Tag: taxes

The Functions of the State

The Functions of the state

The main function of the slave state ( as of all other exploit er systems ) was the suppression of the exploited . In order to capture new slaves the slave states waged constant wars , plundering the defeated peoples , turning them into tributaries or slaves . Herein lies the second function of any state based on the exploitation of man by man : the expansion of its ter ritory . The state carries out its functions with the aid of a state apparatus . To begin with , the state adopted some clan and tribal institutions ; however , they no longer reflected the interests of the entire clan or tribe but only those of a small group of clan elders and tribal chieftains who eventually became hereditary rulers . The military force of the primitive communal system was composed of all the able – bodied members of the clan , while in a slave system there appeared a new force , removed from the people and standing in opposition to it : a paid army whose duty it was to defend the rapacious , egotistic interests of the slave – owners . The courts appeared in like manner , the guardians of the interests of an insignificant part of society , the slave – owners , not the interests of society as a whole . The clergy were an integral part of the state apparatus , as were the overseers , guards , scribes , collectors of duties , taxes , etc. The former division of the population along lines of blood relationship was now supplanted by an administrative and territorial division .

The struggle of the Towns Against the Feudal Lords

The struggle of the Towns Against the Feudal Lords

The medieval towns were located on lands owned by feud al lords and were thus under their rule ; initially the feudal tract the greatest possible profit from it . That is why the bud ding town bodies of self – government had to enter into a conflict with the feudal lords . In the struggle to establish the rights of the town commun ity the entire population would rise up against the feudal lord . The outcome of thiş struggle determined the political structure of the town and its further dependence upon the feudal lord , from the right of the citizens to collect taxes to complete self – government . The self – governing towns , which became independent political units ( in France they were called communes ) , had their own courts , garrisons , finances , etc. The inhabitants of a city – commune were exempt from paying the usual taxes to the feudal lord . In Western Europe the self – governing city – republics first appeared in Italy , France , the Netherlands and , later , in Ger many in the 11th – 12th centuries ) . In the 11th century Nov gorod Veliky was a distinctive republic in Rus . Many towns , especially those which had arisen on royal lands , did not receive the right to self – government as com munes but enjoyed a number of privileges and freedoms . The elected town bodies acted jointly with representatives of the feudal lord or the royal officials . The town council was the supreme elected body in the towns ; it mustered the local guard , controlled the crafts and issued various ordinances . An elected citizen headed the town council . In France and England he was called a mayor , in Germany a burgomaster , etc. Small towns which had neither the necessary military force nor the means to oppose the feud al lord remained under the jurisdiction of the latter . One feature all the towns had in common was the fact that the inhabitants had achieved personal freedom . Any peasant who had lived in a town for a year and a day became a free man .In Asia the towns also fought against the feudal lords but , as a rule , these bitter struggles usually ended in the defeat of the former ; the inhabitants were thus unable to achieve self – government .