Editing Statism (section)

== Overview ==
Statism can take many forms, from [[Limited government|small government]] to [[big government]]. [[Night-watchman state|Minarchism]] is a political philosophy that prefers a minimal state such as a [[night-watchman state]] to protect people from [[aggression]], [[theft]], [[breach of contract]] and [[fraud]] with [[military|the military]], [[police]] and [[Court|courts]]. This may also include [[fire department]]s, [[prison]]s and other functions.<ref>{{harvp|Machan|2002|pp=569–588}}; {{harvp|Block|2007|pp=61–90}}; {{harvp|Long|2008}}; {{harvp|Parker|2010}}</ref> The [[welfare state]] is another form within the spectrum of statism.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=[[Prentice-Hall]] |isbn=978-0-13-537167-1 |last=Friedrich |first=Carl |title=Limited Government: A Comparison |url=https://archive.org/details/limitedgovernmen0000frie |url-access=registration |location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |year=1974 |oclc=803732}}</ref><ref name="Welfare State by Marx">{{cite book |publisher=Wilson |last=Marx |first=Herbert |title=The Welfare State |location=New York City, New York |year=1950}}</ref> [[Authoritarianism|Authoritarian]] philosophies view a strong, authoritative state as required to legislate or enforce morality and cultural practices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/authoritarian |title=authoritarian |date=9 October 2013 |publisher=Dictionary.com, LLC |access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/644/ |title=The Authoritarian Impulse in Constitutional Law |last=West |first=Robin |journal=Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works |date=1988 |publisher=[[Georgetown University Law Center]] |access-date=22 May 2015}}</ref> [[Totalitarianism]] is that which prefers a maximum, all-encompassing state.<ref>{{harvp|Arendt|1966}}; {{harvp|Cernak|2011}}; {{harvp|Friedrich|1964}}; {{harvp|Gleason|1995}}; {{harvp|Schapiro|1972}}</ref>

[[Political philosophy|Political theory]] has long questioned the nature and [[rights]] of the state. Some forms of [[corporatism]] extol the moral position that the corporate group, usually the state, is greater than the sum of its parts and that individuals have a moral obligation to serve the state. Skepticism towards statism in [[Western culture]]s is largely rooted in [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] philosophy. [[John Locke]] notably influenced modern thinking in his writings published before and after the [[Glorious Revolution|English Revolution of 1688]], especially ''[[A Letter Concerning Toleration]]'' (1667), ''[[Two Treatises of Government]]'' (1689) and ''[[An Essay Concerning Human Understanding]]'' (1690). In the text of 1689, he established the basis of [[liberalism|liberal]] political theory, i.e., that people's rights existed before government; that the purpose of government is to protect personal and property rights; that people may dissolve governments that do not do so; and that representative government is the best form to protect rights.<ref>{{cite book |last=Boaz |first=David |date=2010 |title=The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMs6OaHu6iEC&dq=John+Locke+libertarian&pg=PA123 |page=123 |via=[[Google Books]] |isbn=9781439118337}} {{ISBN|1439118337}}.</ref>