli’ which implies that the
territory, upon which the child is born, is exclusively the determining factor of citizenship. It
does not matter whether the parents are citizens or aliens of that territory. Similarly, a child,
born abroad, under this principle, is foreign although his parents may be citizen.
Fenwick observes that if both these principles are strictly adhered to separately, a conflict of
jurisdiction may arise. When a child is born in Argentina of French parents, he is an
Argentinean citizen (Jus Soli), but the child is, at the same time, a French citizen, (‘Jus
Sanguine’).
In such a case, his effective citizenship will then depend upon the jurisdiction within which
he happens to be i.e. French in France and an Argentinean in Argentina. States like Great
Britain and the USA, keeping in view the difficulty of conflicting claims, have adopted a
mixed principle. According to their municipal laws, not only children of their citizens born at
home or abroad become their citizens, but also such children of alien parents as are born on
their territory also become their subjects.
Even France, which was previously a staunch advocate of Jus Sanguine principle, later on
recognised that any person born in France of alien parents and domiciled in France, may by a
declaration become a Frenchman and automatically does so on attaining adulthood, unless he
may refuse to do so.
Basis/Grounds for Exclusion from Citizenship:

When any person gets excluded from the citizenship of any state due to certain circumstances
or eventualities, it leads a situation of statelessness I, e, Non- Citizenship of any state.
Methods of Loosing Citizenship:
1. By Marriage:
After getting married to a foreign national, a person loses his parent citizenship and acquires
the citizenship of his/her suppose.
2. By Resignation:
One can renounce the citizenship of his state through a resignation.
3. By Long Absence:
If a citizen remains absent from his country for a long period, he loses the citizenship of the
country of his birth. The period of absence is different in different countries.
4. Renouncing Citizenship in case of Double Citizenship:
Sometimes a person gets double citizenship. But a person cannot be the citizen of two states
at the same time. So, he has to renounce the citizenship of one state.
5. By Application:
By giving an application, an individual can also relinquish the citizenship of his state.
6. By Adoption:
When a child is adopted by a citizen of another country, he automatically loses the citizenship
of the country of his birth.
7. By Defeat:
When a state or some territory of the state is conquered by another state, the citizens of the
conquered state lose their citizenships.
8. By getting government service abroad:
When a citizen gets government service is another state, he loses the citizenship of the state
of his birth.
9. Anti-national Crimes:
When a person revolts against the state, his citizenship can also be taken back by his state.
10. Acceptance of Titles from a Foreign Government:

In some countries the rule is that if a citizen accepts a title from another country without
getting the prior approval of the state, his citizenship can be terminated.
Liberty: Definition, Features, Types and

Essential Safeguards of Liberty
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Liberty: Definition, Features, Types and Essential Safeguards of Liberty!
Of all the rights which are considered fundamental for the development of the personality of
the individual, the right to liberty or freedom happens to be most respected and valued. In fact
without liberty, i.e. without the freedom to enjoy one’s rights, there can be no real right
available to the people. Liberty, as such, is the most cherished and loved right of the people.
I. Liberty: Meaning:
The word “Liberty” stands derived from the Latin word ‘Liber” which means ‘free’. In this
sense liberty means freedom from restraints and the freedom to act as one likes. However, in
a civil society such a meaning of Liberty is taken to be negative and harmful.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It is only in a jungle that freedom from restraints is available to animals. In a civil society no
person can be really permitted to act without restraints. Hence, Liberty is taken to mean the
absence of not all restraints but only those restraints which are held to be irrational.
Liberty is usually defined in two ways: Negative Liberty & Positive Liberty:
(A) Negative Liberty:
In its negative sense, Liberty is taken to mean an absence of restraints. It means the freedom
to act is any way. In this form liberty becomes a license. Such a meaning of liberty can never
be accepted in a civil society. In contemporary times, Negative conception of liberty stands
rejected.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(B) Positive Liberty:
In its positive sense, Liberty is taken to mean freedom under rational and logical i.e. restraints
which are rational and have stood the test of time. It means liberty under the rational and
necessary restraints imposed by law. These restraints are considered essential for ensuring the
enjoyment of liberty by all the people. In a civil society only positive liberty can be available
to the people.
Positive Liberty means two important things:
1. Liberty is not the absence of restraints; it is the substitution of irrational restraints by

rational ones. Liberty means absence of only irrational and arbitrary restraints and not all
restraints.
2. Liberty means equal and adequate opportunities for all to enjoy their rights.
II. Liberty: Definition:
(1) “Liberty is the freedom of individual to express, without external hindrances, his
personality.” -G.D.H Cole
(2) “Freedom is not the absence of all restraints but rather the substitution of rational ones for
the irrational.” -Mckechnie
(3) “Liberty is the existences of those conditions of social life without which no one can in
general be at his best self.” “Liberty is the eager maintenance of that atmosphere in which
men have the opportunities to be their best-selves.” -Laski
Liberty is the most essential condition for the enjoyment of rights. It is not the absence of
restraints. It is the positive condition for the enjoyment of rights. It admits the presence of
such rational restraints as satisfy the test of historical experience and reason.
III. Features/Nature of Liberty:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Liberty does not mean the absence of all restraints
(ii) Liberty admits the presence of rational restraints and the absence of irrational restraints.
(iii) Liberty postulates the existence of such conditions as can enable the people to enjoy their
rights and develop their personalities.
(iv) Liberty is not a license to do anything and everything. It means the freedom to do only
those things which are considered worth-doing or worth-enjoying.
(v) Liberty is possible only in a civil society and not in a state of nature or a ‘state of jungle’.
State of anarchy can never be a state, of Liberty.
(vi) Liberty is for all. Liberty means the presence of adequate opportunities for all as can
enable them to use their rights.
(vii) In society law is an essential condition of liberty. Law maintains conditions which are
essential for the enjoyment of Liberty by all the people of the state.
(viii) Liberty the most fundamental of all the rights. It is the condition and the most essential
right of the people. Liberty enjoys priority next only to the right to life.
In contemporary times, the positive view of liberty stands fully and universally recognized as
the real, accepted, and really productive view of Liberty.
IV. Types of Liberty:
(1) Natural Liberty:
Traditionally the concept of natural liberty has been very popular. Natural liberty is taken to
mean the enjoyment of unrestrained natural freedom. It is justified on the ground that since
man is born free, he is to enjoy freedom as he wills. All restraints negate his freedom.
The social contractual lists (Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau) championed the cause of natural
liberty. Rousseau became famous for his words: “Man is born free, but is in chains
everywhere.” It is popularly believed that man has inherited the right to liberty from nature.
Natural reason is the basis of liberty.
However, the concept of natural liberty is now considered to be an imaginary one. There can
be no real freedom in a state of nature or a ‘jungle society’. Unrestrained freedom can create
anarchy. It is only in an orderly society characterised by essential restraints based on laws and
rules that real liberty can be possible. Natural liberty can lead to a living based on the evil
principle of ‘might is right’ or the ‘rule of muscle power.’
(2) Civil Liberty:
The liberty which each individual enjoys as a member of the society is called civil liberty. It
is equally available to all the individuals. All enjoy equal freedom and rights in society. Civil
liberty is not unrestrained liberty. It is enjoyed only under some restrictions (Laws and Rules)
imposed by the state and society. Civil Liberty is the very opposite of Natural liberty.
Whereas Natural Liberty denounces the presence of restraints of any kind, Civil Liberty
accepts the presence of some rational restraints imposed by the State and Society.
Further, Civil Liberty has two features:
(i) State guarantees Civil Liberty:
Civil liberty means liberty under law. Law creates the conditions necessary for the enjoyment
of liberty. However, it refrains from creating obstacles in the way of enjoyment of liberty by
the people. It protects liberty from such obstacles and actions of other men and organisations
as can limit the equal liberty of all. The Laws of State imposes such reasonable restraints as
are deemed necessary for the enjoyment of liberty by the people.
(ii) Civil liberty also stands for the protection of Rights and Freedom from undue
interferences:
Civil liberty involves the concept of limiting the possibilities for violation of the rights of the
people by the government. This is ensured by granting and guaranteeing the fundamental
rights of the people. It also stands for providing constitutional and judicial protection to rights
and liberty of the people.
(3) Political Liberty:

Good and adequate opportunities for using political rights by the people are defined as
political liberty. When the people have the freedom of participation in the political process, it
is held that they enjoy political liberty.
Political of liberty involves the freedom to exercise the right to vote, right to contest
elections, right to hold public office, right to criticise and oppose the policies of the
government, right to form political parties, interest groups and pressure groups, and the right
to change the government through constitutional means.
Laski observes “Political liberty means the power to be active in the affairs of the state.”
Such a liberty is possible only in a democracy. The real exercise of political rights by the
people is a sure sign of the presence of political liberty and democracy.
(4) Individual Liberty/ Personal Liberty:
Individual liberty means the freedom to pursue one’s desires and interests as a person, but
which do not clash with the interests or desires of others. The freedom of speech and
expression, freedom of residence, freedom of movement, freedom of conscience, freedom of
tastes and pursuits, freedom to choose any profession or trade or occupation, the freedom to
enjoy the fruits of one’s labour, the right to personal property, the freedom to profess or not
to profess any religion, and freedom to accept or not to accept any ideology, all fall under the
category of individual freedom. However, all these freedoms are to be exercised in a way as
does not hinder the equal freedom of others as well as does not violate public order, health
and morality.
(5) Economic Liberty:
Laski defines economic liberty as freedom from the wants of tomorrow and availability of
adequate opportunities for earning the livelihood. It stands for freedom from poverty,
unemployment and the ability to enjoy at least three basic minimum needs — food, clothing
and shelter. Laski writes, “Economic Liberty means security and opportunity to find
reasonable significance in the earning of one’s daily bread”.
Economic Liberty can be enjoyed only when there is freedom from hunger, starvation,
destitution and unemployment. Positively, it means the availability of the right to work and
adequate opportunities for earning ones livelihood. Without fair economic liberty, political
liberty becomes meaningless. When the people are not free from the fear of hunger,
starvation and destitution they can never think of enjoying their rights and freedoms.
The grant of economic liberty to the people demands the grant of right to work, right to
reasonable wages, adequate opportunities for livelihood, right to rest and leisure, and right to
economic security in the old age.
(6) National Liberty:
National liberty is another name for independence of the nation.
It means complete freedom of the people of each state:
(i) To have a constitution of their own,

(ii) To freely organise their own government,
(iii) To freely adopt their policies and programmes,
(iv) To pursue independence in relations with all countries of the world, and
(v) Freedom from external control.
(7) Religious Liberty:
It means the freedom to profess or not to profess any religion. It means the freedom of faith
and worship and non-intervention of State in religious affairs of the people. It also means
equal status of all religions to freely carry out their activities in society. Secularism demands
such a religious freedom.
(8) Moral Liberty:
It means the freedom to act according to one’s conscience. It stands for the liberty to work for
securing moral self-perfection. Freedom to pursue moral values is moral freedom.
Thus, when one demands the right to liberty one really demands liberty in all these forms.
V. Some Essential Safeguards of Liberty:
1. Love for Liberty:
Only when people are strongly in love with their liberty, that liberty can be really
safeguarded. Liberty needs continuous attempts on the part of the people to defend their
liberty.
2. Eternal Vigilance:
The commitment of the people to defend their liberty and their full alertness against any
encroachment of their liberty is the second most important safeguard of liberty. “Eternal
vigilance is the price of liberty.”
3. Grant of Equal Rights to All:
For safeguarding Liberty, it is essential that there should be no class of privileged persons in
society. Liberty can exist only when equal rights are granted and guaranteed to all the people
without any discrimination.
Grant of special privileges and rights to any class is always against the spirit of liberty.
However, grant of some special privileges to the deprived sections of society (Protective
Discrimination) is deemed just and essential.
4. Democratic System:
Establishment of a democratic system is an essential safeguard of liberty. Both liberty and

democracy are supplementary to each other. We cannot conceive of a democracy without the
presence of civil, economic, political and individual liberty. Likewise, in the absence of the
right to freedom there can be no real democracy.
5. The Rights of one should not be dependent upon the will of others:
Laski suggests that the state must ensure that rights and freedoms of some people should not
be dependent upon the will and happiness of others. The rulers and ruled should both be
under the rule of law.
6. Fair Governmental Action:
For safeguarding Liberty, it is essential that the government should exercise unbiased and
impartial control over every section of society. It must acts as a responsible transparent and
accountable government.
7. Protection of Fundamental Rights:
One of the key methods of safeguarding liberty is to incorporate a charter of fundamental

rights and freedoms in the constitution of the State. Along with it, judicial protection should
be given to rights.
8. Independence of Judiciary:
Judiciary should be assigned the responsibility to protect all rights and freedoms of the
people. For discharging such an important function, the judiciary must be made independent
and fully empowered.
9. Separation of Powers:
Separation of powers should be secured between the legislature and executive. Judiciary
should be totally separate from these. Any concentration or combination of these powers can
be dangerous for Liberty
10. Decentralisation of Powers:
For safeguarding liberty against possible dictatorship/ authoritarianism, it is essential that

decentralisation of powers should be affected. The power of the government, particularly its
executive branch should be distributed among a number of organisations and these should be
located at all the three levels of government-local, provincial/ regional and national.
11. Rule of Law:
All the people should be under the same laws and bound by same types of obligations. No
one should be above law.
13. Economic Equality:
Equitable and fairer distribution of income, wealth and resources, and adequate opportunities
for lively-hood are essential safeguards of Liberty. Without economic equality, there can be
no real enjoyment of liberty.
14. Well Organised Interest Groups and Non-government Organisations:
One very essential safeguard for Liberty is the presence of well-organised interest groups and
non-governmental organisations or voluntary social service organisations i.e. Civil Society.
Such organisations can act unitedly for fight all violations of liberty.
All these conditions are necessary for securing Liberty of every person.
Equality: Meaning, Features and Types of

Equality
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Equality: Meaning, Features and Types of Equality!
Liberty and Equality are two most valuable rights of the people. These constitute two basic
pillars of democracy. The French Revolutionaries demanded liberty along with equality and
fraternity. The French Declaration of Rights categorically stated “Men are born and always
continue to be free and equal in respect of their rights” The Preamble of the Indian
Constitution defines Equality as one of the four basic objectives of the Indian polity, the other
three .being Justice, Liberty and Fraternity.
I. Equality: Meaning:
(1) Equality does not mean absolute equality:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In common usage equality is taken to mean full equality of treatment and reward for all. It is
demanded as natural equality. It is said that all men are born natural and free. However,
despite a strong emotional appeal to our hearts, the notion of natural and absolute equality of
all cannot be fully accepted and realised. Men are neither equal in respect of their physical
features nor in respect of their mental abilities. Some are stronger others weaker and some are
more intelligent and capable than others.
Their capacities and abilities are different. As such equality of treatment and rewards cannot
be ensured. Rewards must depend upon the actual abilities and work of various people.
Hence equality does not mean absolute and total equality.
Equality really means equal opportunities for development. In fact, when we talk of equality
of all men we really mean general and fair equality and not absolute equality. We really talk
of a fair distribution of opportunities reward and not equal reward for all.
(2) Equality means absence of all unnatural and unjust inequalities:

ADVERTISEMENTS:
In society there are present two types of inequalities:
(1) Natural inequalities, and
(2) Man-made unnatural inequalities.
The former means natural differences among human beings. These have to be accepted by all.
The man-made inequalities are those which are there because of some social conditions and
discriminations. These are of the nature of socioeconomic inequalities resulting from the
operation of social system. The discriminations practiced and inequalities maintained in the
name of caste, colour, creed, religion, sex, place of birth and the like are all unnatural man-
made inequalities. Equality means end of all such inequalities and discriminations.
Equality: Definitions:
“The Right to Equality proper is a right of equal satisfaction of basic human needs, including
the need to develop and use capacities which are specifically human.” -D.D Raphall
“Equality means that no man shall be so placed in society that he can over-reach his
neighbour to the extent which constitutes a denial of latter’s citizenship.” -Laski
“Equality means equal rights for all the people and the abolition of all special rights and
privileges”. -Barker
Thus, negatively equality implies abolition of all special privileges and facilities which may
be available to some classes or some persons in society. It also stands for the abolition of all
man-made inequalities and discriminations. Positively Equality stands for equal rights,
equitable distribution of resources , equal opportunities for development and relative equality
with due recognition of merit, abilities and capacities of various persons.
II. Equality: Features:
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1. Equality does not stand for absolute equality. It accepts the presence of some natural
inequalities.
2. Equality stands for absence of all unnatural man- made inequalities and specially
privileged classes in the society.
3. Equality postulates the grant and guarantee of equal rights and freedoms to all the people.
4. Equality implies the system of equal and adequate opportunities for all the people in
society.
5. Equality means equal satisfaction of basic needs of all the persons before the special
needs’, and luxuries of some persons may be met.
6. Equality advocates an equitable and fair distribution of wealth and resources i.e. Minimum
possible gap between the rich and poor.
7. Equality accepts the principle of protective discrimination for helping the weaker sections
of society. In the Indian political system, right to equality has been given to all and yet there
stands incorporated provisions for granting special protection facilities and reservations to
persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes Other Backward Classes,
minorities, women, and children.
Thus Equality stands for 3 Basic Features:
(a) Absence of special privileges in society.
(b) Presence of adequate and equal opportunities for development for all.
(c) Equal satisfaction of basic needs of all.
III. Types of Equality:
1. Natural Equality:
Despite the fact that men differ in respect of their physical features, psychological traits,
mental abilities and capacities, all humans are to be treated as equal humans. All are to be
considered worthy of enjoying all human rights and freedoms.
2. Social Equality:
It stands for equal rights and opportunities for development for all classes of people without
any discrimination.
Specifically, it stands for:
(i) Absence of special privileges for any class or caste or religions group or an ethnic group;
(ii) Prohibition of discrimination against any one on the basis of caste, colour, creed, religion,
sex and place of birth;
(iii) Free access to public places for all the people, i.e. no social segregation; and
(iv) Equality of opportunity for all people. It however accepts the concept of protective
discrimination in favour of all weaker sections of society.
A modern central theme of social equality is to end gender inequality, to ensure equal status
and opportunities to the women and to ensure equal rights of male and female children to live
and develop.
3. Civil Equality:
It stands for the grant of equal rights and freedoms to all the people and social groups. All the
people are to be treated equal before Law.
4. Political Equality:
It stands for equal opportunities for participation of all in the political process. This involves
the concept of grant of equal political rights for all the citizens with some uniform
qualifications for everyone.
5. Economic Equality:
Economic equality does not mean equal treatment or equal reward or equal wages for all. It
stands for fair and adequate opportunities to all for work and for earning of their livelihoods.
It also means that primary needs of all should be met before the special needs of few are
satisfied. The gap between rich and poor should be minimum. There should be equitable
distribution of wealth and resources in the society.
6. Legal Equality:
Finally, Legal Equality stands for equality before law, equal subjection of all to the same
legal code and equal opportunity for all to secure legal protection of their rights and freedom.
There should rule of law and laws must be equally binding foe all. In every society equality
must be ensured in all these forms
Rights and Duties: Rights and Duties of

Man | Philosophy
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Rights and Duties: Rights and Duties of Man !
Ethics is the science of morality of conduct. It deals with Tightness and wrongness of actions.
It deals with moral good and evil. It deals with merit and demerit of moral agents doing right
and wrong actions. It deals with rights, duties and virtues of persons in society. It deals with
freedom and responsibility of persons.
It deals with these fundamental moral concepts involved in moral consciousness. The notions
of right and good are the most fundamental of all moral concepts.
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Right and Wrong:
‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ apply to voluntary actions and habitual actions which are results of
repeated voluntary actions. The term right comes from the Latin word rectus. It means
‘straight’ or ‘according to rule’. When an action conforms to a moral rule or law of conduct,
it is said to be right. The term ‘wrong’ is connected with the verb ‘wrong’. A wrong action
implies a twist of a rule of conduct. It violates a law of conduct.
‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ are inconceivable apart from the concept of ‘good’. Every law or rule
presupposes the end which is realized by it. The end which is realized by a law is called the
good. The notions of right and wrong are connected with the moral laws which are
subservient to the Highest Good.
Right and Good:
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The right is a means to the realisation of the ‘good’. An action is right if it tends to bring
about what is good. An action is wrong if it tends to bring about what is evil. The conception
of right is subordinate to the conception of good. The right is subservient to the good. The
good is an end which a person ought to realize in order to realize his deeper self. It is an end
which satisfies his rational nature.
It fulfills the demands of his sentient nature in conformity with the higher law of reason. It
satisfies his total self-sentient as well as rational. The concept of right is derived from that of
a moral law or law of duty. A moral law is not a law of nature. It is not a statement of what
always happens. A moral law is that which ought to be. The right is the fundamental category
of ethics. The notions of ‘right’ and ‘good’ are fundamental in morality.
The Good and the Highest Good:

What fulfills a need or satisfies a desire is good. Health, wealth, knowledge, culture, etc, are
good. Certain things satisfy our biological needs. They are bodily goods. Certain things
satisfy our economic needs. They are economic goods.
Certain things satisfy our social needs. They are social goods. Certain things satisfy our
intellectual, moral and aesthetic needs. They are Truth, Good and Beauty. There is a
hierarchy of goods at the top of which there is the highest good. It is good in itself. It is not a
means to any other higher good. The highest good is the absolute good. The subordinate
goods are instrumental or relative goods.
Rights and Duties:
Rights are moral claims of individuals recognized by society. Duties are moral debts or
obligations of individuals recognized by society. B. Bosanquet says, “Rights are claims
recognized by society acting as ultimate authority, to the maintenance of conditions
favourable to the best life”.
Rights reside in some individuals; they have rights to certain things which are necessary for
their self-realization. Duties are moral obligations, on the part of other individuals, to respect
those rights. The individuals also having certain rights are under moral obligation to use them
well for the common good. Rights and duties are ultimately based upon the same moral laws
and relations. The society grants certain rights to its individual members for their own good
and the good of the society. A man has no right to anything by himself. The society concedes
certain rights to him, which are conducive to the social good.
A person cannot claim anything for himself alone apart from the society. Moral rights of
individuals are protected by social conscience or public opinion. They are not necessarily
enforced by the State like legal rights. Moral rights are conceded to individuals by the society
for their self- realization. They are indispensable for the realization of the highest personal
good and common good.
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Rights and duties are correlative to each other. Duties are moral obligations. Every right
brings an obligation with it. When one man has a right, other men are under moral obligation
to respect it, and he himself is under moral obligation to use it for the common good.
Moral obligation is different from legal obligation. The former cannot be enforced by the
State, while the latter can. Moral obligation depends upon the approval of public opinion.
Take, for instance, the right of property. An individual has been granted this right for the
common good. So not only other persons are under moral obligation to respect his right, but
he himself is under moral obligation to use it for the common good.
Thus rights and duties are correlative to each other. We have a right to the means that are
necessary for our self-realization and for the highest good of the society of which we are
members. We are under moral obligation to use them in the best way for the highest good of
the society.
Rights and duties are correlative to each other, because they are reciprocal relations between
individuals in a changing society. A society changes in different times under different
conditions. So rights and duties also change. New occasions create new rights and duties.
The society is the ultimate authority which concedes moral rights to individuals, imposes
duties or moral obligations on others to respect these rights, and enforces the observance of
these duties. Thus rights and duties always have a reference to the society. They are
maintained by the same moral laws and relations in society.
They are conducive to the fulfillment of man’s vocation as a moral being. They are
favourable to the realization of the rational self of each member of the society. They are
favourable to the realization of a rational universe in which each person will have realized a
perfect character.
Rights and duties are meaningless apart from the society. There are no rights antecedents to
the society. Green says, “No one can have a right except (1) as a member of a society, and (2)
of a society in which some common good is recognized by the members of the society as
their own ideal good as that which should be for each of them.” Rights are conceded to
individuals by the society on some conditions. The individuals must be capable of exercising
the rights properly, and enjoying them without hindrance. They are given certain rights only
when they acquire fitness for receiving them. Thus the rights are never unconditional.
The Rights of Man:
Right to Live:
The first right of man is the right to live. Self-realization is the highest good, which requires
the continuance of life for its realization. The right to live is the primary right. The sacredness
of the life should be recognized.
But even his fundamental right was slowly recognized in the history of humanity. In earlier
times, in some countries children were frequently exposed, widows were burnt, heretics were
killed, captives in war were put to death. Even now duelling is permitted, and slaughter of
men, on a huge scale, in the form of war is not condemned.
The right of life brings a moral obligation to treat our own life and that of others as a sacred
thing. We should not hinder or destroy our own life. We should not take the life of any other
person. We should further our own life and that of others. He who takes the life of another
may legitimately be deprived of his own life. But capital punishment is condemned at
present.
Right of Education:
The next right is the right of education. Here right and obligation are closely connected with
each other. Every person has a right to have the best education he is capable of receiving. He
is under moral obligation to receive the best education according to his capacity.
In a well-developed society, every person ought to be given the maximum opportunity to

unfold his potentialities to the best advantage and contribute his share to the general good.
Education develops the intellect, sharpens the understanding, and widens the intellectual
horizon. It is absolutely necessary for self-expression and self-development.
Right to Work:
The right to work or employment follows from the right to live. If a person does not get
employment, he cannot earn his livelihood. A modern welfare State should ensure the full
employment of every citizen, because unemployment or under-employment deprives him of
the opportunity for self-realization. Right to employment should be recognized by every
welfare State.
Right of Freedom:
The next right is that of freedom. Self-realization is the highest good. It is realized by a
person’s will. So he should be free to exercise his will in order to realize his supreme end. He
should not be coerced by anybody. He should not be a slave to anybody. Freedom means
restricted freedom. Absolute and unrestricted freedom amounts to licence.
In a well ordered community, an individual should be allowed to realize his supreme end by
the free exercise of his will in so far as it is consistent with the maintenance of the social
order. Absolute freedom means anarchy and chaos. Freedom is granted in a well-ordered
state. The right of freedom brings with it the obligation of using one’s freedom for the
general good.
Right of Property:
The right of property necessarily follows from the right of freedom. Self-realization is the
highest good. It can be realized by a person if he is allowed to live, work, and freely exercise
his will. Freedom of the will can be effectively exercised by an individual, if he is allowed to
use some property earned by him freely.
Personality and property go together. The sense of personality cannot be developed without
the sense of property owned by a person. Hence personality can be realized only through the
free use of some property.
The State is the custodian of the ‘personal’ rights and the ‘real’ rights of the individual. Real
rights are rights of property. Property is the expression of personality. Rights of property are
essentially personal. That is Hegel’s view.
A person has a right to the means which he can freely use for the development of his
personality. He cannot develop his personality without some property. The right of property
was conceded to an individual much later in the evolution of society, when he became
conscious of the dignity of his personality and asserted his right over against the family or the
tribe in which he had formerly been merged.
The right of property should be granted by the society to its individual members on the basis
of equity and justice for the highest good of the individuals and the society. The right of
property brings a moral obligation to use it wisely for the good of the society.
Right of Contract:
The right to enter into a contract and fulfill it is another important right. The right of property
gives rise to the right of contract. A person has control over his property; his free will has
created it; it is a part of himself. Hence it follows that he can possess it, use or exchange it as
he thinks it proper. Thus the right of contract necessarily arises out of the right of property.
If one man enters into a contract with another to render certain services to him, the latter has
the right to receive these services. The right was not recognized in primitive societies in
which the individual had no right of his own.
The right of contract brings the moral obligation to enter into a fair contract. A person cannot
enter into a contract with another to become his slave. Only a highly developed society can
guarantee fairness of contract.
Speech on Democracy: Meaning, Types and

Problems of Democracy
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Democracy: Meaning, Types and Problems of Democracy!
Meaning:
The word ‘democracy has its roots in the Greek term ‘demokratia,’ meaning ‘rule by the
people’ (demos means ‘people’ and kratos means ‘rule’.) It is a political system in which
people not monarchs (king or queens) or aristocracies (like lords) rule.
Theodore Parker defines it as ‘government of all the people, by all the people and for all the
people’. Seymour Lipset (1960) gives a working definition of democracy as ‘a political
system supplying regular constitutional opportunities for changing the government by
allowing the population to choose between alternative sets of policy makers’.
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Democracy is a type of social system in which everyone has an equal share of power. In large
complex societies, however, it is impossible for every citizen to be involved in the political
process. Thus, when we refer to ‘democratic’ power structure, we mean those structures in
which people are allowed to vote for elected representatives.
Most societies that describe themselves as political democracies are actually representative
democracies in which citizens elect politicians who actually hold and exercise political
authority. Pure democracy is quite rare. This is because the definition of ‘everyone’ always
excludes some portion of population.
The origins of democracy as an idea and a practice go back to the city-states of Greece in the
5th century BCE. But contemporary democracies are very different from the ancient Greek
model. It is a paradox that though the modem democracy first emerged in the Greece, yet the
Greeks were suspicious of democracy.
They felt that people often made bad decisions that went against their interests. People could
be manipulated by demagogues and vested interests. The pattern that emerged in England in
the 17th century and slowly became the model for the entire world was one of representative
democracy or parliamentary democracy.
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Here, citizens elect leaders by ballot who promises to represent the interests of those citizens
in debates and decisions, which typically take place in some central national forum such as
parliament or Congress. Thus, ideally, the parliament becomes a miniature demos.
In India, this type of democratic political system developed after independence. It is said that
in ancient India the people led a democratic way of living (Ram Rajya) but the political
democracy of the modem form did not exist.
In practice, politicians in a democracy usually belong to parties which propose general

policies or programmes, rather than responding to citizens on issue-by-issue basis. Parties
thus become independent centres of power.
The experience of the 20th century seems to show that citizens’ interests are best represented
by either two or at the most three parties—as in Britain or the United States. Although there
are many one-party systems in the world which claim to be democratic on the basis that they
represent the collective will of the people. Political processes (elections, political
socialization) are the lifeblood of all types of democracies. Political organization, political
competitiveness, the big political gesture—all these are integral to democracy.
It is widely agreed that for the real democracy, following necessary conditions must be
fulfilled:
1. Free and fair elections
2. A genuine choice between candidates and policies
3. Real parliamentary power
4. The separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and the politicians
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5. Civil rights for all citizens
6. Rule of law and equality before law
7. Inter-party competition
8. Real representation of different interests

9. Free and responsible media
10. Personal freedom
11. Freedom of speech and writing
12. Freedom of religion and public worship
13. Freedom of association and assembly
Although democracy is based on majority rule, the protection of minority rights has always
been regarded as an essential aspect of the democratic system. Also important are the equality
before law, freedom of speech, press and assembly, and protection from arbitrary arrest in the
political democracy.
There is a room for unlimited disagreement about the exact meaning of any and all of the
above conditions that why democracy continues to be the focus of intense public and
academic debate. There are many paradoxes of democracy which have engaged the attention
of sociologists and political scientists.
Political sociologists have explored the nature of the state as a sociological entity, political
socialization, voting behaviour and political participation, the relationships between
democracy and economic systems, and the manipulation of public opinion.
Types of Democracies:
Democracies differ from society to society in their form and content.
The main forms of democracy are as follows:
Participatory democracy (or direct democracy):
It is a form of democracy in which decisions are made communally by those affected by

them. This was the original type of democracy practised in ancient Greece and India (Gram
Panchayat) from where the idea of democracy originated.
Participatory democracy is of limited importance in modern societies, where the mass of the
population have political rights, and it would be impossible for everyone to participate
actively in the making of decisions. Virtually, only a small minority actually participates in
political process and political organizations on a local or national level.
Monarchical democracy:
There are some modern states, such as Britain and Sweden, where traditional rulers—the king
or the queen acts as constitutional monarchs—continue to head the elected government. Their
power is severely restricted by the constitution, which vests authority in the elected
representatives of the people.
In most cases they are just symbols of national identity rather than personages having any
direct power in political life. The vast majority of modern states are republican. In such
states, there is no king or queen. Almost everyone, including constitutional monarchies,
professes adherence to democracy.
Liberal (representative) democracy:
Liberal democracy is a framework for the expression of diverse views and interests. It does
not specify how we should behave apart from insisting that we should respect the views of
others. As such, it is compatible with the pluralism of attitudes and ways of life.
In practice, a liberal democracy is a representative multi-party democracy (such as in India),

where citizens can vote for one of at least two parties. Liberal democracy is, in part, a theory
about the relationship between the majority of the people and their leaders (the political elite).
Liberal theorists state that democratic political elites are representative of the people and are
ultimately accountable to them. In liberal democracies, voters can choose between two or
more political parties and the mass adult population has the right to vote.
It is a political system which is different from communism as found in the former Soviet
Union (and which still exists in China). Communism was essentially a system of one-party
rule. Since 1989, with the fall of the communistic regime, the processes of democratization
have started across the world in all the countries which were ruled by the Soviet-style
regimes. Liberal democracy involves several political parties and free and fair elections at
regular intervals.
Those who favour liberal democracy argue that parties and pressure groups should effectively
represent people and influence government. They believe that the civil service is the ‘servant’
of government; the judiciary is regarded as independent of government and is not expected to
concern itself with political matters.
Most Marxists may not agree with the model of liberal democracy described above as ‘real’
democracy. For them, it is merely ‘bourgeois democracy’, a smokescreen behind which the
capitalist class pursues its own interests. Parliament and political government are not
considered to be the major source of power.
Capitalists make the decisions and control politicians. Marxists believe that in liberal
capitalist democracies, the capitalists class rules, not the people. Many contemporary
Marxists have different (modified) views about modern liberal democracies.
Problems of Democracy:
Democracy has become a global force. While it has become widespread, but all is not going
well with this political system. It has got into some difficulties almost everywhere.
Democracy is in trouble even in the countries of its origin—Britain, the US and many
European countries.
Surveys show that increasing proportions of people are dissatisfied with this political system,
or indifferent towards it. Political participation is decreasing day by day as is evident from the
percentage of voters turnout at the hosting’s and the attendance in the parliament and
assemblies during debates.
Most of the people are unhappy because of the following reasons:
1. The government is unable to address many needs of its citizens.
2. Decisions affecting lives of the people are made by distant ‘power brokers’—in Delhi or
state headquarters—party officials, interest groups, bureaucratic officials, and the like.
3. People believe that government is unable to deal with important local issues as well, such
as crimes, cleanliness, road repairs, unemployment, slums and encroachments.
4. Like all bureaucracies it created its own vested interests and tends to be slow-moving and
at certain times, it becomes oppressive. Civil servants may give partial advice to ministers or
take too long in producing it.
5. In India, especially, it has not produced the intended results because of many pitfalls
(corruption, casteism. nepotism, communalism, regionalism, etc.).
For its failure, it is not the institution itself which is to be blamed; it is the way it has worked
or the way its working has been distorted by those in power. It is because of the vested
interests of a few people that the tangible gains could not go to the large masses of people.
In spite of many problems and difficulties of liberal democracy, it is not only persisting in the
countries, where this system was practised but is spreading to those countries also where
other political system was operating. The freedom that exists in liberal societies, we cannot
undervalue it.
Within broadly defined limits, people can speak their minds and organize themselves for a
cause. Private lives are largely left private by the state—in their own homes at least people
can ‘be themselves’.
These freedoms might not seem so substantial or so precious if we did not experience the
agony of totalitarianism practised in Germany and Soviet Union in the 1930s or Taliban’s
Afghanistan and Saddam Hussain regime in Iraq. Perhaps the major argument in favour of
liberal democracy is that there is every scope to bring improvement in this system. This is
why Churchill once described liberal democracy as ‘the least worst system’.
In spite of its many pitfalls and weaknesses, democratization is one of the major political
forces in the world today. Like many aspects of contemporary societies, the realm of
government and politics is undergoing major changes.
In many parts of the world, pro-democracy movements have been successful in toppling
authoritarian regimes. In the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, communism was
overthrown by such movements.
But democracy is still not a reality of China, though a movement in favour of democracy was
launched as early as in 1989 and a demonstration was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
Democratic forms of government have also been established in recent years in much of Latin
America and some countries in Africa and Asia such as Afghanistan, Iraq and some Arab
countries.
Socialism: Features, Merits and Demerits of
Socialism | Economics
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Read this article to learn about Socialism: features, merits and demerits of socialism.
A socialist economy is an economic organisation in which the means of production are

owned and regulated by the state. The production and distribution of goods and factors of
production are done by the state under the direction of the planning commission.
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The decisions as to how much to produce, which methods of production to employ and for
whom to produce are taken by the planning authority. That is why a socialist economy is also
called a planned economy. Such economies are China, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea.
They possess the following common features.
Features of Socialism:
The main features of this system are detailed below.

(1) Public Ownership:
A socialist economy is characterised by public ownership of the means of production and

distribution. There is collective ownership whereby all mines, farms, factories, financial
institutions, distributing agencies (internal and external trade, shops, stores, etc.), means of
transport and communications, etc. are owned, controlled, and regulated by government
departments and state corporations. A small private sector also exists in the form of small
business units which are carried on in the villages by local artisans for local consumption.
(2) Central Planning:
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A socialist economy is centrally planned which functions under the direction of a central
planning authority. It lays down the various objectives and targets to be achieved during the
plan period. Central economic planning means “the making of major economic decisions—
what and how much is to be produced, how, when and where it is to be produced, and to
whom it is to be allocated—by the conscious decision of a determinate authority, on the basis
of a comprehensive survey of the economic system as a whole.”
And the central planning authority organises and utilises the economic resources by
deliberate direction and control of the economy for the purpose of achieving definite
objectives and targets laid down in the plan during a specified period of time.
(3) Definite Objectives:
A socialist economy operates within definite socio-economic objectives. These objectives

“may concern aggregate demand, full employment, satisfaction of communal demand,
allocation of factors of production, distribution of the national income, the amount of capital
accumulation, economic development…and so forth.” For achieving the various objectives
laid down in the plan, priorities and bold targets are fixed covering all aspects of the
economy.
(4) Freedom of Consumption:
Under socialism, consumers’ sovereignty implies that production in state- owned industries is
generally governed by the preferences of consumers, and the available commodities are
distributed to the consumers at fixed prices through the state-run department stores.
Consumers’ sovereignty under socialism is confined to the choice of socially useful
commodities.
(5) Equality of Income Distribution:
In a socialist economy, there is great equality of income distribution as compared with a free
market economy. The elimination of private ownership in the means of production, private
capital accumulation, and profit motive under socialism prevent the amassing of large wealth
in the hands of a few rich persons. The unearned incomes in the form of rent, interest and
profit go to the state which utilises them in providing free education, public health facilities,
and social security to the masses. “As far as wages and salaries are concerned, most modern
socialists do not aim at complete and rigid equality. It is now generally understood that the
maintenance offered choice of occupation implies wage differentials.”
(6) Planning and the Pricing Process:
The pricing process under socialism does not operate freely but works under the control and
regulation of the central planning authority. There are administered prices which are fixed by
the central planning authority. There are also the market prices at which consumer goods are
sold. There are also the accountings prices on the basis of which the managers decide about
the production of consumer goods and investment goods, and also about the choice of
production methods.
Merits of Socialism:
Prof. Schumpeter has advanced four arguments in favour of socialism: one. greater economic
efficiency; two, welfare due to less inequality; three, absence of monopolistic practices; and
four, absence of business fluctuations. We discuss these merits of socialism one by one.
(1) Greater Economic Efficiency:
Economic efficiency under socialism is greater than under capitalism. The means of
production are controlled and regulated by the central planning authority towards chosen
ends. The central planning authority makes an exhaustive survey of resources and utilises
them in the most efficient manner.
Increased productivity is secured by avoiding the wastes of competition and by undertaking

expensive research and production processes in a coordinated manner. Economic efficiency is
also achieved by utilising resources in producing socially useful goods and services which
satisfy the basic wants of the people, like cheap food, cloth, and housing.
(2) Greater Welfare due to Less Inequality of Income:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In a socialist economy there is less inequality of income as compared with a capitalist

economy because of the absence of private ownership of the means of production, private
capital accumulation, and private profit. All citizens work for the welfare of the state and
each is paid his remuneration according to his ability, education and training. All rents,
interests and profits from various sources go to the state which spends them for public
welfare in providing free education, cheap and congenial housing, free public health
amenities, and social security to the people.
(3) Absence of Monopolistic Practices:
Another advantage of socialism is that it is free from monopolistic practices to be found in a

capitalist society. Since under socialism all means of production are owned by the state, both
competition and monopoly are eliminated. The exploitation by the monopolistic is absent.
Instead of private monopoly, there is the state monopoly of the productive system but this is
operated for the welfare of the people. In the state-owned factories, socially useful
commodities are produced which are of high quality and are also reasonably priced.
(4) Absence of Business Fluctuations:
A socialist economy is free from business fluctuations. There is economic stability because
production and consumption of goods and services are regulated by the central planning
authority in accordance with the objectives, targets and priorities of the plan. Thus there is
neither overproduction nor unemployment.
Demerits of Socialism:
A socialist economy has also certain disadvantages:
1. Loss of Consumers’ Sovereignty:
There is loss of consumers’ sovereignty in a socialist economy. Consumers do not have the
freedom to buy whatever commodities they want. They can consume only those commodities
which are available in department stores. Often the quantities which they can buy are fixed by
the state.
2. No Freedom of Occupation:
There is also no freedom of occupation in such a society. Every person is provided job by the
state. But he cannot leave or change it. Even the place of work is allotted by the state. All
occupational movements are sanctioned by the state.
3. Malallocation of Resources:
Under socialism, there is arbitrary allocation of resources. The central planning authority
often commits mistakes in resource allocation because the entire work is done on trial and
error basis.
4. Bureaucratic:
A socialist economy is said to be a bureaucratic economy. It is operated like a machine. So it

does not provide the necessary initiative to the people to work hard. People work due to the
fear of higher authorities and not for any personal gain or self-interest.
There is no doubt that a socialist economy is better than a capitalist economy because of its
overwhelming merits. But it is disliked for the loss of political, economic and personal
freedoms.
Totalitarianism: What is the Meaning of the

Totalitarianism?
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Totalitarianism, in its adjectival form ‘totalitarian’, originated in 1923 among the opponents
of Italian Fascism who used it as a term of abuse to describe the government and politics of
Mussolini.
The period 1918-39 saw a reaction against democratic governments in Europe and elsewhere
and the rise of totalitarian regimes in a number of states. In Italy, a liberal government was
overthrown and a fascist regime under the leadership of Mussolini was set up in 1922.
Before that, a communist regime had been established in Russia in 1917. The trend continued
with Spain, Portugal, Germany and Japan slipping into dictatorial regimes. All these regimes
were characterized as totalitarian because they, as Hanna Arendt pointed out, were the novel
form of government and not just modern versions of dictatorships that have existed since
antiquity.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Totalitarianism, among the opponents of Italian Fascism who used it as a term of abuse to
describe the government and politics of Mussolini. However, the fascists embraced the term
as a fitting description of the true goal and nature of their regime. When Mussolini
expounded the doctrine of everything within the state nothing outside the state, nothing
against the state in a speech in 1925, he brought forth the essential nature of a totalitarian
state.
If nothing could stand outside the state, there could be no free markets, no free political
parties, no free families and no free churches.Thus, totalitarianism stands at the opposite pole
of liberal democracy. Under a totalitarian regime, the state controls nearly every aspect of
individual life and does not tolerate activities by individuals or groups that are not directed by
the state’s goals.
If Mussolini applied the term to his own regime in Italy, Leon Trotsky applied the term to
both fascism and ‘Stalinism’ as ‘symmetrical phenomena, and the great thinker Hanna Arendt
popularized the term in order to illustrate the commonalities between Nazi Germany and
Stalinist Soviet Union. Thus, the main examples of the regimes considered totalitarian are
Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Stalin.
Giovanni Gentiles explaining the concept says that ‘totalitarian’ is the condition of a state in
which all activities of civil society, inadvertently or not, ultimately lead to, and therefore
perpetually exist in, something resembling a state. William Ebenstein describes the nature of
such a state as ‘the organization of government and society by a single-party dictatorship,
intensely nationalist, racist, militarist and imperialist.’ Totalitarianism cultivates and
encourages state worship.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It preaches that every individual’s life belongs not to him but to state and to the state alone.
Individuals acquire significance only by service to the state, and if they do not identify
themselves with the state, they are little more than atoms. Thus, a totalitarian state permits no
autonomous institutions and the aims, activities and membership of all associations are
subject to the control of the state.
The state becomes omnipotent and omnipresent. Religion, morals and education are
subordinate to the state. The aim of totalitarianism is to abolish the fundamental distinction
between the state and society and to make the state unlimited. Franz Schanwecher, the Nazi
theorist, used to say ‘the nation enjoys a direct and deep unity with God…. Germany is the
kingdom of God’.
Here, it is necessary to point out that the totalitarian theory of state was not a full-fledged
theory to start with. It gradually evolved and worked out of practical movements and actual
socio-political situations. Thus, in this case, theory followed practice instead of preceding it.
Among the thinkers who have analyzed the totalitarian theory and movements, the names of
Hanna Arendt, Carl Friedrich, Brzezinsky and Jean Kiskpatrick figure prominently.
Fascism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Benito Mussolini (left) and Adolf Hitler (right), two Fascist leaders.
Fascism is a form of government which is a type of one-party dictatorship. Fascists are

against democracy. They work for a totalitarian one-party state.[1] This aim is to prepare the
nation for armed conflict, and to respond to economic difficulties.[2] Fascism puts nation and
often race above the individual. It stands for a centralized government headed by a dictator.[3]
Historically, fascist governments tend to be militaristic, and racist. In the Third Reich,
German society was pictured as a racially unified hierarchy, the Volksgemeinschaft.
Fascism appeared in Italy in the early 1920s and developed fully in the 1930s.[4] Its supporters
thought that democracy was weak and full of moral perversions, that multiparty capitalism
was too materialistic and unfair to the people. The fascist party in Italy was ruled by a "grand
council" from 1922 until the end of World War II.[5] However, in practice it became ruled by
the first of the fascist leaders, Benito Mussolini.
Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal took control in the 1930s in their
countries. After World War II, fascism continued in the form of military dictatorships in
Portugal, Spain, in some parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Fascism was supposed to bring national unity and solidarity instead of the divisions of class
struggle and party politics. Believers in democracy generally consider fascism as a facet of
totalitarianism. Its urge to control everything and allowing no freedom is one aspect. Another
aspect is that it becomes a method for a single person or party to use force to keep power.
Opposition
There is more than one reason why people living in democratic states oppose fascism, but the
main reason is that in a fascist dictatorship the individual citizen has no guaranteed rights. If
you say the wrong thing or oppose the wrong person, you can be arrested or killed without a
fair trial.
Some people believe that fascism would not be a terrible system if you always do your duty
and you never oppose the government. However, the problem is that people can be corrupt.
Everything looks good in theory, but in real life innocent people can get into serious trouble
with the government when there is no guaranteed right to a fair trial.
Fascism versus communism
A fasces
Fascist governments are different from communist ones in that fascists, in theory, support the
right of labor representatives and corporate representatives (CEOs, company presidents, etc.)
to negotiate - through a system called corporatism. Fascists usually work closely with
corporations and economic elites, and use the resources to build up the military and other
parts of the fascist state. Fascist states take over schools and other parts of civil society in
order to promote nationalism and propaganda. All adults are expected to either join the fascist
party or support it as the government. Fascist governments, similar to the Nazis in Germany,
pursue racist policies of segregation and/or extermination in opposition to cultural and ethnic
pluralism.
Communism, on the other hand is viewed as totalitarian in the sense that it calls for complete
economic control and ownership of the economy by the people, in common.
It is always a big crime in fascist countries to speak against the leader or ruling party. Fascist
leaders often give themselves a high military rank, or appear in public in an army or navy
uniform, because fascist countries consider the army and warfare the most important part of
the struggle for survival.
The first fascist government was run by Benito Mussolini in Italy from 1922 until 1943. The
governments of Engelbert Dollfuss in Austria and Adolf Hitler in Germany are also iconic
examples of fascism. Other examples are Greece under Ioannis Metaxas, Spain under the rule
of Francisco Franco, and Portugal when António de Oliveira Salazar was the head of the
government. All of these governments were much like Italian fascism, especially before and
during World War II.
Fascism is named after the fasces, which is an old Roman name for a group of sticks tied
together. It is easy to break one stick in half. It is very hard to break many sticks tied together
in half. Fascists think that everyone rigidly following the same leader and nationalist ideas
makes the country strong the same way the sticks are.
In countries led by fascist governments, the government tries to control all areas of life,
including work, school, and family life. Fascist ideas were most common around the time of
World War II. Many people were killed by fascist governments because the government did
not like them or because they opposed fascism. Even more were killed in wars started by
fascist governments. However, the fascist governments of Portugal and Spain did not take
part in World War II, and stayed in power until the 1970s. Many scholars consider these
governments to have been or evolved into traditionalist and conservative rather than fascist.
Fascism, while supporting order and stability as conservatism does, wants to transform
society in new ways.
After World War II, fascism lost much of its influence, although movements and politicians
inspired by fascism have had success in several countries, such as Italy.
Nazism

The sign of the national socialist party
Nazism (or National Socialism; German: Nationalsozialismus) is a set of political beliefs

associated with the Nazi Party of Germany. It started in the 1920s. Party gained power in
1933, starting the Third Reich. They lasted in Germany until 1945, at the end of World War
II.
Many scholars think Nazism was a form of far-right politics.[1] Nazism is a form of fascism
and uses biological racism and antisemitism. Much of the philosophy of this movement was
based on an idea that the 'Aryan race', the term they used for what we today call Germanic
people, was better than all other races, and had the greatest ability to survive. According to
the racist and ableist ideas of Nazism, the Germanic peoples were the Herrenvolk (master
race).[2] The 'inferior' races and people - the Jews, Roma people, Slavs, disabled and blacks -
were classified as Untermenschen (sub-humans).[3]
To implement the racist ideas, in 1935 the Nuremberg Race Laws banned non-Aryans and
political opponents of the Nazis from the civil-service. They also forbid any sexual contact
between 'Aryan' and 'non-Aryan' people.[4][5]
The Nazis sent millions of Jews, Roma and other people to concentration camps and death
camps, where they were killed. These killings are now called the Holocaust.
The word Nazi is short for Nationalsozialist (supporter of the Nationalsozialistische

Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) in the German language. This means "National Socialist German
Workers' Party".
Contents
 1 Nazi rise to power
 2 Attacking other countries
 3 The Holocaust
 4 The Ending of the Holocaust
 5 Trial for the Nazis
 6 Nazis after the war

 7 Related pages
 8 References
 9 Other websites.
Nazi rise to power
Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, wrote a book called Mein Kampf ("My Struggle").
The book said that all of Germany's problems happened because Jews were making plans to
hurt the country. He also said that Jewish and communist politicians planned the Armistice of
1918 that ended World War I, and allowed Germany to agree to pay huge amounts of money
and goods (reparations).
On the night of the 27 February 1933 and 28 February 1933, someone set the Reichstag
building on fire. This was the building where the German Parliament held their meetings. The
Nazis blamed the communists. Opponents of the Nazis said that the Nazis themselves had
done it to come to power. On the very same day, an emergency law called
Reichstagsbrandverordnung was passed. The government claimed it was to protect the state
from people trying to hurt the country. With this law, most of the civil rights of the Weimar
Republic did not count any longer. The Nazis used this against the other political parties.
Members of the communist and social-democratic parties were put into prison or killed.
The Nazis became the biggest party in the parliament. By 1934, they managed to make all
other parties illegal. Democracy was replaced with a dictatorship. Adolf Hitler became leader
(Führer) of Germany.
Nazi was Hitler's standard during his run as President of Germany
Attacking other countries

See also: Invasion of Poland (1939) and Operation Barbarossa
As the German leader (Führer) of Nazi Germany, Hitler began moving Nazi armies into
neighboring countries. When Germany attacked Poland, World War II started. Western
countries like France, Belgium, and the Netherlands were occupied and to be treated by
Germany as colonies. However, in Eastern countries, such as Poland and the Soviet Union,
the Nazis planned to kill or enslave the Slavic peoples, so that German settlers could take
their land.
The Nazis made alliances with other European countries, such as Finland and Italy. Every
other European country that allied with Germany did it because they did not want to be taken
over by Germany. By alliances and invasions, the Nazis managed to control much of Europe.
The Holocaust
Main article: The Holocaust
See also: Holocaust victims
In the Holocaust, millions of Jews, as well as Roma people (also called "Gypsies"), people
with disabilities, homosexuals, political opponents, and many other people were sent to
concentration camps and death camps in Poland and Germany. The Nazis killed millions of
these people at the concentration camps with poison gas. The Nazis also killed millions of
people in these groups by forcing them to do slave labor without giving them much food or
clothing. In total, 17 million people died- 6 million of them Jews.
The Ending of the Holocaust
In 1945, the Soviet Union took over Berlin after beating the German army in Russia. The
Soviet Red Army met the American and British armies, who had fought right across
Germany after invading Nazi Europe from Normandy in France on June 6,1944. The Nazis
lost because the Allies had many more soldiers and more money than them.
During the invasion of Berlin, Hitler may have shot himself in a bunker with his new wife,
Eva Braun. Other Nazis also killed themselves, including Joseph Goebbels just one day after
Hitler named him as his successor. The Nazis surrendered after the Red Army captured
Berlin.
Trial for the Nazis

Main article: Nuremberg Trials
After the war, the Allied governments, such as the United States, Britain, and the Soviet
Union, held trials for the Nazi leaders. These trials were held in Nuremberg, in Germany. For
this reason, these trials were called "the Nuremberg Trials." The Allied leaders accused the
Nazi leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murdering millions of
people (in the Holocaust), of starting wars, of conspiracy, and belonging to illegal
organizations like the Schutzstaffel (SS). Most Nazi leaders were found guilty by the court,
and they were sent to jail or executed by hanging.
Nazis after the war

Main article: Neo-Nazism
There has not been a Nazi state since 1945, but there are still people who believe in those
ideas. These people are often called neo-Nazis, (which means new-Nazis). Here are some
examples of modern Nazi ideas:
 Germanic peoples are superior to all other races of people.

 Many neo-nazis change "germanic" to "all white people".
 They speak against Jews and sometimes other races. For example:
o They say that the Holocaust did not happen, and that it was made up by the Jews.
o Say that Hitler was right to blame Jewish people for Germany's problems after World
War I;
o Tell people to hate Jewish people and other groups of people; and
o Believe that Jews have too much power in the world.
After the war, laws were made in Germany and other countries, especially countries in
Europe, that make it illegal to say the Holocaust never happened. Sometimes they also ban
questioning the number of people affected by it, which is saying that not so many people
were killed as most people think. There has been some controversy over whether this affects
people's free speech. Certain countries, such as Germany, Austria, and France also ban the
use of Nazi symbols to stop Nazis from using them.
Communism
The Hammer and sickle, the symbol of communism and workers' power
Communism is an ideological and a social political movement. Its aim is to set up a

communist society. This society would be based on the common ownership of the means of
production and would lack social classes, money,[1][2] and a state.[3][4]
The Communist Manifesto
According to communist writers and thinkers, the goal of communism is to create a stateless,
classless society. Communist thinkers believe this can happen if the people take away the
power of the bourgeoisie (the ruling class, who own the means of production) and establish
worker control of the means of production.
Communism is not anti-individualist. However, it does say that decisions should be good for
the population as a whole, instead of just being good for one or two people.
Since 1992, there have been five nations remaining governed officially by communist
ideologies. Four of these follow different forms of Marxism-Leninism - Vietnam, China,
Cuba and Laos. The fifth, North Korea, now officially follows Juche communism, but also
called itself Marxist-Leninist before 1991. Many other nations abandoned Marxism around
that time since it had led them to mass poverty and bloody conflict rather than the ideal
society.
Contents
 1 History
 2 Disputes
 3 Term usage
 4 Symbols and culture
 5 Notable People
 6 Related pages
 7 References
History
Karl Marx, the inventor of communism
In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto. It was a short
book with the basic ideas of communism. Most socialists and communists today still use this
book to help them understand politics and economics. Many non-communists read it too,
even if they do not agree with everything in it.
Karl Marx said that for society to change into a communist way of living, there would have to
be a period of change. During this period, the workers would govern society. Marx was very
interested in the experience of the Paris Commune of 1870, when the workers of Paris ran the
city following the defeat of the French Army by the Prussian Army. He thought that this
practical experience was more important than the theoretical views of the various radical
groups.
Many groups and individuals liked Marx's ideas. By the beginning of the twentieth century,
there was a worldwide socialist movement called Social Democracy. It was influenced by his
ideas. They said that the workers in different countries had more in common with each other
than the workers had in common with the bosses within their own countries. In 1917,
Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky led a Russian group called the Bolsheviks in the October
Revolution. They got rid of the temporary government of Russia, which was formed after the
February Revolution against the Tsar (Emperor). They established the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, also called the Soviet Union or USSR.
Friedrich Engels
The Soviet Union was the first country claiming to have established a workers' state. In
reality, the country never became communist in the way that Marx and Engels described.
During the 20th century, many people tried to establish workers' states. In the late 1940s,
China also had a revolution and created a new government with Mao Zedong as its leader. In
the 1950s, the island of Cuba had a revolution and created a new government with Fidel
Castro as its leader. At one time, there were many such countries, and it seemed as though
communism would win. But communist party governments forgot to use democracy in their
governments, a very important part of socialism and communism. Because of this, the
governments became separated from the people, making communism difficult. This also led
to disagreements and splits between countries.
By the 1960s, one-third of the world had overthrown capitalism and were trying to build
communism. Most of these countries followed the model of the Soviet Union. Some followed
the model of China. The other two-thirds of the world still lived in capitalism, and this led to
a worldwide divide between capitalist countries and communist countries. This was called the
"Cold War" because it was not fought with weapons or armies, but competing ideas.
However, this could have turned into a large war. During the 1980s, the United States and the
Soviet Union were competing to have the biggest army and having the most dangerous
weapons. This was called the "Arms Race". President Ronald Reagan called communism the
"Ash heap of history".
Since 1989, when the Berlin Wall was torn down, most countries that used be communist
have returned to capitalism. Communism now has much less influence around the world. In
1991, the Soviet Union broke up. However, around a quarter of the world's people still live in
states controlled by a communist party. Most of these people are in China. The other
countries include Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, and North Korea. There are also communist
movements in Latin America and South Africa.
Disputes
Many people have written their own ideas about communism. Vladimir Lenin of Russia
thought that there had to be a group of hard-working revolutionaries (called a vanguard) to
lead a socialist revolution worldwide and create a communist society everywhere. Leon
Trotsky, also from Russia, argued that socialism had to be international, and it was not
important to make it happen first in Russia. He also did not like Joseph Stalin, who became
the leader of the USSR after Lenin's death in 1924. Trotsky was made to leave the Soviet
Union by Stalin in 1928, and then killed in 1940. This scared many people, and lots of
communists argued about whether this was right and whose ideas should be followed.
Mao Zedong of China thought that other classes would be important to the revolution in
China and other developing countries because the working classes in these countries were
small. Mao's ideas on communism are usually called Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought. After
Stalin's death in 1953, Mao saw himself as the leader of worldwide communism until he died
in 1976. Today the Chinese government is still ruled by the Communist Party, but they
actually have what is called a mixed economy. They have borrowed many things from
capitalism. The government in China today does not follow Maoism. However,
revolutionaries in other countries like India and Nepal still like his ideas and are trying to use
them in their own countries.
Term usage
The word "communism" is not a very specific description of left-wing political organizations.
Many political parties calling themselves "communist" may actually be more reformist
(supportive of reforms and slow change instead of revolution) than some parties calling
themselves "socialists". Many communist parties in Latin America have lost many members
because these parties do different things than what they promised once they get into power. In
Chile, between 1970-1973, under the left-wing Coalition (groups of parties) of Popular Unity,
led by Salvador Allende, the Communist Party of Chile was to the right of the Socialist Party
of Chile. This means it was more reformist than the socialist party.
Many communist parties will use a reformist strategy. They say working-class people are not
organized enough to make big changes to their societies. They put forward candidates that
will be elected democratically. Once communists become elected to parliament or the Senate,
then they will fight for the working class. This will allow working-class people to change
their capitalist society into a socialist one.
Symbols and culture
The color red is a symbol of communism around the world. A red five-pointed star
sometimes also stands for communism. The hammer and sickle is a well-known symbol of
communism. It was on the flags of many communist countries (see top of article). Some
communists also like to use pictures of famous communists from history, such as Marx,
Lenin, and Mao Zedong, as symbols of the whole philosophy of communism.
A song called The Internationale was the international song of communism. It has the same
music everywhere, but the words to the song are translated into many languages. The Russian
version was the national anthem of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1944.
The sickle in the Soviet Union's flag shows the struggle of the worker. The hammer in the
flag represents the struggle for the workers. Both of them crossing shows their support for
each other.
There is also a special kind of art and architecture found in many communist and former
communist countries. Paintings done in the style of socialist realism are often done for
propaganda to show a perfect version of a country's people and political leader. Art done in
the socialist realism style, such as plays, movies, novels, and paintings show hard-working,
happy, and well-fed factory workers and farmers. Movies, plays and novels in this style often
tell stories about workers or soldiers who sacrifice themselves for the good of their country.
Paintings often showed heroic portraits of the leader, or landscapes showing huge fields of
wheat. Stalinist architecture was supposed to represent the power and glory of the state and
its political leader. Some non-communists also enjoy this kind of art.
1.- Nature, Definition and scope of Political science, methods and approaches to the study of
political scienceTraditional and Behavioral. Relationship of Political science with History,
Economics, Psychology, Sociology
and Geography.
Ans….Political science is a social science which deals with systems of governance, and the
analysis of political activities, political thoughts, and political behavior.[1] It deals extensively
with the theory and practice of politics which is commonly thought of as determining of the
distribution of power and resources. Political scientists "see themselves engaged in revealing
the relationships underlying political events and conditions, and from these revelations they
attempt to construct general principles about the way the world of politics works."[2]
Meaning and Definition of Political Science:
Many books have been written on Political Science by the eminent writers and different
definitions have been given.
A Perusal of these definitions shows that the authors themselves do not have very clear-cut
views and they find it difficult to give precise definitions. Some writers write hundreds of
pages on definition or rather description on the subject without hinting at the actual definition
in a sentence or two.
Nature of Political Science:
Political Science is a study about the State. It makes an enquiry into the origin of the State
and political authority. In this sense, it is a historical investigation about the origin of the
State. Political Science also studies the structure and functioning of the State, governments,
inter-State organisations, etc.
In this sense, it is an analytical study of what the “State” is. Garner has rightly said that
“Political Science begins with the State and ends with the State”.
Relationship between Political Science and Politics!
There is no real difference between Political Science and Politics. Political Science studies
Politics i.e. all political relations and interactions in society. Hence it cart be called Politics.
Modern Political Scientists do not make a distinction between the two. They reject the
traditional view which makes a distinction between these two.
Important Scope of Political Science
1. A study of the State and Government:
2. A Study of Political Theory:
3. A Study of Political Institutions:
4. A study of Political Dynamics:
5. A Study of Adjustment of the Individual with the State:
6. A study of International Relations and international law
2- State- Its elements, Nation & nationality, Major Theories of the Origin
of the State-Divine, force, Social contract and evolutionary.
Ans- Though the State is a necessary and a universal institution, no two writers agree on its
definition. There have been many different views about the nature of the State and hence its
incompatible definitions.
It may well seem curious, says R.M. Maclver, that so great and obvious a fact as the State
should be the object of quite conflicting definitions.
“Some writers define the State as essentially a class structure others regard it as the one
organisation that transcends class and stands for the whole community.
Necessity of the State:
1. State is the Natural Institution:
Man is a social animal. His nature impels him and necessities compel him to live in society
and enter into social relations with others. He is by nature a gregarious animal. He always
wants to live and remain in the company of fellow human beings. State is needed by him for
providing security law and order as well as for punishing all criminals and anti-social
elements.
2. State is a Social Necessity:
When man lives in the company of others, he naturally develops social relations with other
human beings. He forms family and several other groups. He gets involved in a system of
relations. He inherits several relations and throughout his life remains bound up with these.
Further, his physical and economic necessities always force him to form economic trade and
cultural relations. He and his society need security for their life, property and relations. The
state serves this need, by protecting s the society from internal and external dangers.
3. Economic Necessity of State:
M In each society the people need the state because provides currency and coinage for the
conduct of economic business and trade relations. State formulates and implements all
financial policies and plans for the benefit of all the citizens. It provides financial help to the
poor and weaker sections of society. By providing security law and order, the state helps the
people to carry out their economic relations and activities.
4. State secures Peace, Security and Welfare of all in Society:
Social relations continuously need peace, security and order. Man is a social being. However
along-with it some selfishness is also a part of his being. At times, selfishness of some
persons can cause some difficulties and harms to others. This is prevented by the state. While
living in society, man needs protection for his life and property. This is provided by the state.
5. State is needed for Protection against War and External Enemies:
State is needed for getting protection and security against external aggressions, wars and
internal disturbances and disorders. The society needs the state for security, peace, order
stability and protection against external aggressions and wars.
State maintains defence forces for fighting external wars and meeting aggressions. The state
works for the elimination of terrorism and violence.
State is the sovereign political institution of each society. It protects the people and tries to
ensure conditions for their happiness, prosperity and development
Each society needs the State. It satisfies several important needs of society:
(1) State provides security against external aggressions and war. For this purpose the state
maintains an army.
(2) State ensures security against internal disturbances disorders and crimes. For this purpose
the state maintains police.
(3) State legally grants and guarantees the rights of the people.
(4) The state issues and regulates currency and coinage.
(5) State undertakes steps for the creation of necessary conditions for the socio-economic-
politico-cultural development of the people.
(6) State grants citizenship and protects their interests and rights.
(7) State conducts foreign relations, foreign trade and economic relations.
(8) State secures the goals of national interest in international relations.
Elements of State:
A State stands identified with its four absolutely essential elements:
1. Population:
State is a community of persons. It is a human political institution. Without a population there

can be no State. Population can be more or less but it has to be there. There are States with
very small populations like Switzerland, Canada and others, and there are States like China,
India and others, with very large populations.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The people living in the State are the citizens of the State. They enjoy rights and freedom as
citizens as well as perform several duties towards the State. When citizens of another State
are living in the territory of the State, they are called aliens. All the persons, citizens as well
as aliens, who are living in the territory of the State are duty bound to obey the state laws and
policies. The State exercises supreme authority over them through its government.
There is no definite limit for the size of population essential for a State. However, it is
recognised that the population should be neither too large nor very small. It has to be within a
reasonable limit. It should be determined on the basis of the size of the territory of the State,
the available resources, the standard of living expected and needs of defence, production of
goods and supplies. India has a very large and fast growing population and there is every
need to check population growth. It is essential for enhancing the ability of India to register a
high level of sustainable development.
2. Territory:
Territory is the second essential element of the State. State is a territorial unit. Definite
territory is its essential component. A State cannot exist in the air or at sea. It is essentially a
territorial State. The size of the territory of a State can be big or small; nevertheless it has to
be a definite, well-marked portion of territory.
States like Russia, Canada, U.S.A., India, China, Brazil and some others are large sized states
whereas Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldivies, Switzerland, Togo, Brundi and many others
are States with small territories. The whole territory of the state is under the sovereignty or
supreme power of the State. All persons, organisations, associations, institutions and places
located within its territory are under the sovereign jurisdiction of the State.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Further, it must be noted that the territory of the state includes not only the land but also,
rivers, lakes, canals inland seas if any, a portion of coastal sea—territorial waters or maritime
belt, continental shelf, mountains, hills and all other land features along with the air space
above the territory.
The territory of the state can also include some islands located in the sea. For example
Anadaman & Nicobar and Daman and Diu are parts of India. State exercises sovereignty over
all parts of its territory. Ships of the State are its floating parts and Aero-planes are its flying
parts. Even a States can lease out its territory to another State e.g. India has given on lease the
Teen Bigha corridor to Bangladesh.
3. Government:
Government is the organisation or machinery or agency or magistracy of the State which

makes, implements, enforces and adjudicates the laws of the state. Government is the third
essential element of the State. The state exercises its sovereign power through its
government.
This sometimes creates the impression that there is no difference between the State and
Government. However it must be clearly noted that government is just one element of the
State. It is the agent or the working agency of the State. Sovereignty belongs to the State; the
government only uses it on behalf of the State.
Each government has three organs:
(1) Legislature—which formulates the will of State i.e. performs law-making functions;
(2) Executive— enforces and implements the laws i.e. performs the law-application
functions; and
(3) Judiciary—which applies the laws to specific cases and settles the disputes i.e. performs
adjudication functions.
Government as a whole is the instrument through which the sovereign power of the State gets
used.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In ancient times, the King used to perform all functions of the government and all powers of
governance stood centralized in his hands. Gradually, however, the powers of King got
decentralized and these came to be exercised by these three organs of the government:
Legislature, Executive and Judiciary.
Each of these three organs of the government carries out its assigned functions. Independence
of Judiciary is also a settled rule. The relationship between the Legislature and Executive is
defined by law and it corresponds to the adopted form of government. In a Parliamentary
form of government, like the one which is working in India and Britain, the legislature and
executive are closely related and the latter is collectively responsible before the former.
In the Presidential form, as is in operation in the U.S.A., the legislature and executive are two
independent and separate organs with stable and fixed tenures, and the executive is not
responsible to legislature. It is directly responsible to the people.
Government is an essential element of State. However it keeps on changing after regular

intervals. Further, Government can be of any form—Monarchy or Aristocracy or Dictatorship
or Democracy. It can be either Parliamentary or Presidential or both. It can be Unitary or
Federal or of mixture of these two in its organisation and working. In contemporary times
every civilized State has a democratic representative, responsible transparent and accountable
government.
4. Sovereignty:
Sovereignty is the most exclusive element of State. State alone posses sovereignty. Without
sovereignty no state can exit. Some institutions can have the first three elements (Population
Territory and Government) but not sovereignty.
State has the exclusive title and prerogative to exercise supreme power over all its people and
territory. In fact, Sovereignty is the basis on which the State regulates all aspects of the life of
the people living in its territory.
As the supreme power of the State, Sovereignty has two dimensions:
Internal Sovereignty and External Sovereignty.
its laws.
We can define external sovereignty of the State as its sovereign equality with every other
state. State voluntarily accepts rules of international law. These cannot be forced upon the
State. India is free to sign or not to sign any treaty with any other state. No state can force it
to do so.
No State can really become a State without sovereignty. India became a State in 1947 when it
got independence and sovereignty. After her independence, India got the power to exercise
both internal and external Sovereignty. Sovereignty permanently, exclusively and absolutely
belongs to the State. End of sovereignty means end of the State. That is why sovereignty is
accepted as the exclusive property and hallmark of the State.
These are the four essential elements of a State. A State comes to be a state only when it has
all these elements. Out of these four elements, Sovereignty stands accepted as the most
important and exclusive element of the State.
No other organisation or institution can claim sovereignty. An institution can have

population, territory and government but not sovereignty. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Orissa, Punjab, Sikkim, in fact all states of the Indian Union have their populations, territories
and governments.
These are also loosely called states. Yet these are not really states. These are integral parts of
the Indian State. Sovereignty belongs to India. Sikkim was a state before it joined India in
1975. Now it is one of the 28 states of India. UNO is not a state and so is the case of the
Commonwealth of Nations, because these do not possess sovereignty. SAARC is not a state.
It is only a regional association of sovereign states of South Asia.
India, China, U.S.A., U.K., France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil,
Argentina and others such countries are States because each of these possesses all the four
essential elements of state. The presence of all these four elements alone vests a State with
real statehood.
Essay on the Functions of Welfare State

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Essay on the Functions of Welfare State – There is a growing tendency on the part of the
modern states to claim themselves to be ‘welfare states’. Writers and thinkers differ in their
opinions regarding the definition and functions of the welfare state. Still, a welfare state is
commonly understood as an agency of social service than as an instrument of power.
1. D.L. Hob man in his The Welfare State defines welfare state as “a compromise between
the two extremes of communism on the one hand and unbridled individualism on the other”.
2. Herbert H. Lehman opines that “the welfare state is simply a state in which people are free
to develop their individual capacities, to receive just awards for their talents, and to engage in
the pursuit of happiness, unburdened by fear of actual hunger, actual homelessness or
oppression by reason of race, creed or colour.”
ADVERTISEMENTS:
3. G. D. H. Cole says, “The welfare state is a society in which an assured minimum standard
of living and opportunity becomes the possession of every citizen.”
4. Arthur Schlesinger says, “The welfare state is a system wherein government agrees to un-
derwrite certain levels of employment, income, education, medical aid, social security, and
housing for all its citizens.”
It is clear from the definitions cited above that the welfare state is one, which is wedded to
the principle of promoting the general happiness and welfare of all the people. As P. Gisbert
says, the welfare state is one which takes upon itself the responsibility “to provide social
services for the nation to bring under public ownership important industries or enterprises
placing certain controls on private enterprise, and to organise democratic planning on a
national scale.”
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The objective of the welfare state lies mostly in the economic field. It consists in the
readjustment of incomes to provide for the less privileged citizen. The state reduces
inequalities of income through taxation and strives to increase national production.
Functions of the Welfare State:
The concept of the Welfare State is of tremendous significance all over the world.
Irrespective of the type of the government, whether democratic or totalitarian, communist or
socialist, monarchic or oligarchic, all the modern states call themselves welfare states.
The so-called modern welfare states perform certain functions to promote the well-being of
the people. The type of their welfare activities and the manner in which they undertake them
depend upon the nature of their political systems; whether democratic or totalitarian.
However, the main functions which a welfare state normally performs may be explained here.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(1) Maintenance of Peace and Order:
The welfare state ensures internal peace and order and provides security to its citizens. It
efficiently guards its territory against external aggressions or threats. It maintains law and
order and establishes political stability. This reduces constant tension and anxiety for its
people.
(2) Protects People’s Rights and Provides Justice:
The welfare state assures for its people the inalienable fundamental rights. It assures right to
life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, equality, property, freedom of thought and expression.
It provides justice to all irrespective of class, colour, creed, caste, religion or region.
(3) Conservation of Natural Resources:
In the general interest of the community the welfare state tries to conserve its natural
resources against the competitive private interests. It prevents the wasteful consumption of
the community’s resources, its forests, fisheries, wild life, minerals, art treasures, etc.
(4) Provision of Education:
The welfare state gives high priority for education. It creates opportunities for the individuals
to develop their personality. It encourages more the weaker sections of the society to come up
educationally and economically. Some states like India have introduced free but compulsory
education at primary and secondary levels. The welfare state on its own provides for primary
and secondary schools, colleges, universities, research centres, libraries, art classes, technical
schools and institutes, medical and agricultural institutes, etc.
(5) Arrangement of Public Utility Services:

The modern welfare states construct roads, railways and provide for irrigation, water-supply
and electric works. It provides for post and telegraph, radio, television, telephone and other
services. It makes arrangement for transport such as buses, railways, aero planes and ships.
(6) Encouragement of Trade, Industry, Commerce and Agriculture:
The welfare state on its own establishes some big industries to promote industrial
advancement and also to avoid exploitation. Iron and steel, locomotives, aircraft and other
heavy industries, big dams, multi-purpose projects, major transport and communication-lines,
etc., are often controlled by the states.
Certain industries are nationalised in the interests of the people. Still the welfare state gives
enough scope for the private parties and individuals to establish factories and start business to
promote initial growth. The state also encourages cottage or household industries and
agriculture.
(7) Organisation of Labour:
The welfare state gives special attention to needs of the working class. It makes appropriate
labour legislations and prevents their exploitation. It promotes their welfare in various ways.
It gives them freedom to organise labour unions to protect their rights. It tries to better the
living conditions of the people also.
(8) Protection of Old, Poor and the Handicapped:
The modern welfare states have taken it for granted as their main canon to protect the
interests of the old, poor, and the invalid. The old and the retired people are given pension,
the unemployed and the handicapped are given maintenance allowance. Various social
security measures are undertaken in order to give the needed protection to all the needy
people of the state.
(9) Maintenance of Public Health:
The welfare state provides many preventive and curative medical facilities to safeguard the
public health. It makes provision for sanitation, hospitals, free medicine, vaccination and
essential energising foods for the poor and so on. It arranges to control deadly diseases like
malaria, cholera, small pox, plague, T.B., venereal diseases, skin-diseases, leprosy, etc. It
runs medical colleges, research centres, training schools for nurses, etc.
(10) Arrangement of Recreation:
The state provides for various means of recreation to its citizens, like films, drama, music,
exhibitions, fairs, etc. It also establishes public parks, museums, libraries, playgrounds,
conducts competitions to encourage merit, gives awards to the talented persons.
(11) Maintains Social Harmony:
The welfare state lays down laws against evil and harmful customs and practices. By various
means it tries to bring people with different socio-religious background nearer. It strives to
promote social harmony by creating better understanding among people.
(12) Prevents Disorganisation:
The welfare state also tries to prevent or check the process of socio-economic
disorganisation. By making use of various means it tries to solve such socio-economic
problems like crime, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, untouchability, population problem,
poverty, beggary and so on. The efficiency of a welfare state can be measured by its
successful attempts in removing these problems.
Thus, it is clear now that the function of the welfare state is not merely administration, but an
integral welfare and development of its subjects. In fact, there is no limit to what the welfare
state can do for the service of the community. The popular statement state help kills self-help
is not always true. Still, the Welfare State is not all in all.
The state cannot interfere in all kinds of human activities in the name of welfare. It cannot
prescribe morality, cannot dictate opinion, cannot proclaim new customs and fashions, cannot
create a new culture and also cannot advocate new religious doctrines of universal
application. The state should know its limitations. It should not venture to do a task for which
it is unqualified.
Too much interference of the state in the life of the people would destroy the very spirit of
freedom. It was the veteran Indian Sarvodaya leader Late Sri Jayaprakash Narayan, who said
in unmistakable terms that “in the present world the state, not only in its totalitarian form but
also in its welfare variety, is assuming larger and larger power and responsibility. The welfare
state in the name of welfare threatens as much to enslave man to the state as the totalitarian.
The people must cry halt to this creeping paralysis…”
4- Sovereignty- meaning, Nature, Characteristics, Austinian and

Pluralist theories.
Ans- Meaning:
The term “Sovereignty” has been derived from the Latin word “Superanus” which means
supreme or paramount.The terms “Sovereign” and “Sovereignty” were first used by the
French jurists in the fifteenth century and later they found their way into English, Italian and
German political literature. The use of the term “Sovereignty” in Political Science dates back
to the publication of Bodin’s “The Republic” in 1576.
Two Aspects of Sovereignty:
There are two aspects of sovereignty: internal sovereignty and external sovereignty.
After closely studying and carefully examining the definitions of sovereignty, given above,
we arrive at the conclusion that sovereignty is the supreme political power of the state. It has
two aspects: internal and external. Sovereignty is an unlimited power and it is not subject to
any other authority.

its laws.
Law- Definition, Punishment

and its theories.
Law: Meaning, Features, Sources and Types of Law!
State is sovereign. Sovereignty is its exclusive and most important element. It is the supreme
power of the state over all its people and territories. The State exercises its sovereign power
through its laws. The Government of the State is basically machinery for making and
enforcing laws.
I. Law: Meaning and Definition:
The word ‘Law’ has been derived from the Teutonic word ‘Lag, which means ‘definite’. On
this basis Law can be defined as a definite rule of conduct and human relations. It also means
a uniform rule of conduct which is applicable equally to all the people of the State. Law
prescribes and regulates general conditions of human activity in the state.
1. “Law is the command of the sovereign.” “It is the command of the superior to an inferior
and force is the sanction behind Law.” —Austin
2. “A Law is a general rule of external behaviour enforced by a sovereign political authority.”

-Holland
In simple words, Law is a definite rule of behaviour which is backed by the sovereign power
of the State. It is a general rule of human conduct in society which is made and enforced by
the government’ Each Law is a binding and authoritative rule or value or decision. Its every
violation is punished by the state.
II. Nature/Features of Law:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
1. Law is a general rule of human behaviour in the state. It applies to all people of the state.
All are equally subject to the laws of their State. Aliens living in the territory of the State are
also bound by the laws of the state.
2. Law is definite and it is the formulated will of the State. It is a rule made and implemented
by the state.
3. State always acts through Law. Laws are made and enforced by the government of the
State.
4. Law creates binding and authoritative values or decisions or rules for all the people of
state.
5. Sovereignty of State is the basis of law and its binding character.
6. Law is backed by the coercive power of the State. Violations of laws are always punished.
7. Punishments are also prescribed by Law.
8. The courts settle all disputes among the people on the basis of law.
9. In each State, there is only one body of Law.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
10. Legally, Law is a command of the sovereign. In contemporary times laws are made by the
representatives of the people who constitute the legislature of the State. Laws are backed by
on public opinion and public needs.
11. The purpose of Law is to provide peace, protection, and security to the people and to
ensure conditions for their all round development. Law also provides protection to the rights
and freedoms of the people.
12. All disputes among the people are settled by the courts on the basis of an interpretation
and application of the laws of the State.
13. Rule of law, equality before law and equal protection of law for all without any
discrimination, are recognised as the salient features of a modern legal system and liberal
democratic state.
III. Sources of Law:
1. Custom:
Custom has been one of the oldest sources of law. In ancient times, social relations gave rise
to several usages, traditions and customs. These were used to settle and decide disputes
among the people. Customs were practiced habitually and violations of customs were
disapproved and punished by the society. Initially social institutions began working on the
basis of several accepted customs.
Gradually, the State emerged as the organised political institution of the people having the
responsibility to maintain peace, law and order; naturally, it also began acting by making and
enforcing rules based upon customs and traditions. In fact, most of the laws had their birth
when the State began converting the customs into authoritative and binding rules. Custom has
been indeed a rich source of Law.
2. Religion and Morality:

Religion and religious codes appeared naturally in every society when human beings began
observing, enjoying and fearing natural forces. These were accepted as superior heavenly
forces (Gods and Goddesses) and worshiped.
Religion then started regulating the behaviour of people and began invoking “Godly
sanction”, “fear of hell”, and “possible fruits of heaven”, for enforcing the religious codes. It
compelled the people to accept and obey religious codes. Several religions came forward to
formulate and prescribe definite codes of conduct. The rules of morality also appeared in
society. These defined what was good & what was bad, what was right and what was wrong.
The religious and moral codes of a society provided to the State the necessary material for
regulating the actions of the people. The State converted several moral and religious rules
into its laws. Hence Religion and Morality have also been important sources of Law.
3. Legislation:
Since the emergence of legislatures in 13th century, legislation has emerged as the chief
source of Law. Traditionally, the State depended upon customs and the decrees or orders of
the King for regulating the behaviour of the people. Later on, the legislature emerged as an
organ of the government. It began transforming the customary rules of behaviour into definite
and enacted rules of behaviour of the people.
The King, as the sovereign, started giving these his approval. Soon legislation emerged as the
chief source of law and the legislature got recognition as the Legal Sovereign i.e. law-making
organ of the State. In contemporary times, legislation has come to be the most potent, prolific
and direct source of law. It has come to be recognized as the chief means for the formulation
of the will of the State into binding rules.
4. Delegated Legislation:
Because of several pressing reasons like paucity of time, lack of expertise and increased
demand for law-making, the legislature of a State finds it essential to delegate some of its
law-making powers to the executive. The executive then makes laws/rules under this system.
It is known as Delegated Legislation. Currently, Delegated Legislation has come to be a big
source of Law. However, Delegated Legislation always works under the superior law-making
power of the Legislature.
4. Judicial Decisions:
In contemporary times, Judicial Decision has come to be an important source of Law. It is the
responsibility of the courts to interpret and apply laws to specific cases. The courts settle the
disputes of the people in cases that come before them. The decisions of the courts – the
judicial decisions, are binding on the parties to the case. These also get accepted as laws for
future cases. But not all judicial decisions are laws.
Only the judicial decisions given by the apex court or the courts which stand recognized as
the Courts of Record, (like the Supreme Court and High Courts of India) are recognized and
used as laws proper. Lower Courts can settle their cases on the basis of such judicial
decisions.
5. Equity:
Equity means fairness and sense of justice. It is also a source of Law. For deciding cases, the
judges interpret and apply laws to the specific cases. But laws cannot fully fit in each case
and these can be silent in some respects. In all such cases, the judges depend on equity and
act in accordance with their sense of fair play and justice. Equity is used to provide relief to
the aggrieved parties and such decisions perform the function of laying down rules for the
future. As such equity acts as a source of law.
6. Scientific Commentaries:
The works of eminent jurists always include scientific commentaries on the Constitution and
the laws of each state. These are used by the courts for determining the meaning of law. It
helps the courts to interpret and apply laws.
The jurists not only discuss and explain the existing law but also suggest the future possible
rules of behaviour. They also highlight the weaknesses of the existing laws as well as the
ways to overcome these. Interpretations given by them help the judges to interpret and apply
Laws to specific cases.
The works of jurists like, Blackstone, Dicey, Wade, Phillips, Seeravai, B.Pi. Rau, D.D. Basu
and others have been always held in high esteem by the judges in India. Scientific
commentaries jurists always help the development and evolution of law. Hence these also
constitute a source of law. Thus, Law has several sources. However, in contemporary times
law-making by the legislature constitutes the chief source of Law.
IV. Types of Law:
Broadly speaking there are two main kinds of Law:
(i) National Law i.e. the body of rules which regulates the actions of the people in society and
it is backed by the coercive power of the State.
(ii) International Law i.e. the body of rules which guides and directs the behaviour of the
states in international relations. It is backed by their willingness and consent that the states
obey rules of International Law. It is a law among nations and is not backed by any coercive
power.
National Law is the law by which the people are governed by the state. It stands
classified into several kinds:
1. Constitutional Law
2. Ordinary Law:
It is stands classified into two sub types:
2 (a) Private Law
2(b) Public Law:

It stands again sub-divided into two parts:
2(b) (i) General Public Law
2(b) (ii) Administrative Law
1. Constitutional Law:
Constitutional Law is the supreme law of the country. It stands written in the Constitution of
the State. The Constitutional Law lays down the organisation, powers, functions and inter-
relationship of the three organs of government. It also lays down the relationship between the
people and the government as well as the rights, freedoms (fundamental rights) and duties of
the citizens. It can be called the Law of the laws in the sense all law-making in the State is
done on the basis of powers granted by the Constitutional Law i.e. the Constitution.
2. Statute Law or Ordinary Law:
It is also called the national law or the municipal law. It is made by the government
(legislature) and it determines and regulates the conduct and behaviour of the people. It lays
down the relations among the people and their associations, organisations, groups and
institutions. The legislature makes laws, the executive implements these and judiciary
interprets and applies these to specific cases.
Ordinary Law is classified into two parts:
2 (a) Private Law and
2 (b) Public Law.
2 (a) Private Law:
Private Law regulates the relations among individuals. It lays down rules regarding the
conduct of the individual in society and his relations with other persons. It guarantees the
enjoyment of his rights. It is through this law that the State acts as the arbiter of disputes
between any two individuals or their groups.
2 (b) Public Law:
The law which regulates the relations between the individual and the State is Public Law. It is
made and enforced by the State on behalf of the community.
Public Law stands sub divided into two categories:
2(b)(i) General Law, and
2(b)(ii) Administrative Law.
2(b) (i) General Law:

It lays down the relations between the private citizens (Non-officials or who are not members
of the civil service) and the State. General Public Law applies to all the citizens in their
relations with the State.
2(b) (ii) Administrative Law:
It lays down the rules governing the exercise of the constitutional authority which stands
delegated by the Constitution of the State to all the organs of government. It also governs the
relations between the civil servants and the public and lays down the relations between the
civil servants and the State. In some States like France, Administrative Law is administered
by Administrative Courts and General Law is administered by ordinary courts. However in
countries like India, Britain and the USA the same courts administer both the General Law
and Administrative Law.
Clarifying the distinction between Public law and Private law, Holland writes: “In Private
Law the parties concerned are private individuals alone and between whom stands the State
as an impartial arbiter. In Public Law also the State is present as an arbiter although it is at the
same time one of the parties interested.”
There are Five theories of punishments.
1. Deterrent Theory
2. Retributive Theory
3. Preventive Theory
4. Reformative Theory
5. Expiatory Theory
Deterrent Theory
'Deter' means to abstain from doing at act. The main objective of this theory is to deter
(prevent) crimes. It serves a warning to the offender not to repeat the crime in the future and
also to other evil-minded persons in the society. This theory is a workable one even though it
has a few defects.
Retributive Theory
Retribute means to give in return. The objective of the theory is to make the offender realise
the suffering or the pain. In the Mohammedan Criminal Law, this type of punishment is
called 'QISAS' or 'KISA'. Majority or Jurists, Criminologists, Penologists and Sociologists do
not support this theory as they feel it is brutal and barbaric.
Preventive Theory
The idea behind this theory is to keep the offender away from the society. The offenders are
punished with death, imprisonment of life, transportation of life etc. Some Jurists criticize
this theory as it may be done by reforming the behavior of criminals.
Reformative Theory
The objective is to reform the behavior of the criminals. The idea behind this theory is that no
one is born as a Criminal. The criminal is a product of the social, economic and
environmental conditions. It is believed that if the criminals are educated and trained, they
can be made competant to behave well in the society. The Reformative theory is proved to be
successful in cases of young offenders.
Expiatory Theory
Jurists who support this theory believes that if the offender expiates or repents, he must be
forgiven.
The Indian Penal Code is a combination or compromise between the underlying principles of
all these theories.

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Political Science

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4.

As the supreme power of the State, Sovereignty has two dimensions:

Internal Sovereignty and External Sovereignty.

(i) Internal Sovereignty:

(ii) External Sovereignty:

No other organisation or institution can claim sovereignty. An institution can have

Meaning and Definition of State

The state is the highest form of human association. It is necessary because it

State is an association and it means a nation or territory considered as an

According to Wikipedia, A state is a type of polity that is an

To Holland, the state is “a numerous assemblage of human beings generally

Burgess defines the state as “a particular portion of mankind”

According to Sidgwick, “State is a combination or association of persons in the

According to Garner, “State is a community of people occupying a definite form of

Prof. Laski defines “state as a territorial society divided into government and

Sovereignty: Meaning and Characteristics

Characteristics or Attributes of Sovereignty:

According to Dr. Garner, following are the characteristics or attributes of Sovereignty:

(8) Absoluteness or illimitability.

Permanence is the chief characteristics of sovereignty. Sovereignty lasts as long as an

(3) All Comprehensiveness:

Sovereignty makes no exception and grants no exemption to anyone. It grants exemptions

Inalienability is another characteristic of sovereignty. Sovereignty is inalienable. By

Indivisibility is the life-blood of sovereignty. Sovereignty cannot be divided state, American

Sovereignty is absolute and unlimited. The sovereign is entitled to do whatsoever he likes.

Citizenship: Definition, Nature and Other

“Citizenship is the contribution of one’s instructed judgment to public good.” -Laski

The Positive Aspect of Citizenship:

Citizenship implies three things:

(2) Direct Participation in Administration no longer necessary for Citizenship:

(3) Now citizenship belongs to all the people of each state:

2. Enjoyment of several rights and freedoms in the state.

4. Loyalty towards the state.

Natural citizenship is a birth-right but naturalised citizenship of a State can be acquired by a

8. Citizens and Subjects:

9. Citizens and Aliens:

10. Alien Friends and Alien Enemies:

Basis/Grounds for Getting Citizenship:

I. Citizenship by Birth. (Jus Sanguine and Jus Soil):

(i) Citizenship on the basis of Parentage (Jus Sanguine):

(ii) Citizenship on the basis of Birth Place (Jus Soli):

Basis/Grounds for Exclusion from Citizenship:

Methods of Loosing Citizenship:

One can renounce the citizenship of his state through a resignation.

4. Renouncing Citizenship in case of Double Citizenship:

8. By getting government service abroad:

10. Acceptance of Titles from a Foreign Government:

Liberty: Definition, Features, Types and

Liberty: Definition, Features, Types and Essential Safeguards of Liberty!

(A) Negative Liberty:

(B) Positive Liberty:

1. Liberty is not the absence of restraints; it is the substitution of irrational restraints by

II. Liberty: Definition:

III. Features/Nature of Liberty:

(i) Liberty does not mean the absence of all restraints

IV. Types of Liberty:

(1) Natural Liberty:

(2) Civil Liberty:

Further, Civil Liberty has two features:

(i) State guarantees Civil Liberty:

(3) Political Liberty:

(4) Individual Liberty/ Personal Liberty: