Session 4 - State and its role

        There is no single universally acceptable definition of the State. Some see a "state" as an ancient institution, such as Rome, Greece and before.

       State is more than a government. Governments change, but states sustain. A state is the means of rule over a defined or "sovereign" territory. It is comprised of a bureaucracy, an executive, courts and other institutions. But, above all, a state levies taxes and operates a military and police force for the wellbeing of the society, also by redistributing and re-distributing resources and wealth, so lobbyists, politicians and revolutionaries seek in their own way to influence or even to get hold of the levers of state power. States exist in a variety of sizes, from as large as China to as tiny as Andorram. States are also dependent on time for example Poland, which disappeared and re-appeared later. Some also divided up.  

    The main aim of the State is to ensure good life of members of the society. Unfortunately, the State, in concrete terms, is often seen as an instrument in the hands of a privileged few who perpetually dominate, exploit and suppress the dominated majority. The State, thus, serves the interests of a particular class structure rather than the generality of the masses. Nevertheless, it has also been found that for the State to continuously exist to exploit the majority, the State sometimes enjoys some form of relative autonomy and assumes responsibility to provide for the wellbeing of the masses. In the third world economies, however, because of their under-developed nature, the State possesses some characteristics that make it to be weak and thus operates under support of foreign aid.