Who among the following argued that 'public service' rather than 'sovereignty' is the essential characteristic of the state?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:

The correct option is 4: **Leon Duguit**. Leon Duguit (1859–1928), a prominent French public lawyer and legal theorist, is the strongest proponent of the theory that 'public service' (*service public*) is the essential characteristic of the state, challenging the traditional concept of state 'sovereignty.' Duguit’s doctrine is based on the idea of social solidarity, which states that humans live together in a society because they share common needs and specialized needs, requiring mutual interdependence. He argued that the state, like any other human organization, is bound by a "rule of law" (*droit objectif*) derived from this social solidarity. Therefore, the state's legitimacy does not stem from an absolute, indivisible, and unlimited sovereign will, but rather from its function: providing public services essential for the maintenance of social solidarity. Duguit saw sovereignty as an outdated metaphysical concept. For him, the government simply comprises individuals performing public service, and their power is justified only so long as they fulfill this essential social function. This concept fundamentally shifts the focus of political authority from the power to command (sovereignty) to the duty to serve (public service).

The incorrect option is 1:

G. D. H. Cole (1889–1959) was a leading figure in British Guild Socialism and an influential political pluralist. While Cole strongly opposed the monistic view of state sovereignty, his primary concern was not replacing sovereignty with public service, but rather distributing power among various functional associations within society, such as industrial guilds, cooperatives, and political bodies. Cole believed that individual allegiance should be split across these multiple associations based on function, thus limiting the state's singular claim to sovereignty. His focus was on functional representation and self-governance in economic life, ensuring that individuals could exercise real control over their work and lives, rather than defining the state purely by its service obligations. Therefore, although he was anti-sovereignty, his core doctrine was Guild Socialism and political pluralism, not the *service public* doctrine of Duguit.

The incorrect option is 2:

Harold J. Laski (1893–1950) was another major British pluralist who, in his earlier works, vehemently criticized the notion of state sovereignty. Laski argued that the state is just one association among many and that its claim to absolute authority over all others is dangerous and unjustified. He emphasized the conditional nature of obedience, asserting that individuals should obey the state only when its commands align with moral justice and the common good, giving primacy to individual conscience and the rights of groups. While Laski would certainly agree that the state must serve the public, his theoretical attack was centered on the legal and philosophical concept of sovereignty itself, derived from his pluralist perspective. He did not, however, develop a comprehensive alternative doctrine defining the state's essence primarily as *service public* in the distinct manner that Duguit did.

The incorrect option is 3:

Ernest Barker (1874–1960) was a prominent British political scientist known for his work on political theory and his translation of Gierke’s works. Barker's approach was also critical of absolute state sovereignty, stemming from his pluralist ideas regarding the reality of group life within a society. He stressed that voluntary associations, like churches and trade unions, possess a genuine personality and a right to exist independent of the state's will. However, Barker ultimately moved towards a more balanced view of sovereignty later in his career, recognizing the need for the state as an overarching coordinating body that ultimately holds legal authority. While he deeply valued the ethical and moral function of the state and its duties to its citizens, his primary philosophical contribution lay in the theory of association and group personality, not in replacing sovereignty with the definitive concept of public service as the state's foundation.