The two terms, State and society, are sometimes used interchangeably. Ancient Greeks and modem idealist thinkers make no distinction between the two. However, there are some differences between them, as shown by both Sociology and Political Science. These differences are as follows:
(i) Society is a wider term than the State.
Society is defined as “the complex of organised associations and institutions within a community”. It means that all the relations which exist between human beings, whether social, economic, religious or political, are social. The State is only one of these many relations. They are those relations which exist between the rulers and the ruled. They are the product of government Maclver has rightly remarked, “There are social forces, like custom or competition, which the State may protect or modify but certainly does not create; and social motives like friendship or jealousy, which establish relationship too intimate and personal to be controlled by the great engine of the State”.
(ii) State has territorial reference, but not society.
Territory is an essential element of the State. If there is no territory, there will be no State. But “society has no references to territorial occupation: it refers to man alone, and not to his environment”. For instance, though Islamic society extends over several countries of Asia and Africa, yet they are distinct States. Some of the social organisations and associations go far beyond the boundaries of several States, e.g., the Red Cross Society, or the Rotary Club. In a sense, there is only one human society all over the globe, which is, however, divided into more than a hundred and fifty States.
(iii) State is sovereign, society is not.
One of the basic differences lies in the fact that the State is sovereign; it exercises coercive authority, and enforces its laws and orders by force. But society has no coercive power to punish those who do not observe its customs and rules. It appeals and persuades its members to observe its rules. Society is based on voluntary co-operation. Its energy is goodwill. But the State is based on coercive action, its energy is force and its method is rigidity of laws.
The State cannot exist without a government but a society may not be politically organised There were societies before the State came into being. And there may, in future, be a society without the State. Even today, there are some simple communities, which have no State, e.g., the tribes of die Eskimos. They are known as “Stateless societies”. The term society applies to all organised and unorganised human communities. A tribal people have a society, but may have no State.
(iv) The State is permanent, the government is temporary.
The State has the quality of permanence. The whole world ii divided into a certain number of States, each occupying a portion of territory on the globe. Hence it is a permanent association. On the other hand, the government is temporary. When one government falls, either by election or revolution, another is formed, but the State continues to remain the same, provided revolution does not bring about a political transformation, in which case a new type of State comes into being.
(v) Sovereignty belongs to the State, not to the government.
The State is the sovereign community, politically organised, whereas the government is only an agent of the State. The government exercises such authority as is given to it by the State through it! constitution. The relation between die State and the government is like that of a principal and his agent.
(vi) Territory is an essential characteristic of the State but not of the government
The State cannot exist without the territory, but the government has no reference to territory; it refers to persons or groups of persons who exercise political power or authority.
(vii) The State is an association; the government is an organisation.
The State is an association of human beings for realising common ends or purposes, whereas the government is a machinery or organisation for realising the purposes or ends for which the State exists. It is the government which carries out the purposes of the State. That is why one cannot imagine a State without the government, which expresses the will of the State.
(viii) The individual can have rights against the government, but not against the State.’
(ix) Society is a wider term than the State.
Society is defined as “the complex of organised associations and institutions within a community”. It means that all the relations which exist between human beings, whether social, economic, religious or political, are social. The State is only one of these many relations. They are those relations which exist between the rulers and the ruled. They are the product of government Maclver has rightly remarked, “There are social forces, like custom or competition, which the State may protect or modify but certainly does not create; and social motives like friendship or jealousy, which engine of the State”.
(x) State has territorial reference, but not society.
Territory is an essential element of the State. If there is no territory, there will be no State. But “society has no references to territorial occupation: it refers to man alone, and not to his environment”. For instance, though Islamic society extends over several countries of Asia and Africa, yet they are distinct States. Some of the social organisations and associations go far beyond the boundaries of several States, e.g., the Red Cross Society, or the Rotary Club. In a sense, there is only one human society all over the globe, which is, however, divided into more than a hundred and fifty States.
(xi) State is sovereign, society is not.
One of the basic differences lies in the fact that the State is sovereign; it exercises coercive authority, and enforces its laws and orders by force. But society has no coercive power to punish those who do not observe its customs and rules. It appeals and persuades its members to observe its rules. Society is based on voluntary co-operation. Its energy is goodwill. But the State is based on coercive action, its energy is force and its method is rigidity of laws.
(xii) The State cannot exist without a government but a society may not be politically organised There were societies before the State came into being. And there may, in future, be a society without the State. Even today, there are some simple communities, which have no State, e.g., the tribes of the Eskimos. They are known as “Stateless societies”.
(xiii) The State and the society differ in purpose.
The State exists for one single purpose of maintaining peace; society exists for a number of purposes, “some great and some small, but all, in their aggregate, deep as well as broad.
In spite of their differences and distinctions the State and society are interrelated. As Prof. Barker says: “They overlap, they blend and they borrow from one another”. The State is the highest form of social organisation. It provides the framework of the social order. According to Laski, the State is a way of regulating human conduct. “Any analysis of its character reveals it as a method of imposing principles of behaviour by which men must regulate their lives”. A well-ordered society cannot exist without the State, because it is the State which binds the individuals to certain rules of outward conduct Society is held together by the State.
Their interrelation should not, however, be carried to an extreme. If the State endeavours to regulate every aspect of social life and relationship, it will become despotic and tyrannical, and destroy the liberty of the individual. It is for this reason that the two terms, State and society, should be clearly distinguished. To identify the social with the political is to be guilty of the grossest confusion”, writes Maclver, “which completely bars any understanding of either society or State”It will justify State interference in all aspects of human life. It will make the State an end and a means to an end. The State is really a means rather than an end in itself. An omni-competent State will really become an incompetent State. Hence society and State must remain distinct and separate in nature, functions and ends.