Ampong, Mark Louis A.

Module 4
BS ChE | 2019-01764 TCW 005-21 The Contemporary World

1. Rank the elements of the states from the most important to the least important and provide
why you chose one over the other.

If I were to rank the elements of states from the most important to the least important, I would
definitely rank them according to importance, starting from the smallest unit. Therefore, I’d
rank them in this order:
Population > Territory > Government > Sovereignty
The first two components make up the state's physical or material foundation, while the latter
two make up its political and spiritual foundation.
The state is a creation of mankind. Population is therefore the main component. When it
comes to population, there are no absolutes. Plato and Aristotle, two known philosophers,
favored a modest population. A perfect state, in Plato's opinion, should have 5040 citizens. A
huge population, however, might become a burden if the state's resources are insufficient to
maintain it. Overpopulation is one of the major issues that emerging nations deal with.
Therefore, there need to be a contented balance between a state's material prosperity and
population size.
Another important component of the state is a defined and essentially permanent territory.
Citizens nowadays are connected through their shared tenancy of a common area. The territory
of a state consists of land, sea, and air. A tiny state, however, really has it harder when dealing
with bigger states. Smaller states are influenced by one or more powerful, major states. Large
states are defended as being strong on defense and economically self-sufficient because to the
abundance of resources.
A group of people residing in a certain territory cannot establish a state unless they are
politically organized, that is, unless they have a functioning government. Government is the
state's political structure. It is the tangible and obvious tool of governmental authority.
Effective government must be able to uphold law and order and enforce compliance. Without
a government, there would be disorder and lawlessness, and eventually the state would
disintegrate.
Sovereignty is unquestionably the state's most crucial quality. It is the trait that sets the
state apart from all other relationships. It designates the ultimate authority or the supreme
power to which there is no recourse. Strong internal autonomy is essential to maintaining law
and order. When internal sovereignty is weak, organizations like rebel groups would challenge
the authority and sabotage the peace.
2. Among the theories of the origins of the state, which do you think is the most logical in
explaining how states came about? Explain your answer.

I think the most logical theory of the origin of state is the Paternalistic Theory. Under the
direction of the father, state development results from the growth of the family. Family
expanded into a clan, which then became a tribe. A tribe then became a country, and a nation
eventually became a state. Also, I think that this is more logical and rational since most of the
leaders before were men. Though women have the capacity to lead, they weren’t given the
opportunity to become a leader just because of their gender.
Paternalism, which derives its name from the term "father," is a reflection of the underlying
social hierarchies present in patriarchal civilizations, when fathers or male heads of households
were viewed as authoritative characters in charge of ensuring the wellbeing of dependents and
subordinates. In this tradition, monarchs, presidents, and CEOs presided over the functioning
of adult members of governments, businesses, and communities. I think this can also be
observed in the Philippine setting, most of the leaders or Rajahs before were men. i.e. Rajah
Humabon, Rajah Sulayman, etc.
Since the family is the smallest unit of the society, I think it’s more logical that when a
family grows, it turns into a clan. Then, some clans come together or unite through marriage
then form a tribe. Once the tribes from different clans have united, they can form a country,
then eventually a nation and then state. As long as there are existing families around the world,
they can form numerous clans, tribes, countries, nations, and states. And that is evident right
now, as we have 195 independent sovereign states in the world.