as the sovereign, then the family would fit the description given
earlier of a state. It would grow by the joining of many related
families, and at that point would be called a clan. The joining of
clans with one another into a larger, more effective unit brings
into being the tribe. The unification of many different tribes
under the ruling umbrella of a council, or patriarch, or similar
system, would create a nation. The evolution from the family to
the present system of nation states, can be explained according
to the scenario just presented. Those who accept this theory see
the family as the basic unit of the state, and the modern state
simply an extension of that family.
The force theory is one whose adherents claim is the only
viable answer to the question of the state’s origin. They contend
that, in the earliest times of human existence, the cliche of the
cave man with a club was not nearly so humorous as it was true.
Man in nature is akin to all other animals, and the survival of the
fittest is nature’s law. After the use of simple brute force to
subjugate others, man, having a well developed mind, sets up a
system which allows him to rule more easily. The state, then, is
one of man’s many improvisations. However, if the rules set up
by the strongest are violated, he always employs that strength
(force) to command obedience. And, of course, the threat of that
force is always present. The force theorists claim that the modem
nation state is no different today than in the days of the cave man.
The bottom line is, “When the rules fail, when persuasion fails,
when consensus fails, force does not.” All unresolved conflicts
of opinion then and now, are and can only be resolved by the
stronger imposing his will on the weaker.
The social contract theory of the origin of the state is a product
of the Age of Reason. The proponents of this theory contend that
man is different from the animals in nature, and it is man’s mind
which makes that difference. Man in nature did have some of the
same problems as did the animals, but recognizing those prob
lems was within man’s ability, and doing something about them
was also within his competency. So, men got together, expressed
their concerns, and devised systems to deal with those problems
that result from human interaction. The state, the government,
the rules of behavior and methods of enforcement of that
behavior, the establishment of systems of justice, the means to
change the rules, all this and more was the product of man’s
116 Political Theory: The Relationship of Man and the State