What Justifies the State?

What Justifies the State?

The state, as the textbook refers to, "is the highest authority in a society, with a legal power to define the public interest and enforce its definition." The state is comprised of the governing institutions, politicians, and the legal system. They have authority over its citizens in executing legislature, applying taxes, and, if necessary, provide additional services for the state. The power of the state is justified by the people who allow the state to have the necessary power to govern its citizens. To my understanding, there should be a mutual compromise between the government and its obligations and its citizens to abide by the laws of the state. The social contract theory is the doctrine that says that "individuals should give up certain liberties and rights to the state, which in turn guarantees such rights as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The first social contract theory was discussed by Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Then in the middle ages, St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas debated the theory as well..

In the 18th century, the English social philosopher Thomas Hobbes, in Leviathan, stats this theory on the English society," Hereby it is manifests that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such war, as is of every man, against every man, and the life of man is solitary, nasty, brutish, and short." Hobbes perceived humans being in permanent conflict with each other, so they have to accept the state authority and its power to rule them to the best of their interest. He also believed that those who didn't live within a state, have none of the protections and advantages that government provides.

John Locke, another 18th century English philosopher, viewed humans much less violent than Hobbes, "as free and equal by nature, regardless of the existence of any government." Humans have established governments because there are three things missing in the state of nature; among them are clearly understood interpretation of natural law, unbiased judges to resolve disputes, and personal recourse in the face of injustice. The social contract theory, according to Locke, is based on the consent of the majority, and all agree to obey the decisions of the majority. The state's authority is limited by the term of the contract, which is continually reviewed by its citizens. Both philosophers concluded that the power the state exerts is justified because it is a power that we consented to accept. The continuity of acceptance is as far back as the formations of the first states. Locke believed that the government should leave people free to decide what kind of life they want to choose, protect the individual's propriety, and secure freedom to pursue happiness.

In the 18th century, the French philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau came up with the theory of the "general will." It is the right of the individuals to live under laws that they choose for themselves. "Each of us puts in