We have surveyed several types of States. The structure of each State is determined by the way the authority of the State and the demand for the liberty of the individual are adjusted. We have seen that some types of States do not recognise the demand for the liberty of the individual. They are the ancient tribal States, the ancient oriental empires, the medieval feudal State and the modem fascist dictatorships.
The first State which was built on the conscious attempt to embody the principle of the liberty of the individual was the ancient Greek city-State. But it failed to build a permanent and stable union between authority and liberty. The political theorists, who advocate modem democracy, assert that the modem national democracy, with its representative, responsible form of government, has been the most successful and stable institutionalization of authority and liberty.
It is believed that its combination of local self-government and national representation makes possible an adjustment of liberty and sovereignty which may serve the interests of both the individual and the society. But this claim is not fully justified by facts. Many problems of the relationship between the State and the individuals and other associations still remain to be solved. Here, again, we observe two tendencies, one to enhance authority and power of the State, and the other to increase the liberty of the individuals and associations.
There are some who demand strong government to provide efficient administration even at the expense of democracy and liberty of the individual. The demand has led to the communist proletarian dictatorship in the extreme, and the welfare State to lesser extent. The communist State is an experiment to give economic and political control of the State to the working classes. The welfare State is an experiment to share the benefits of the economic and political activities of the State with the working classes.