Differences between the State and Other Associations like Society, Government, Nation are as follows:
The common man does not make any distinction between the state and many other institutions like society, government, nation and others. But the legalistic view of the state, which says that the state is a law making power, makes a distinction between the state and other institutions.
The distinction between state and society is quite important because society is much wider than the state. In a society, all the social institutions and social relationships are included, whereas the state only covers an aspect of society. Many idealists and monistic writers on politics have not made any distinction between society and state.
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But the liberal writers make such a distinction and contend that the state is the servant of society and is within the society; that society is much older than the state and does not have the four elements like the state; the state is a highly organized institution with sovereignty, while society may be even unorganized and does not possess sovereignty; the state is not a natural institution, whereas society is. The Pluralists have always given importance to the distinction between state and society, because they regard the state merely as an institution, equal to the other associations of society to serve the specific interests of society.
Government is one of the constituents of the state, but the two terms, state and government, have been indiscriminately used for each other. But as a matter of fact, government is only an agency of the state through which the collective will is formulated, expressed and executed. In terms of stability, sovereignty and extensiveness, the state is in possession of all these rather than the government.
It is also important to note that the state is regarded as a recently developed institution, while government is very old. Even the most primitive human societies must have developed some elementary form of government to manage the common life of the community.
Therefore, government is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for the existence of the state.
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Pluralists do not make a distinction between the state and other institutions of society and maintain that the state is like any other association of society. But, generally, the state is distinguished from other social associations because of its sovereignty. In every liberal democracy, the material apparatuses of state sovereignty viz.: police, military, bureaucracy and prison have become stronger.
Today, a sovereign state has got tremendous material power to crush revolts, which the other associations do not have.
The difference between state and nation stroke nationalities has been a matter of great dispute because modem states are also nation states. But the students of political science should understand the main distinction between state and nation, which is that the basis of a nation is psychological and cultural unity, while that of a state is physical and political unity. Nations emerged with the development of capitalism, whereas states existed prior to it. The essential elements of a state are not the pre-requisites of a nation.
Reality of this Distinction:
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The legalist view of the state makes distinctions between the state as a legal concept and other social institutions. But with the emergence of the welfare state, the difference between state and society almost disappeared; the distinction between state and government is merely a technical one and government for all practical purposes, is equivalent to the state. Similarly, with the emergence of the nation-state, the difference between nation and state is no more important and the differences between state and other associations were washed away by the pluralists.
The activities of state must be seen with reference to the whole society. The state should be understood as the whole of the political system, which is operating in society to perform certain functions, activities and processes in the whole static legal institutions having population, definite territory, government and sovereignty. The supreme power to make laws is a political system which performs the functions of maintaining stability and equilibrium, policy making and serving the common welfare functions in society.