User:Nick Gardner /Sandbox: Difference between revisions
imported>Nick Gardner No edit summary |
imported>Nick Gardner No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Although originally created by governments, the state has acquired a notional existence that is independent of the [[government]], [[country]] and [[nation]] with which it is associated. It has the characteristics of a [[corporation]] in its ability to enter into every form of legal and commercial transaction in the same way as an individual. | |||
Beyond those bare essentials there have been many interpretations of the term and many different attitudes to the concept. For [[Thomas Hobbes]] in the 17th century, and for many since then, it has been seen solely as a means of avoiding the chaos of a "war of all against all"<ref>[http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-contents.html Thomas Hobbes: ''The Leviathan'', (first published 1660), Oregon State University Library, 2009]</ref>. In France after the [[French revolution]], and in some other European countries', the means which it serves came to include the protection of citizens against oppression and, according to the Israeli historian, Martin Van Creveld, it became a prized possession "for which they were often prepared to make every sacrifice" including the "rivers of blood" of two world wars<ref> Martin Van Creveld: ''The Rise and Decline of the State'', page 334, Cambridge University Press, 2004[http://www.questia.com/read/105717112?title=The%20Rise%20and%20Decline%20of%20the%20State#](Questia subscribers)</ref>. | |||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
Revision as of 04:58, 24 December 2009
Although originally created by governments, the state has acquired a notional existence that is independent of the government, country and nation with which it is associated. It has the characteristics of a corporation in its ability to enter into every form of legal and commercial transaction in the same way as an individual.
Beyond those bare essentials there have been many interpretations of the term and many different attitudes to the concept. For Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century, and for many since then, it has been seen solely as a means of avoiding the chaos of a "war of all against all"[1]. In France after the French revolution, and in some other European countries', the means which it serves came to include the protection of citizens against oppression and, according to the Israeli historian, Martin Van Creveld, it became a prized possession "for which they were often prepared to make every sacrifice" including the "rivers of blood" of two world wars[2].
- ↑ Thomas Hobbes: The Leviathan, (first published 1660), Oregon State University Library, 2009
- ↑ Martin Van Creveld: The Rise and Decline of the State, page 334, Cambridge University Press, 2004[1](Questia subscribers)