The previous post
examined the meaning of government and how it differs from the concept of the state. It also examined the basic functions performed by the government.
In this article,
we shall examine the origin and necessity of government. The major theories of
the origins of government include: the evolutionary theory, force theory,
divine theory and social contract theory.
These theories,
in their explanations of the origins of government harp variously on family or
clan-bound structure, force, supernatural being and the contract between the
government and the governed respectively.
Be that as it
may, man generally accepts government as a necessary, if not sufficient
condition, for peaceful and prosperous existence, and for the interest of all
in society.
Table of
Content
By the end of
this article, you will be able to:
1. Defined
2. Identify
and explain the 4 major theories of the origin of government
3. Discuss
the necessity of government
Definitions of Government
The Merriam-Webster
Dictionary offers three definitions of government:
(i) 'The group of
people who control and make decisions for a country, state, etc.
(ii) 'A particular
system used for controlling country, state, etc.'
(iii) 'The process
or manner of controlling a country, state, etc.'
Evident from the
foregoing is the fact that the government can be defined by the people
involved, the system in place, or the process in use.
Thus, the government
is defined as the vehicle for the governance of society, which is the
establishment and enforcement of rules and provisioning of basic services which
society requires but which would otherwise not be available or might be in
conflict between individuals and the various subdivisions within society.
Similar to the
foregoing, Black's Law Dictionary posits that institutions of the government regulate
the relationships among members of a society and between the society and
outsiders and that they have the authority to make decisions for the society to
meet goals and maintain order.
The government plays
a fundamental role in the economic development process. Market rules and
operating procedures are set and enforced by the government. The government plays
a role in the economy through the provision of public goods that are collective
in nature and through efforts to counter market imperfections such as
externalities or poor information. For example, the government provides public
infrastructure that services economic activities. It also provides public
services to both business and households. Again, the government decides what is
best for the individuals and groups and how to utilize available resources to provide
the best living standard for the citizenry. Can you imagine living in a society
without transportation, water supply, road network and without other social
infrastructural facilities? How it would be like if nobody was charged with the
responsibility to make sure laws are made and respected or to provide a plan
where buildings should go and keep our environment clean and safe?
We need the
government to take care of many of these things. Government operations are
those activities involved in the running of a state to produce value for the
citizens. The significant feature of modern (liberal) government is a
democracy, and two major attributes of democracy found in most writings on
liberal democracy are the principle of rule of law and the theory of separation
of powers.
Scholars have argued
that the government can be explained and understood along three broad
interpretations.
These
include:
1. Government as a process of governing
2. Government as an institution of the state
3. Government as a field of study
Government as a Process of Governing
As a process of
governing, the government refers to how a particular state is being governed.
It also means the entire processes, operations and activities that are involved
in the governing of a state. In the course of governing a state, the government
is divided into different organs and tiers, which include the legislature,
judiciary and executive organs, and the federal, state and local governments
respectively.
The legislative arm
is responsible for lawmaking; such laws must not be arbitrary but should be
based on a critical assessment of the collection of relevant information. The
executive arm performs the activity of implementation of these laws made by the
legislature.
The executive
mobilizes all the necessary machinery to ensure the implementation of adequate
policies and laws made by the legislature. More often than not, problems arise
while implementing government policies; such problems are resolved by the
judiciary. The judiciary performs a crucial role in explaining or interpreting
the laws properly.
It is therefore seen
that both the organs and tiers of government are all effectively involved in
the effective running of the affairs of a state.
Hence, we can posit
that government as an art or process of governing refers to the process through
which the legislature, executive and judicial organs of government variously
carry out their assigned functions and responsibilities at federal, state and
local governments.
Government as an Institution of the State
This refers to the
mechanism that guides the control and direction of a state. These are the
institutions, Ministries, parastatals and Agencies (MDAs) of state responsible
for the administration of the state.
The institutions of
a state are broadly categorized into formal and informal institutions. The
formal institutions are the legislature, executive and judiciary; while the
informal institutions comprise of the pressure groups, political parties and
trade unions.
The government in
this context refers to the institution of a State because it is formed and
established for the common good of the people who chose to come together and
have a common destiny. Government is therefore necessary as an institution of
the state because it is through the government that the will of the state,
which is an abstract entity, is realized.
Government
transforms the abstractness of the state into a concrete reality that can be
seen and recognized. It is the government as an institution that governs, and
this entails regulating individual’s relationship and providing for the
fundamental human rights of the people as well as the protection of citizens
from internal insecurity and external aggression.
Government as a Field of Study
As a field of study,
the government is seen as a branch of human endeavor that studies agencies,
institutions and the forces that operate in the state. It is studied as
Government in post-primary schools, and Political Science or Politics in higher
institutions. Government as an academic field of study also has sub-disciplines
or fields such as Political Theory, Political Economy, Comparative Government,
and International
Relations, Public
Administration, Public Policy, Local Government Studies, among others.
As a field of study, Government imbues an individual with logical reasoning. It prepares citizens for active and meaningful participation in the art of governing. More fundamentally, it not only enlightens citizen of their fundamental human rights and obligations but also creates a deep sense of national consciousness, cohesion and patriotism in them.
4 Major Theories of the Origin of Government
1. Evolutionary
Theory
2. Force Theory
3. Divine theory
4. Social contract
theory
1. Evolutionary Theory
The evolutionary
theory posits that government originates from a family or clan-bound structure.
This explains the formation of the world's first political structures. These
earliest and very loosely formed governments were the result of a shift from
hunter-gatherer societies (otherwise called the wandering band) to more settled
agricultural societies. As families joined to form clans and clans joined to
form villages, the need for leaders and a central organizational structure developed.
These leaders helped
determine how to address unfamiliar issues, such as water rights for crop
irrigation and the distribution of other resources. They also provided an
increased sense of safety and security for the society.
In many early
societies, these first states developed monarchies, with rule based on
membership in a ruling family. In modern times, some governments continue to be
led by a succession of members from the same family. For example, in the
monarchy of Saudi Arabia, the king has been descended from the Āl Saʿūd family
since 1744.
2. Force Theory
The force theory
espouses the idea that government originates from taking control of the state
by force and is often found in a dictatorship-a type of government characterized
by one-person or one-party authoritarian rule.
Historically,
this has been achieved in some cases through forcible invasion or occupation when
a more dominant people or state takes control of the political system of a less
powerful people or state, imposing its governmental system on that group.
New governments
can also be formed by force during revolutions or coups within a country. A
coup is the overthrow of an established government, and the resulting leader or
dictator is most often a military figure. An example of the force theory
occurred in Cuba in 1959 when revolutionary Fidel Castro and a small force of
guerrilla soldiers defeated the national army and took control of the
government.
3. Divine Right Theory
For the divine
right theory, government originates with power vested in an individual by God
or gods. Generally, monarchs lead governments of this type. This theory was
followed in ancient times, including by the ancient Egyptians and Maya.
The idea of
divine right experienced a resurgence in western Europe in the 16th to the 18th
centuries, when King James I of England, several French monarchs, and other
rulers asserted that their authority came directly from God—and thus could not be
challenged. Russian czars, such as Peter the Great, believed their autocratic
rule was God-given, and they used their power to gain territory, wage war, and
impose taxation on their subjects.
4. Social Contract Theory
The social
contract theory of government was the result of centuries of frustration with
the unchecked power of monarchs. Under this theory, the government is a kind of
contract in which those in power have responsibilities toward those they govern
and the governed respect the power of the governing individuals. There are
various versions of the social contract theory, ranging from an emphasis on
maintaining a peaceful social order to a focus on using individual free will to
determine what is best for the public good, or that which benefits all people
in a society.
Although the
social contract theory has numerous variations, at its core is the idea that
government is an agreement between those who govern and those who are governed.
This theory was
developed in the 17th and 18th centuries by philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes,
John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. The founders of the United States drew
heavily on social contract theory in the construction of both the Declaration of
Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
Necessity of
Government
The idea of
government, its origin and necessity has had both bourgeois and revolutionary
approaches. However, bourgeois writings and discourses on government have
pre-dominated political science literature in particular and social science
literature in general.
Thus, political thinkers
and writers have varied views on the idea and purpose of government in society.
Aristotle expressed the view that government exist for man in society and it
exists for the sake of the best life. John Locke maintains that the purpose of
the government is the preservation of man’s lives, liberties and property. Adam
Smith in his Wealth of Nations (1976) sees the purpose of
government in terms of three fold duties, namely,
(i) Protection of
the society from foreign aggression.
(ii)
Establishment of an exact administration of justice to every member of the
society.
(iii) Establishment
of certain public works and certain public institution for the general welfare
of the people.
According to
Herbert Spencer, the government exists to prevent an individual from infringing
the rights of another. Government is, therefore “a joint-stock protection
company for mutual assurance”.
To the utilitarian
school, of which Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill the well-known exponents,
the primary purpose of government is to ensure the greatest happiness of the
greatest number of people. Harold Laski’s view which represents the modern view
on the purposes of government cannot be said to be fundamentally different from
the views the state as an “organization or enabling the mass of men to realize
social good on the largest possible scale”. Laski sees the primary purpose of
the state as the maintenance of citizen’s inalienable rights. Again, that
government exists to control the levels at which men are to live as men to
protect the interests of men as citizens.
From the above,
man generally accept government (following the bourgeois logic) as a necessary,
if not sufficient condition, for peaceful and prosperous existence, for the
interest of all in society.
It is in this context
that government is defined as the highest institution of every state; an
impartial arbiter with a central authority which claims allegiance from all
members of the state, capable of imposing its will on all members of the state
if need be by means of force, and which is ready to protect the lives and
properties of all members within its confines.
Conclusion on 4 Theories of the Origin of
Government
The question
about the origin of organized government has been discussed for centuries.
Although four theories have been accepted as to how the first governments were
established, there is no concrete evidence to support any of the proposed
theories. Irrespective of its origin, type or form, the government is necessary
for peaceful co-existence of all in society.
This post has
examined the origin and necessity of government. The major theories of the
origins of government include: the evolutionary theory, force theory, divine
theory and social contract theory. The evolutionary and force theories, in
their explanations of the origins of government, harp on family or clan-bound
structure and force.
We also saw that divine theory and social contract theory based their explanations on the existence of a supernatural being and the contract between the government and the governed respectively.
The article also noted that man generally accepts government as a necessity for the peaceful and prosperous existence of all in society.
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