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Abstract:
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In the relations between society and the state, the two forms of politically
organized societies – the nation and civil society – play a key role, as also do class
coalitions and political pacts. The relation between both is dialectical, but, initially, the
state exerts more influence on the society; as democratization takes place this relation
gradually changes in favor of society. Despite the fact that politics (the art of governing
the state) is subjected to economic and political constraints, it counts with a relative
autonomy. It is not the state but politics that has relative autonomy. Whereas society
and the economy are the realm of necessity, politics is the realm of men’s will and
freedom. The deterministic political theories that search to predict political behavior fail
because they ignore this relative autonomy of politics. It is through politics, in the
framework of the democratic state, that men and women build their state and their
society. |
