Difference between state and Government:
Difference between state and government can be explained through following points:
1. State is abstract, while Government is Concrete:
State is abstract and its concrete form is government. State is the soul and government is body. State and government have the same relation as soul and body.
2. State is complete, while government is its part:
State is complete, while government is its part.
State has four main elements:
- Population
- Fixed territory
- Government
- Sovereignty.
Government is one of these four elements. Government gives practical shape to works and plans of state.
3. State is permanent, while government is changeable:
State is permanent, whereas government is changeable. Nature of state is that of permanence and continuity. Government keeps changing. It can be changed due to many reasons like elections, rebellion, attack, military revolution, etc.
4. State has one form, while government has many:
State is a combination of four elements of population, territory, government and sovereignty and it always remains the same, but government has many forms like democracy, republic, federal, unitary, parliamentary and presidential, etc.
5. State has sovereignty, while government does not:
State has sovereignty. This is an important part of it, whereas government does not have sovereignty because in democracy, the people are considered to be the final source of all the powers of government.
6. State has many members, while government has limited:
Membership of state is compulsory for everyone. A person becomes a member of state by birth, whereas only a limited number of people participate in government. Only the members of Executive, Legistature and Judiciary are members of government.
7. Fixed Territory is compulsory for state, not for government:
Fixed territory is compulsory for state. State cannot exist without it, whereas government sometimes can be established in other state also. For example: After control of China on Tibet, its exiled government has been working from India.
8. Opposition of state is impossible, but opposition of government is possible:
State is sovereign. Rebellion against state is considered a serious treason, so opposition of state is not possible. However, if government does any anti-public work, then the citizens can criticize and oppose the government. Government can even be changed.
9. Difference off Head and Representative:
State is the head and government is its representative. State is such a concentrated group of powers whose aim is the development of all citizens. An institution is needed to fulfil this aim and that institution is known as Government. Thus, government is that instrument of state which executes and fulfills the purposes of state. The above explanation makes it clear that state and government have a lot of differences, yet they cannot exist without each other. For this reason, for practical execution of state’s policies, government is considered its important element.
