Defining the State: D'Entreves' Views on Force, Law, and Cohesion

D’Entreves' Three Points of View on the State

Which three points of view from which the state is approached are considered by D’Entreves? Are those points of view complementary? Why?

The State as Force (Monopoly of Power)

Firstly, the state equals force; it has the monopoly of force. There are, on the one hand, psychological forces affecting everyone everywhere. On the other hand, above all, there are new and unheard-of material forces, made available by the increasing perfection of scientific instruments, weapons, and means of defense and offense. To be sure, from this point of view, it is the executives, the bosses, the war lords, who are the state. It is they who make the decisions and give the commands. They hold the fate of all in their hands; we seem to be left with no choice but submission.

The State as Law (The Legal System)

They hold the fate of all in their hands; we seem to be left with no choice but submission.

Secondly, the use of the state is a wholly impersonal one. Men disappear behind the laws, or rather, if we look for the state, officials, magistrates, and judges are not the state. The functions they carry out are established by the laws. The state itself is created by the law. State and law coincide. The state is the legal system.

The State as Social Cohesion (Obligation and Agreement)

On the other hand, there is the factor of social cohesion of men living together and keeping the laws, often, if not always, of their own free will and with no need of compulsion. This perspective involves:

• Men whose words and opinions and acts (e.g., electors whose votes decide a situation).
• Leaders who outline the policies to be followed.

In both cases, this behavior appears to be due to a sense of obligation, to agreement on the ends to be pursued in the common life, and on the criteria which fix and condition obedience. This kind of agreement is the condition of the state's existence.

Description vs. Prescription: Legal and Customary Definitions

What is the difference between description and prescription?

Description

A description of real estate that is sufficient to identify it for legal purposes.

Prescription

The establishment of a claim founded on the basis of a long or indefinite period of uninterrupted use or of long-standing custom.