Matalibul Furqan 5

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Chapter 14

POLITICAL SYSTEM


PART 1


MAN-MADE SYSTEM


I. Primitive Age

ANTHROPOLOGY does not support the view that man ever lived a


solitary life like the tiger or the lion. He was weak and defenceless
against the powerful beasts that roamed about him. He could
survive only through some form of group life. A band of men could
survive under conditions in which a single individual had no chance,
so early men naturally lived in groups. Some form of social
organisation is necessary for group life. Men can co-operate with
each other only at the cost of their egoistic impulses. The dictates of
group life invade individual liberty. The first social ties came from
blood relationship. The groups were almost overgrown families.
The authority exercised by the father passed into the hands of the
patriarch, the head of the tribe. Custom regulated the conduct of
the members of this group. Primitive man believed that the customs
of his tribe were unchangeable and inviolable. Patriarchal authority
and rigid customs protected the social order and were an effective
check to all kinds of anti-social activities in which individuals might
be tempted to engage. However, a new authority emerged in the
group – this was the priest. His supremacy was founded on his
expert knowledge of the religious ritual, and of correct behaviour in
the temple and on solemn occasions. Ritual had gradually become
very complex and the patriarch had to place it in the charge of a
professional man. Superstition, a factor to be reckoned with in
primitive life, lent powerful support to the authority of the priest. In
a changing world no form of social organisation can be permanent.
The tribal organisation dissolved giving place to a purely political
organisation. The Raja or King supplanted the patriarch. He was
usually a man who had organised a military force which had enabled
him to extend his dominion over several tribes. The political system

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