Question

briefly explain- what is the organic theory?

Answer 1

Organic Theory

The Organic Theory is a biological conception which describes the State in terms of natural science, Views the individuals which compose it as analogous to the cells of a plant or animal, and postulates a relation of interdependence between them and society such as exists between the organs and parts of a biological

The state is not a composition of its people but an organism having parts and organs which are related to one another as the different organs of an animal arc related to one another.

The earliest political thinker who propounded the theory compared the state to “A” and the individuals to “a” and he called the state as an individual magnified. According to Plato, the rulers stood for wisdom, warriors represented courage, and the working class symbolised appetite.

The other Greek philosopher who believed in this organic theory was Aristotle who drew an analogy between the state and the human body. Among the Roman thinkers was Cicero who shared the view of organism as a nature of the state. He found a parallelism between the head of the state and the spirit that rules the body.

The English thinker Thomas Hobbes compared the state to a huge monster called the Leviathan. This artificial being was of great strength and stature. Hobbes went to the extent of asserting that like human beings suffering from plague, fever and injury, the Leviathanis also subject to similar ailments.

Value of the Organic Theory:

Even the darkest cloud has its silver lining. So we find some utility of the organic theory. It underlines the importance of the unity of the state and at the same time insists on the interdependence of its individuals. Again, it emphasises the evolutionary nature of the state by stressing upon the growth and changes in the state.

According to R. G. Gettell, the summum bonum of this theory is that it is the antidote to the eighteenth century social contract theory which considers the state as an artificial creation of man.

Criticism of the Theory:

The Organic Theory as a nature of the state is attacked on the following grounds:

First, the theory gives rise to the assumption that the individuals who comprise the state are completely subordinated to the state in the same way as the cells of the body for their existence solely depend on the organism as if the individuals if separated from the state will have no existence. But the individuals in the state are independent of it and may survive even by separation from the state. So this theory is a misleading one.

Secondly, by giving no importance to the individuals as independent or self-conscious units this theory runs counter to democracy and liberty.