IHP 132 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Body Politic
19 Dec 2016
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The actions of a state can be analyzed (separated) into will and strength. Government deals with particular acts and applications of the law, it is distinct from the sovereign which deals only with general matters. The government is an intermediary body that can be modified or disbanded according to the sovereign will (general will) In a large state, each individual will only be a small part of the sovereign, and so each individual will be less inclined to follow his or her own particular will. To keep people in line, the government must have power proportionate to the number of individual (larger the population, greater the force the government must have relative to each individual) But, to keep the government from abusing power, a strong sovereign is necessary. Ratio of the power of the government to the power of the people should be equal to the ratio of the power of the sovereign to the power of the government.
