Forms of State: Absolutist, Totalitarian, and Rule of Law
Main Forms of State
Historical Forms of State
State Authority
State authority can be unlimited, subject to no control, and recognize no other body to exercise its critique. This monopoly of authority manifests in the inability of citizens to exercise any political activity or participate in matters of state. There is also no independent judiciary with respect to government bodies and their interests, leaving the individual defenseless against abuse of state power.
Types of State Authority
- Absolutist State: Characteristic of the early modern age. Examples include the reigns of Philip II in Spain, Henry VIII in England, and Louis XIV in France.
- Totalitarian State: The government controls all areas of life, including institutions beyond the state and even the private lives of individuals. This control extends to media, religious beliefs, moral standards, and family.
Rule of Law
State authority is subject to the law. Political power is exercised only within the limits imposed by law, affecting both the rulers and the ruled. The ultimate goal is to protect individual rights against the abuse of authority.
Distinguishing Features of Rule of Law
- Existence of a Constitution: The highest law that regulates and structures the operation of a state. It establishes general rules, bodies, procedures for exercising power, and the relationship between these organs and individuals and their rights. It explicitly notes individual and collective rights.
- Division of Powers: Introduced by Montesquieu to prevent abuse of political power.
- Legislature (Parliament): Makes laws and controls the executive.
- Executive (Government): Enforces laws and directs state administration.
- Judiciary (Courts of Law): Applies laws, sanctions noncompliance, and ensures the constitutionality of laws passed by Parliament.
This is typical in democratic countries where citizens participate in electing political representatives and, in some cases, members of the three branches of government. Citizens also have direct participation through voting and serving on juries.
Constitutional Requirements
- Abandonment of Violence: Individuals, groups, corporations, and social classes renounce violence.
- State Monopoly of Force: The state and its specialized agencies hold a monopoly on force.
- Resolution of Conflicts through Civil Law: Conflicts between individuals, groups, or classes are resolved through legal means.
- Existence of Limits to Domination: Limits to the exercise of power are explicitly defined in law.
Locke
Locke does not defend an absolute state, but rather the idea that everyone has equal rights. He differentiates between the state of nature (men living together according to reason) and the state of war (use of force outside the law). The state of nature is governed by reason, which dictates that all humans are equal, based on a natural moral law. This justifies the existence of natural rights. Humans have a natural need to live in society, with the family as the first form of association. The satisfaction of certain human needs requires social organization. Political society arises when a group of people in a state of nature transitions to a people under one government. “No man can be removed from society or subjected to political power without their consent.” Acceptance of the state implies leaving the state of nature. Locke favored the state of nature due to the lower chance of tyrannical attempts. When an individual joins a political society, they must accept the decisions made by the majority.
Rousseau
Rousseau argued that poverty and inequality have increased throughout history. To address this, he proposed an agreement to create a more just society. Unlike Hobbes and Locke, Rousseau believed that man is good by nature, and that social life creates inequality in wealth distribution. He advocated for a direct democracy with laws reflecting the will of individuals, provided they have moral legitimacy. Rousseau believed the social contract was a deception because it legitimized private property, benefiting only the wealthy bourgeoisie.