GS101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Classical Liberalism, Friedrich Engels, Systematic Code
Document Summary
State governments remain the most influential players in both national and international life. How state governments are shaped and run therefore winds up having a huge impact on culture of the societies they govern. An unprincipled state would be one that is controlled for instance, by a very small, elite group whose only agenda is to use the power of government to serve itself. Military dictatorship - wherein a strongman commands the government, and his power rests on his control of the military; the military"s power, in turn, rests on the coercive (violent and unelected) force it exerts over society in general. A principled state is one in which government tries to realize a set of ideals. This set of ideals constitutes the political ideology of the state or government - the ideals and values surrounding how to best run a country, and how to organize its people and shape their way of life.
