"The state has no finality, can have no perfect form. The State is an instrument of social man." Whose statement is this?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The correct option is **Robert Morrison MacIver**. This quote perfectly encapsulates MacIver's sociological and non-statist view of the state, which he extensively developed in his major works, such as *The Modern State* (1926) and *The Web of Government* (1947). MacIver views the state not as an end in itself or a supreme entity, but rather as an *instrument* created by society (social man) to fulfill specific purposes, particularly the maintenance of order and law. He draws a fundamental distinction between *Community* (society) and *Association* (the state), asserting that society is broader, more complex, and prior to the state. The crucial conceptual point is the denial of "finality" and "perfect form" for the state. MacIver argued that since society is constantly changing, its instrument, the state, must also change, adapt, and evolve; therefore, it can never achieve a fixed, perfect, or ultimate form. This perspective counters the Idealist tradition (like Hegel) which viewed the state as the ultimate expression of rational will or the "end of history." For MacIver, the state is simply one powerful organization among many, distinguished by its unique authority to use coercion and establish law, but always subservient to the larger social needs and morality of the community.

The incorrect option is 2:

**H. J. Laski** was a prominent pluralist and later a socialist political theorist. While Laski shared MacIver's belief that the state is not supreme (a key tenet of pluralism), his theoretical focus was slightly different, emphasizing sovereignty's distributed nature and the coercive authority of the state in modern society. Laski believed that the state exists to reconcile competing interests among various associations and that its authority is conditional upon fulfilling the moral consent of its citizens. He focused heavily on the rights and duties necessary for a functioning democracy and later advocated for a socialist state, emphasizing economic restructuring to achieve freedom. Although he saw the state as instrumental, the quote's precise emphasis on the state having "no finality" and being an "instrument of social man" is distinctively attributed to MacIver's analysis of the relationship between state and community, rather than Laski's pluralist or socialist critique of sovereign power.

The incorrect option is 3:

**Karl Marx** viewed the state not as an "instrument of social man" in the MacIverian sense of serving the general community, but rather as an instrument of class domination. For Marx, the state in capitalist society is fundamentally an organ of the bourgeoisie, designed to protect private property and perpetuate the exploitation of the proletariat. He described the state as merely the "executive committee of the ruling class." Furthermore, Marx famously predicted that the state, as a coercive institution, would eventually "wither away" following the establishment of a communist society, a concept far removed from MacIver's view of the state as an enduring, necessary, but evolving association of the community. Therefore, the phrase "instrument of social man" fundamentally contradicts Marx’s core theory of the state as a temporary, class-based apparatus.

The incorrect option is 4:

**Edmund Burke** is the foundational figure of modern conservatism, emphasizing tradition, organic development, and the wisdom contained in inherited institutions. His view of the state and government was deeply skeptical of abstract rationalism and sudden changes. Burke would strongly disagree that the state "can have no perfect form," as he held a reverence for the British Constitution and historically established order, viewing political institutions as evolving organically over centuries to reach a beneficial, if imperfect, structure. He saw the state as a partnership not only between the living, but between "those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born." This concept grants the state a near-sacred, enduring character rooted in historical continuity, making the quote's depiction of the state as merely an evolving "instrument of social man" too utilitarian and provisional for his traditionalist philosophy.