Debating the state - The role of the state - Minimal states

4 important questions on Debating the state - The role of the state - Minimal states

What is the minimalist view of the state?

Rooted in social contract theory.
The value of the state is that it has the capacity to constrain human behaviour and thus prevent individuals encroaching on the rights and liberties of others.

State is a protective body.

What are the three core functions of Locke's nightwatchman state?

- maintain domestic order
- ensures that contracts/voluntary agreements are enforced
- it provides protection against external attack.

Institutional apparatus: police force, court system, military.
Civil society: economic, cultural, social, moral and other responsibilities belong to the individual.

What is the New Rights perspective of a minimal state?

- state's economic role should be confined to two functions: the maintenance of a stable means of exchange or 'sound money' (low or zero inflation), and the promotion of competition through controls on monopoly power, price fixing etc.
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What are the best examples of a minimal state?

UK and USA during the period of early industrialization in the 19th century.

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