B.A. Social Notes

                     Matriarchal Theory Macleannan , Morgan and Jenks are chief exponents of this theory. In their books, "Primitive Society"(1866) , "Studies is Ancient Society"(1877),"A History of Politics"(1900) ,they have explained this theory and rejected outrightly the proposition that patriarchal family was the earliest form of society. They maintain that the primitive family had no common male head and kinship was traced through mothers. The matriarchal family was prior to patriarchal family. The patriarchal family was possible only where monogamy or polyandry existed. The earliest form of marriage relation was polyandry. According to it one woman had more than one husband. In such a society kinship is traced through females and not males. Meclennan and Morgan share "the credit of discovering the clan, a maternally organised hereditary ,unilateral unit, unilateral because children under this system belonged to the clan ...

                                Patriarchal Theory So limited is the knowledge of the Political Scientists, regarding the origin of the state that it becomes very difficult, if not impossible to say when and how the state originated. But it can safely be asserted that the State is the outcome of historical evolution. Because, family is the oldest of all human institutions and because family is the first constituent of society, it has played a dominant role in the organisation of State. MacIver, an eminent political and social scientist, is of the same opinion. He says,"In the family,the primary social unit, there are always present the curbs and controls that constitute the essence of government, which is in continuation by the more inclusive society of a process of regulation that is highly developed within the family. The same necessities that create the family also regulate it. Here is government in...

                              The Force Theory a-Statement of the Theory- This theory holds that the state originated and developed by the use of naked force applied by the strong over the weak and their consequent subjugation. In the very beginning man lived in small groups (Guilds) and wondered from one place to another in search of food. Many times a fight broke out in these groups. Whenever the strong group succeeded in having its control over the weak group the State was organised, because the leader of the strong used to become the king and brought the defeated group into his subjection. In his famous book "History Politics" Jenks points out, "Historically speaking there is not the slightest difficulty in proving that all political communities of the modern type owe their existence to successful warfare." This statement of Jenks makes it very clear that the state is the out-come of war and that "war be...

                                  Divine Theory a-Statement of the Theory According to this theory, the state is a divine institution of God has created it for the common welfare. This theory propagates that either God Himself rules over or sends his representatives or the deputy to rule over the people. The king is God's representative and therefore,he is responsible to God and not to the people.It is the supreme duty of the people that they should obey the commands of the king. To opposite the king is to oppose God.The king may be a tyrant, yet the people have got no right to go against the king. Disobedience to the king is the disobedience to God. King's opposition is God's opposition. It is not the people to ask the king to give the account of his deeds. God alone is entitled to ask the king to give the account of his good deeds or bad deeds. In this way the exponents of this theory regard the ...

                                           Nationality Many political thinkers have defined "nationality " in their own way. As has already been stated that the term "nationality " has been derived from the Latin word "Natio" which commonly connotes the idea of birth or race. In this way by nationality we mean the status of a number of people who belong to one race and who have similar attitudes in regard to their race. But we should not forget that this literal meaning of the word "nationality " has undergone a revolutionary change. Richard W.F. Flournoy has very aptly remarked in this connection,"While nationality is sometimes used broadly with reference to blood relationships in the strict legal sense,there is no necessary connection between them." After marking out the meaning of nationality we quote a few definitions of nationality,given by various authors. 1-Lega...

                Marxist Theory of Rights Rights of liberal State welcomed- Marx and Engles welcomes the existence of civil rights in the contemporary bourgeoisie-democratic state because they represented an advance from the feudal state  where no such rights existed. Moreover,though from these rights the capitalist benefitted most, these rights also enabled the workers to organise easily against the capitalist and start agitations. Freedom of the Press defended- As the editor of Rheinixhe Zeitung, Marx wrote many articles defending the freedom of the press but criticised the law of censorship imposed by the state. According to Marx,censorship entirely destroyed the freedom of the Press and various rights conferred upon the people by the constitution. Adult Suffrage- Marx admitted that the capitalist were the major beneficiaries of the civil liberties or the rights guaranteed by the Constitution,since they could invest huge money to o...

                                    Law The term 'Law' has been derived from "an old Teutonic root 'lag' " which means something which lies fixed or evenly ". Law regulates life and without law there is chaos of confusion. The term law is used to denote that which is uniform. Laws are of two kinds:physical and human. Those laws which regulate nature are known as physical laws. Those laws which regulate human life are known as human laws. In Political Science we use the term law to mean a body of rules to guide human actions. Definition of Law 1-According to Salmond, "Law is a collection of the rules which the State recognises and applies in the admiration of justice." 2-According to Austin, "Law is the command of the sovereign." 3-In the opinion of Holland, "A law is a general rule of external human actions enforced by a sovereign political authority." 4-According to Krabbe ,"Law is th...