The State And The Nation

THE STATE AND THE NATION THE STATE AND THE NATION BY EDWARD JENKS, M. A.. D. C. L. AUTHOR OF LAW AND POLITICS IN THE MIDDLE AGES, A SHORT HISTORY OF POLITICS, ETC. 1924 LONDON TORONTO J. M. DENT SONS LTD. NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON 6-CO. PREFACE THIS book is an expansion of a little work contributed nearly twenty years ago to the Temple Primer series, under the title A Short History of Politics, which has for some time been out of print. Of its imperfections no one can be more painfully conscious than the writer. But he ventures to think that the unexpected welcome given to the Primer volume shows that there is a real demand for a popular statement, in simple terms, of the main lines of social and political evolution, and that even the dangers necessarily attendant upon broad and general statements ought not to prohibit an honest attempt to satisfy this reasonable demand. The study of social and political problems which are now seen to be inseparably intermingled is no longer a matter exclusively for experts though the work of the expert is now more important than ever before. And it is one of the most hopeful signs of the times, that many thousands of earnest men and women, now endowed with political power, are taking a deep and serious interest in such problems. Many of these students have little leisure for large books, and little familiarity with technical language. But they have a keen desire to know some thing of the way in which society assumed its present complex character for in that knowledge they believe to lie the key to the solution of many problems of urgent practical importance. It is the hope of the writer that this book may be vi THE STATE AND THE NATION useful to suchstudents, and that they may be led by it to pursue their studies into works of authority and research, without failing to realise how closely interwoven are the various interests of mankind, and how a successful civilisa tion depends upon the hearty co-operation of men and women in all walks of life in furthering the common good. E. J. LONDON. CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE v INTRODUCTORY CHAP. I. THE SUBJECT AND ITS TERMS . . i PART I. PRIMITIVE INSTITUTIONS II. PRIMITIVE INSTITUTIONS . . . . .19 PART II. PATRIARCHAL INSTITUTIONS III. KINSHIP THROUGH MALES . . . . - 37 IV. THE ORGANISATION OF PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY . 48 V. PATRIARCHAL RELIGION . . . . .61 VI. PATRIARCHAL LAW . . . . . - 7 VII. THE INTRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURE ... 86 VIII. COMMERCE AND CRAFTSMANSHIP .... 102 PART III. POLITICAL SOCIETY IX. THE BIRTH OF THE STATE . . . . .121 X. THE STATE AND FEUDALISM . . . 135 XL EARLY POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS . . . .150 XII. THE STATE AND PUBLIC ORDER . . . .165 XIII. THE STATE AND POLITICAL REPRESENTATION . 183 XIV. THE STATE AND LEGISLATION . . . .199 XV. THE STATE AND PROPERTY . . . . .218 XVI. THE STATE AND INDUSTRY 241 XVII. KINDS OF STATES 259 XVIII. PROPOSALS OF CHANGE ..... 276 DIAGRAM A ....... 304 DIAGRAM B . . . . . . 305 INDEX 306 vu THE STATE AND THE NATION CHAPTER I THE SUBJECT AND ITS TERMS THE history of politics is a branch of the greater history of civilisation. And the history of civilisation is the history of human efforts to supply human needs, and, especially and primarily, the history of efforts made conjointly, i. e. in CO-OPERATION, by human beings, to achieve a satisfaction of their mutual needs. For, while it is possible to imagine a civilisation built up by the unaidedefforts of isolated individuals, such a civilisation would be a thing very different from the civilisation which we know, and, probably, very inferior to it. The fact of COMMUNITY, i. e. the fact that human beings can, and do, combine to further common ends, is the cardinal fact in the history of civilisation, and pre eminently in the history of politics. It is interesting, and not unprofitable, to speculate about the origin of this vitally important fact...