There is a country, a government, a body of law. But who built the very first state, and when, and how? The book's honest answer is that nobody can say for certain. So there are four theories, and an exam wants you to tell their faces apart.
1. Four theories
It is hard to say for certain when and how the state came into being. Political scientists have examined history and past political events, and from them they have offered some theories.
Four theories stand out: the Divine, the Force, the Social Contract and the Historical or Evolutionary. The rest of this page opens them one at a time.
2. The Divine theory
The Divine theory is the oldest of the theories of how the state began. It says God himself created the state and sent rulers to run it in the right direction.
So the ruler is God's representative. He answers for his deeds to God alone, not to the people. To break the ruler's order is to break God's order. The Bangla book also calls this the divine-creation theory. Here the ruler is at once Head of State and head of religion.
Modern political scientists call it dangerous, undemocratic and irrational. The reason is plain: where a ruler is not accountable to the people, autocracy develops.
3. The Force theory
Its core claim is that the state came into existence by force and continues to exist by force. Powerful people in society, through warfare or by applying force, took control over the weaker ones and founded the state.
Critics have called it irrational, wrong and harmful. If states survived by force alone, militarily weak states would not have survived. In truth a state is built, and lasts, on consent, not on force.
4. The Social Contract theory
Its gist: the state was born from a mutual contract among the people living in a society. Its architects were the British philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau.
The social contract is a story: the problem first, the solution after. Drag through it, then read the book's words.
the contract storydrag the story
from the state of nature to the state
The pictures sketch the story; the steps are the book's.
This theory says that before the state, people lived in the state of nature. There they obeyed the rules of nature and enjoyed natural advantages. But men gradually became selfish and egoistic, the strong tortured the weak, and life became painful and unbearable.
Nobody had the authority to punish those who broke the laws, so anarchy and disorder spread through social life. As the population grew, the wish for private property, and the need for it, began to grow too.
To be rid of anarchy, people made a contract and so created the state, and in exchange for security they gave power to the ruler for good. Lay the story out in order: the problem first, the solution after.
in orderproblem first, solution after
The contract story
Where does the story begin? Where did people live before the state?
Yes. What happened next?
Not yet. A contract made before the anarchy would have no reason behind it, so the troubles come first.
Right order. A contract to escape anarchy, and power handed to the ruler in exchange for security.
5. The Historical or Evolutionary theory
Its main claim: the state did not appear suddenly, or for one special reason. It emerged over a long evolution, as different forces slowly changed. The elements at work are the bonds of culture, of blood and of religion, wars, and economic and political consciousness and activity.
In Dr. Garner's words: “The state is not the creation of God, nor the creation of force, but has come out of historical evolution.” This is the most logical and acceptable theory, because it gives the right explanation of how the state arose. The state we see today is the result of a long historical evolution.
Now pin each thinker's name to his theory.
gridthree belong to one theory
Who belongs to which?
thinker
theory
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau
Social Contract
Dr. Garner
a statement in support of the Evolutionary theory
Hobbes and Locke were British philosophers, Rousseau a French one. All three are architects of the Social Contract theory.
Garner's statement: the state is not God's creation, nor force's, but the fruit of historical evolution.
Set the four theories side by side. For each one, the arrows show where the state came from and whom the ruler answers to.
arrows of originpick a theory
where the state came from
6. Telling them apart
Read the line and look for the core claim first: a creator, force, a contract, or slow evolution? Then drop the chip into the right theory's box.
sort themfind the core claim
Which theory?
Pick up a chip, then drop it in a theory's box.
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Ask who or what makes the state here: a creator, force, a contract, or slow evolution?
All in place. Four theories, four different notes: creator, force, contract, evolution.
Now from the other side: what verdict does the book give each theory?
sort themthe book's words
Assessment
Pick up a verdict, then drop it in the box of the theory the book says it about.
Right. Next one.
Not yet. Recall: which one leaves the ruler unaccountable to the people, and which does the book call the most acceptable?
All in place. The Divine is called dangerous, the Force wrong, and the Evolutionary the most acceptable.
7. Check yourself
Three questions in the exam's style.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 1
John Locke was a-
That is not the answer: political philosopher. The book calls John Locke a British political philosopher.
That is not the answer: social philosopher. The book calls John Locke a British political philosopher.
That is not the answer: economic philosopher. The book calls John Locke a British political philosopher.
Right. The book calls John Locke a British political philosopher.
In the second, catch the name of the theory.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 2
Political scientists gave theories of the origin of the state after examining-
i. i. past history ii. ii. public opinion iii. iii. the flow of political events
This combination does not match; the true statements are i and iii. They examined past history and political events.
Right. They examined past history and political events.
This combination does not match; the true statements are i and iii. They examined past history and political events.
This combination does not match; the true statements are i and iii. They examined past history and political events.
In the last, recall the book's own sentence.
check yourselfpick one answer
Question 3
Mr. Samuel is the head of a state called 'X'. His decision on state religious matters is accepted as final in that state. Which theory does the passage indicate?
That is not the answer: Historical. That God created the state is the Divine theory.
Right. That God created the state is the Divine theory.
That is not the answer: Force. That God created the state is the Divine theory.
That is not the answer: Social Contract. That God created the state is the Divine theory.
The whole note on seven cards.
cut from the notetap to turn over
Seven cards
QuestionWhat are the four theories of the origin of the state?
AnswerDivine, Force, Social Contract, and Historical or Evolutionary theory.
QuestionAccording to the Divine theory, to whom is the ruler accountable?
AnswerOnly to God, not to the people.
QuestionWhat is the main idea of the Force theory?
AnswerThe state came into existence by force and continues to exist by force.
QuestionWho were the three architects of the Social Contract theory?
AnswerThomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
QuestionTo escape anarchy, what did people do in exchange for security?
AnswerCreated the state by contract and conferred power permanently on the ruler.
Question"The state is not the creation of God nor of force but the result of historical evolution." Whose statement?
AnswerDr. Garner's.
QuestionWhich theory of the origin of the state is the most logical and acceptable?
AnswerThe Historical or Evolutionary theory.
Source: Civics and Citizenship, Classes 9-10 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Civics and Citizenship”, the “Origin of the State” part.