POL 2104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Bourgeoisie, Civil Society
19 Oct 2016
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State: the most important form of political organization in modern politics, which, in its ideal form, is characterized by centralized control of the use of force, bureaucratic organization, and the provision of a number of public goods. Max weber: the state is the central political institution that exerts a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory. Legitimate= recognized by members of the society in question as generally justified. A concept used to distinguish states in the modern world from earlier forms of political centralization; it includes features such as extensive bureaucracy, centralization of violence, and impersonality. Type of political society that was not anarchic, but in which a non-state order was present: european feudalism in the medieval era. Hierarchal ties linked peasants at the bottom to kings who at least nominally sat at the top with a nobility mediating between them. Little standardized taxation, few standing armies, no meaningful public services.
