The political philosophers/theorists of different age & time has enriched & enlightened the human civilization with an institution called the state. As Aristotle said “The state comes into existence for the sake of life and continues to exist for the sake of good life”. From the very beginning, the comprehensive plan has been worked-out for its continuity. Imperative to say, that the same philosophers also illuminated the mankind about the concepts like social-contract which according to them was a prerequisite for the establishment of a political & public good. Besides, the popular sovereignty. According to them, such a plan was inevitable to bring peace, stability & order.
In this piece of work, my sole purpose is to locate the excessive & absolute powers of the modern-day state. Besides, how the individual rights are getting hurt & striped through what Giorgio Agamben has called “The state of exception”. I conclude, why the modern-day state should upheld & re-read its mutually established contract & respect the human rights which are above all.
For the creation of a sovereign (read state), the philosophers viewed the consent of the individual as a fundamental to make authority legal & sensible. Many endorsed the individual liberties & called them inalienable & undeniable for complete individual development in particular and the continuity of the state in general. For example, an english philosopher John Locke viewed individual liberty as one of the fundamental principle for the overall development of an individual. He was the first who limited & restricted the powers of the state. He was the one who staunchly criticised those states which justified the absolute & unlimited powers of the state. He was the one who empowered the citizens with a right to resist.
Necessary Evil
The institution like state is a significant one. The timeless classicals & the modern day political philosophers/theorists viewed the same institution differently. There are very few who opined against it. But there are the scholars who viewed the state as a last resort to end the human sufferings & the social predicaments. They are of the view that it is the only institution that is enough capable to fulfil all the basic & necessary needs of the individual. However, the same institution was called as a “necessary & unnecessary evil” by different political theorists. Besides, Karl Marx known as the prophet of workers class viewed the state as an instrument of exploitation & a theatre of coercion.
The importance of the state in the words of Machiavelli “It is the highest form of human association which has to be created as the human beings are selfish, deceitful & egoistic in nature”. Without an iota of doubt, state is an imperative institution which has no substitution and cannot be replaced. In its absence, the conditions would be like the hobbessian state of nature. Where the social order would be full of chaos & the trade & other economic developments wouldn’t be possible & the property of all would be under threat from all.
I’m in full agreement with those who say the state is an inevitable institution but I totally disapprove the unchecked, absolute & unlimited powers of the institution which is detrimental in many ways. In today’s time, keeping in view the absolute role of the modern state, It wouldn’t be inappropriate to say that people think & discuss more about the state than the God. Because, today’s state has become heavily interventionist & interfered one in the private lives of its citizen.
It can be said that the contract which was mutually established to bring peace & stability has turned monotonous, if can’t say entirely broken. In the name of the sovereignty the power & authority is being continously misused & manipulated to build concrete blocks that restricts citizens individual life & liberty. Since, there is a proliferation of statism; there is a grave abuse of human rights violations & striping of individual liberties. Today, there is no concept of independent opinions & dissent.
To study the modern-day state across the globe & in South Asian region in particular, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the sovereign whose powers were limited and accountable to the law of the land has turned violent, absolute & authoritarian one. The characreristics of a democratic & an authoritarian state has deeply blurred.
In an article published in Foreign Policy by Daron Acdmoglu & James A. Robinson argues that “States don’t fail overnight. The seeds of their destruction are sown deep within their political institutions”. Perhaps, the authors are indicating towards the continuous political instability, unconstitutional legislations & unabated state violence by the modern-day state that would become the nails for its destruction & fall.
Undisputedly, the modern-state has turned a state of surveillance and totally anti-individualistic by framing & drafting many anarchical & totalitarian policies & legislations. These coercive policies of the state not only deteriorated the individual capabilities, individual lierties but has also curtailed the individual autonomy as well. “In recent years, however, surveillance has become synonymous with repression” (Isabel Ivanescu and Robert Carlson).
A state which gives unaccountable and innumerable coercive measures to its political institutions like police & other agencies is truly a “political and moral decay of a modern-state”. The so called democratic system, the rule of law & the highest court of judiciary which are there to check the misuse of power are too in an absolute chaos rather has been collapsed & turns-out a show of absurdity and shame. The mis-trust & non-credibility of the political institutions is a sign of dysfunctionality and an inappropriate behaviour of the modern state. Today’s state want its citizens to be disciplined & duty bound but miserably failed to give rights to its citizens. As someone said “authority without responsibility is an imminent danger”.
Conclusion:
To build state a guardian & a protector of all again, there is need to re-visit the contract & make the same more accountable, accessible & politically genuine to all. It needs to be transparent and inclusive without criminalising and curtaling the individual rights.
Undoubedtly, the genuine & progressive criticism is the hallmark of a modern day state. The powers of the sovereign should be limited & it’s unnecessary interference and a kind of encroachment in the civil liberties should be resisted and restricted. The state of today should be built on cooperation, consensus & consent. A State which is exercising absolute powers would lead to disorder, conflict and deep alienation. The absolute state chains the individual liberties and imprisons their capacities. They are the same capacities which a modern day state could have exploited in a better way possible for the general welfare of the society.
In simpler terms, the failure of the state is the beginning of an unlimited anarchy, violence & a threat to all from all. I firmly believe that the state shouldn’t collapse & fail under any circumstance. Yes, for its continuity it should cut its excessive powers & should build a progressive, cooperative & a democratic kind of atmosphere. In today’s world, the existence of the state is as important as of civil liberties of an individual. The state should balance itself between a power and a right. More importantly, the “legitimate antagonism” shouldn’t be obliterated & diverted at any cost. The known Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero has then rightly said that the “state without justice is a robbery on the highway”.
