PSIR Optional Paper 1 by R.P.Singh

Model Answer

Question #1. Historically Man precedes State, but State is followed by Man, according to Aristotle. Explain.

For Aristotle, as with Plato, the state is all-important. According to Aristotle, the state began for the satisfaction of basic wants, but as it developed, it came to perform more elevated aims essential for good life. Aristotle says: ‘The state exists not just for the sake of life, but for the sake of a good life.’

The state, according to Aristotle, was the highest form of political union, for it represented the pinnacle of social evolution. It was necessary, for it provided a framework for the satisfaction of basic wants and also ensured a means to secure and realize good life in a uniquely human sense. An individual found fulfillment from the advantages made possible by a state through its common endeavours, and one who did not feel its need was either an “angel” or a “beast”.

The state was prior to the individual, in the sense that it provided opportunities for the achievement of full humanity. Social affiliation gave to individuals their species identity: All associations are in the nature of parts of the political association. Men journey together with a view to some particular advantage, and by way of providing some particular thing needed for the purposes of life; and similarly, the political association seems to have come together originally and to continue in existence, for the sake of the general advantage which it brings.

The state was an instrument for an individual’s self-perfection. Far from being artificially or contractually created, it evolved naturally. Aristotle contended that man by nature was a political animal, making the state necessary and desirable. The significant point to note is that Aristotle’s reference to nature confirmed the debate between nomos (convention) and phusis (nature) that dominated Greek political theory in the fifth century BC. As advocates of the phusis argument, both Plato and Aristotle asserted that the state and its laws were more than a product of convention. It was a natural institution reflecting individuals’ needs and purposes, given human gregariousness and sociability.

Question #2. The idea of Human Right is evolutionary and expanding. Explain

“Human rights” are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of nationality, colour, religion, gender identity, language or any other status. The belief that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights; and by virtue of her or his humanity, is entitled to certain human rights is the outcome of the Universal declaration of Human Rights after World War II.

The UDHR, although not legally binding, introduces the concept that how a government treats its own citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a domestic issue. Its principles, by now, have been incorporated into the Constitutions of almost all the UN members and India too has adopted these through constitutional provisions (Article 15,17,21) and statutory: Prevention of SC & ST Atrocities Act, Prevention Manual Scavenging Act and many others.

Human Rights have continued to evolve and, since its foundation, the United Nations has adopted more than 20 principal treaties including conventions to prevent and prohibit specific abuses like torture and genocide and to protect particularly vulnerable populations, such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1979), and children (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). The evolution can be categorized as:

• First Generation of Rights: Civil and political rights. The right to vote and participate in government.
• Second generation of Rights: Economic, Social and Cultural rights which seeks to create equality in the societies ridden with socio-economic inequality and lack of recognition of minorities.
• Third Generation of rights: is that of solidarity and collective rights of society or peoples, such as the right to sustainable development, to peace or to a healthy environment.
• Fourth Generation of Rights: A fusion of material, biological and digital technologies raise existential questions about what it means to be human and how to protect human dignity.