Core Principles and Features of the Modern State

Defining the Modern State

We find it difficult to give a precise definition, but we think that we know the state when we see it; this is because we tend to feel that the state is always with us.

Max Weber's Definition of the State

According to Weber's definition, the state could not be defined in terms of its function or goals, but had rather to be understood in terms of distinctive means.

Essential Features of the State

The primary features of the state include:

• Taxation
• Legitimacy
• Public bureaucracy
• Constitutionality
• Permanent population
• Sovereignty

Sovereignty and Its Limitations

Regarding sovereignty, it is not that the sovereign may do whatever it wishes, because they are a final authority in the political community. Its limitations are manifest: every subject has liberty in all those things, the right whereof cannot by Covenant be transferred.

The Concept of Territoriality

Territoriality means that the states are geographic or geo-political entities, meaning that they each occupy a clearly defined physical space.

Consent and Political Legitimation

States seek to impose their will through the consent of the population as a form of legitimation of them as an authority. This is because a stable state requires that most of the people will accept this rule.

Separation of Powers and Sovereignty

The contribution of separation of power to the apportionment of sovereignty is significant: having the powers separated helps sovereignty as no one branch of government should be able to dominate the others.

Features of Public Bureaucracy

1. Bureaucratic administration is conducted according to fixed rules and procedures.
2. Access to employment within the civil service is based upon special examination.
3. Bureaucratic management is based upon a knowledge of written documents (files).
4. The civil servant acts as the occupier of a particular public office.

Why Citizens Obey State Commands

1. There is no choice in the matter.
2. No thought has ever been given to it (tradition).
3. We cannot be bothered one way or another (apathy).
4. We cannot imagine things being different (pragmatic acquiescence).
5. It is what in ideal circumstances we would have agreed to do (ideal normative agreement).

The Rule of Law and Legal Authority

The rule of law can be considered a feature of the state because, under a law-governed regime, politicians should themselves be subject to the constitutional order and the laws which they have themselves helped to enforce.

Where Legal Authority Rests

In Weber's interpretation, legal authority rests on a belief in the legality of enacted rules and the right of those elevated to authority under such rules to issue commands.

Citizenship and the Role of Taxation

Citizenship is a double-sided process because it is a mixture of entities or rights of participation and a series of attendant obligations or duties.

The Importance of Taxation

Taxation is essential to any explanation of the modern state; the modern state could not have existed without substantial and regular tax revenues.