Man, Society and the State in Herbert Spencer’s Sociological Theory

Diogenes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay Alexandrov ◽  
◽  
◽  

This article examines Herbert Spencer‘s organic-evolutionary sociological theory, built on the analogy of dependencies in the development of society and the development of biological organisms, which places special emphasis on the interpretation of the idea of progress. The article analyzes a number of basic points in Spencer‘s teaching, such as the relationship between social and industrial progress, the role of property and socio-economic wellbeing, the evolutionary forms of statehood, legislation and lawmaking, the interpretation of positive and negative freedom. Spencer‘s concept of social evolution is also considered here, according to which societies are not created, but develop and cannot be created artificially and intentionally, as they grow naturally like any natural system.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5056
Author(s):  
Barbara Pick ◽  
Delphine Marie-Vivien

This paper explores the issues of representativeness and participation in the collective processes involved in the elaboration of the geographical indications (GI) specifications and the governance of the GI initiatives. The objective is to understand the relationship among collective dynamics, representativeness of relevant stakeholders, and the legal frameworks for the protection of GIs. Using a qualitative methodology based on an analysis of six case studies in France and Vietnam, we show the role of the law in shaping the different ways of understanding and implementing the concept of representativeness in the French producer-led and the Vietnamese state-driven approaches to GI protection. In France, the GI specifications result from negotiations among all legitimate stakeholders, which may prove long, complex, and lead to standards that can continue to be challenged after the GI registration. We also argue that the rules for the representation of all GI users in the decision-making processes do not necessarily lead to fairness. In Vietnam, local stakeholders usually have a consultative role under the authority of the State, resulting in their little understanding and low use of the GI. Their empowerment is further hindered by the involvement of state authorities in the management of the producers’ associations. We conclude by discussing in-between solutions to promote the producers’ representation and participation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 384-395
Author(s):  
R. W. Ambler

In February 1889 Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, appeared before the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury charged with illegal practices in worship. The immediate occasion for these proceedings was the manner in which he celebrated Holy Communion at the Lincoln parish church of St Peter at Gowts on Sunday 4 December 1887. He was cited on six specific charges: the use of lighted candles on the altar; mixing water with the communion wine; adopting an eastward-facing position with his back to the congregation during the consecration; permitting the Agnus Dei to be sung after the consecration; making the sign of the cross at the absolution and benediction, and taking part in ablution by pouring water and wine into the chalice and paten after communion. Two Sundays later King had repeated some of these acts during a service at Lincoln Cathedral. As well as its intrinsic importance in defining the legality of the acts with which he was charged, the Bishop’s trial raised issues of considerable importance relating to the nature and exercise of authority within the Church of England and its relationship with the state. The acts for which King was tried had a further significance since the ways in which these and other innovations in worship were perceived, as well as the spirit in which they were ventured, also reflected the fundamental shifts which were taking place in the role of the Church of England at parish level in the second half of the nineteenth century. Their study in a local context such as Lincolnshire, part of King’s diocese, provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between changes in worship and developments in parish life in the period.


Author(s):  
Uldis Zupa ◽  

The implementation of the comprehensive national defense system in Latvia marks a new turning point in the relationship between the state and society – instead of being consumers of the security and defense provided by the state, every inhabitant of Latvia must become an active contributor to the natio-nal defense system. Thus, the society’s willingness to defend the state becomes an essential element in the successful implementation of the comprehensive state defense system. This article analyzes the different views of Latvian and Russian-speaking population on issues that affect the willingness to defend the state, as well as evaluates the role of intercultural communication for informing public and increasing the involvement in the comprehensive national defense system.


Author(s):  
Richard Whiting

In assessing the relationship between trade unions and British politics, this chapter has two focuses. First, it examines the role of trade unions as significant intermediate associations within the political system. They have been significant as the means for the development of citizenship and involvement in society, as well as a restraint upon the power of the state. Their power has also raised questions about the relationship between the role of associations and the freedom of the individual. Second, the chapter considers critical moments when the trade unions challenged the authority of governments, especially in the periods 1918–26 and 1979–85. Both of these lines of inquiry underline the importance of conservatism in the achievement of stability in modern Britain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-762
Author(s):  
Abdusamat Akhatovich Khaydarov

Significant geopolitical changes taking place in the modern world in recent decades urge us to take a fresh look at the role of Islam and the clergy in the political processes of a number of countries of the Muslim world. This perspective is especially relevant vis--vis Afghanistan where a fierce war is being waged under the slogans of Islam for more than four decades. The purpose of this research is an in-depth study of the relationship between the state and the Muslim clergy, Islamic institutions in the development of political processes in Afghanistan since the mid-70s of the last century. The article reflects shaping of the Islamic opposition and its efforts to stand up to innovations and reforms during attempts of the Soviet stile modernization in 1978-1992, and then the efforts to democratize Afghan society, undertaken in Afghanistan since the end of 2001 with the assistance of the international community. The work is based on the study of factual historical material, a chronicle of the events of the last decade and personal observations of the author during his work in Afghanistan during the mentioned period. Analytical materials published on the pages of English and Russian mass media were used. The methodological basis of this study is the comparative historical method; the article is based on the principles of historicism, reliability and scientific objectivity. The author concludes that the conflict is based on mistakes and underestimation by the state the role and influence of the Muslim clergy and Islamic institutions of the country. It has been noted that the recently reached US - Taliban agreements, as well as the assistance of such influential players as Russia, sparkle hope for the launch of a direct inter-Afghan negotiation process, which most likely will not be as simple but thorny.


1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Reeves ◽  
Ed M. Edmonds ◽  
Dollie L. Transou

A 2 (trait anxiety) × 4 (color) factorial design was used to determine the effects of red, green, yellow, and blue on state anxiety as a function of high and low trait anxiety. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess both trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety for the 10 students assigned to each of the eight treatment combinations. High A-Trait students were significantly more anxious while viewing blue, red, and green than were the low A-Trait students and blue produced significantly more state anxiety than did either yellow or green. These results are consistent with state-trait theory and indicate that the effects of color on state anxiety may be confounded with trait anxiety unless the levels of A-Trait are equivalent for each color condition. The role of cultural and individual differences in the relationship between color and emotion and implications for research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 232102302110430
Author(s):  
Malvika Maheshwari

The article focuses on two moments in India’s political history, in which out-rightly expressed dissent underlines analytical shifts in the nature and course of the country’s democracy. It asks two questions: First, what does a self-proclaimed, democratic state do with peaceful dissenting artists? The second question follows from this. If indeed the state stigmatizes and suppresses that dissent, what does the artist do? By foregrounding the relationship between the dissent and offence-taking, the article shows the increasingly complex changes in the nature of the democratic state, role of the art market therein, the dynamic patterns of dissent itself, which underline the cyclic outbursts of violence against artists.


Author(s):  
Tom W. Smith

This chapter examines trends in institutional confidence measured by the General Social Survey between 1973 and 2006. It begins by considering the construct of institutional confidence and describing the items and scales used to measure it. After presenting overall levels of confidence in 13 institutions during this period, it examines trends in general confidence scales and in individual institutions. Cohort analysis helps to illuminate these trends. The chapter next investigates correlates of institutional confidence, including experiences with specific institutions, party-in-power effects, education, misanthropy, opinionation, and a general demographic model. It briefly considers the relationship between institutional confidence and support for government programs and political matters. It closes by assessing the state and role of institutional confidence in contemporary society, and both general and event-driven models of trends in confidence.


Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Robé

The Chapter deals with the relationship between the two concepts of sovereignty and property. It first addresses the thesis developed by North, Wallis and Weingast on the role of organized violence in the development of a modern, open access society. Their intuition is that the « limited access order » of the « natural state » in which personal relationships form the basis of social organization had to leave the way to an « open access order » in which impersonal categories of individuals interact. This is generally correct. But they neglected the role of law in the process and, in particular, the role of the development of constitutional modes of government. Via modern international law, starting in Europe in the middle of the seventeenth century, sovereignty was allocated among States. Via modern liberal constitutions, internal sovereignty was decentralized as a matter of principle to owners, who are decision-makers as a matter of principle towards the objects of property. The operations of political Organs of the State, of administrative Organs of the State and of law can usefully be viewed in this perspective.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Anna L. Weissman ◽  
Lucy B. Hall

This chapter emphasizes that motherhood matters in global politics. Beginning from the position that the institution of motherhood is complicated and constructed in diverse ways across diverse settings, the chapter traces the work and influence of feminist contributions to the theorizing of motherhood and maternity to explore the ways in which practices of global politics shape and are shaped by the institution of motherhood. Calling attention to the increasing and at times deadly infringements on women’s reproductive rights across the globe, the chapter explains the role of reproduction as central to the site of maternity and motherhood, negotiating the relationship between women, reproductive bodies, and the state, and how the gendered logics of war frequently rely on maternal imagery, discourse, and representation. The chapter concludes with a description of the volume’s three sections and individual chapter contributions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document