Obligations of the State and of citizens: monarchy, individualism, socialism and the welfare State

1. Under monarchy: ancient

In ancient India the king’s obligations were stated as rajadharma, the duty of the ruler. The Manusmriti, the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva) and Kautilya’s Arthashastra agree on its core:

• Protection (raksha) of the people from external enemies and internal disorder; a king who fails to protect forfeits his claim to taxes.
• Administration of justice through danda, punishment justly applied. Without danda, the texts say, the strong would devour the weak like fish (matsya-nyaya).
• Welfare of subjects. Kautilya: “In the happiness of his subjects lies the king’s happiness; in their welfare his welfare.”
• Maintenance of social order according to dharma, and relief in famine.

In the Greek city-state the obligation was civic rather than monarchical. For Plato and Aristotle the polis existed for the good life, and the citizen’s duty was active participation; Aristotle called man a political animal because he fulfils himself only in the polis.

2. Under monarchy: medieval

• Feudal reciprocity. The lord owed protection and justice; the vassal owed military service and loyalty. Obligation was personal and mutual, and breach by the lord could release the vassal.
• Divine right. Later medieval and early modern kings claimed authority directly from God (James I, The True Law of Free Monarchies, 1598; Robert Filmer, Patriarcha). The king was accountable to God alone; subjects owed passive obedience. Yet even here the king was bound to rule as a Christian prince, protect the Church and do justice.
• Limits by custom and law. Magna Carta (1215) bound the English king not to imprison or dispossess a free man except by the lawful judgment of his peers or the law of the land: the first written statement that the ruler owes legality to his subjects.
• Medieval Indian kingship kept the duties of protection, justice and revenue administration; the Mughal emperor’s court of justice and the idea of the just ruler (adl) carried the same obligation.

3. Under individualism

Individualism (Unit III, topic 1a) treats the State as a necessary evil (Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776). Its obligations are therefore minimal: the police State or night-watchman State.

• Defence against external aggression.
• Maintenance of internal law and order.
• Protection of life, liberty and property.
• Enforcement of contracts and administration of justice.

Beyond these, the State must not act: no regulation of trade, wages or prices (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776). The citizen’s obligations are equally thin: obey the law, pay modest taxes, defend the country.

4. Under socialism

Socialism makes the State responsible for the economic life of society. Its obligations widen enormously:

• Social ownership or control of the principal means of production.
• Planned production and distribution according to need, not profit.
• Abolition of exploitation and of class privilege.
• Guarantee of work, education, health and housing to all.

In Marxist theory (Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848) the existing State is an instrument of class rule, and the proletarian State that replaces it is transitional, meant eventually to “wither away”. Democratic socialists (the Fabians in Britain) sought the same ends through Parliament. In return the citizen owes labour (“from each according to his ability”), discipline and loyalty to the collective plan; individual economic freedom shrinks accordingly.

5. Under the welfare State

The welfare State is the middle path between laissez-faire and socialism: private property and a market survive, but the State accepts responsibility for a minimum standard of life. Its landmarks are the Beveridge Report (1942) in Britain, which named the five “giants” of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness, and Keynes’s General Theory (1936), which justified State action against unemployment.

Obligations of the welfare State:

1. Economic security: employment, minimum wages, social insurance, pensions.
2. Social security: health care, education, housing, care of the old, disabled and unemployed.
3. Reduction of inequality through progressive taxation and protective discrimination for weaker sections.
4. Political rights: democracy, rule of law and civil liberties are kept, which separates the welfare State from the socialist State.
5. Regulation of industry, labour conditions and the environment in the public interest.

India declared itself a welfare State through the Directive Principles: Article 38 (social order based on justice), Article 39 (adequate livelihood, distribution of resources for the common good, equal pay for equal work), Article 41 (right to work, education and public assistance), Article 43 (living wage) and Article 47 (nutrition and public health).

6. Obligations of citizens and other members to the State

The syllabus asks for the obligations of “individuals, citizens and other members of the State”. Distinguish them.

(a) Citizens

1. Allegiance and loyalty to the State and the Constitution.
2. Obedience to law, including laws one disagrees with, while seeking change by lawful means.
3. Payment of taxes honestly and on time.
4. Defence of the country and national service when called upon.
5. Honest use of the vote and participation in public life.
6. Respect for the rights of others and for public property.
7. Cooperation with public authorities: giving evidence, helping to prevent crime, assisting in emergencies.

In India these appear as the Fundamental Duties of Article 51A: abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals, the National Flag and the National Anthem; cherish the ideals of the freedom struggle; uphold sovereignty, unity and integrity; defend the country; promote harmony and renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; preserve the composite culture; protect the environment; develop scientific temper; safeguard public property and abjure violence; strive for excellence; and (since 2002) provide opportunities for education to one’s child between six and fourteen.

(b) Aliens and other residents

Foreign nationals living in a State owe temporary allegiance: they must obey its laws and pay its taxes and may be tried in its courts. They do not owe military service or political loyalty, and they do not enjoy political rights such as the vote. Diplomats are exempt from local jurisdiction under international law but still expected to respect local law.

(c) Groups and associations

Companies, trade unions and religious bodies are members of the State in a wider sense; they must act within the law, pay taxes and not usurp the State’s coercive functions.

7. A comparison table for revision

How this is examined

January 2026 (100 marks) Q.2: “What are the political obligations of the State towards the citizens and of the citizens towards the State?” January 2026 (80 marks) Q.1(b) set short answers on “Political obligations of the Welfare State” and “of the Socialistic State and Individualistic State”, and Q.1(a) (alternative) asked for the obligations of citizens and other members. For the short notes, give four or five obligations with the defining thinker and one Indian Article; for the long answer, use the table as your skeleton.