But then, what is the state – Hon Cain Mathema

Tedious Ncube, Sunday News Correspondent
VETERAN nationalist Cain Mathema has argued convincingly that the State is not a neutral institution, its role and mandate draws from the broader social, political and economic agenda in any given context.

Before we go further, I should state that this article is a review of the second chapter of Cain Mathema’s book called “I defend the Zimbabwe Defence and Security Forces”. The book was first published in 2017 and has been reviewed by different scholars from different backgrounds.

In this article we want to use Hon Mathema’s contribution to define the State based on its history and role.

At the centre of Mathema’s submission is the idea that, society has gone for a very longtime using the wrong definition of what the State really is. He suggests that the correct definition of the State is the one above.

In his view, the definition of the State as an instrument of the ruling class, does not hide the true nature of the State.

The other definitions are bourgeoisie definitions which mean to hide the true colour of the bourgeoisie state; they are meant to make society believe that the bourgeoisie state is neutral, that it represents all classes, all social groups and everybody in society.

A claim that is far too simplistic and romantic for contradictions facing society today.

Like Hon. Cain Mathema, I believe society should search for more and more definitions of the State. In doing so, society (especially Zimbabwe) must not be held captive by definitions of the State which were forcefully imposed on them by the settler elites who wanted to frame the idea of State alongside their colonial interests. Or worse off, definitions of the State propounded by ancient and medieval Western philosophers who wrote during a period of monarchical and theocratic madness in Europe.

Instead, I agree with Hon Mathema when he says, a State is a form of political association, and political association is itself only one form of human association. Other associations may range from clubs to business enterprises to churches, etc. Human beings relate to one another, however, not only in associations but also in other collective arrangements, such as families, neighborhoods, cities, religions, cultures, societies, and nations.

The State is therefore not the only form of political association.

In Hon. Cain Mathema’s view, a State is by no means a power forced on society from without. In his book called “I defend the Zimbabwe Defence and Security Forces”, Hon Mathema suggests that, the State is nothing more than a product of society at a certain stage of development.

In his exact words, the idea of the State came after an admission that society had become entangled in an insoluble contradiction and had split into irreconcilable antagonisms which it was powerless to dispel. In order that these antagonisms and classes with conflicting economic interests might not consume themselves and society in fruitless struggle, it became necessary to have a power seemingly standing above society that would alleviate the conflict and keep it within the bounds of order.

The State is, ultimately, an abstraction, for it has no existence as a material object, is not confined to a particular space, and is not embodied in any person or collection of persons. The State exists because certain relations obtain between people; but the outcome of these relations is an entity that has a life of its own though it would be a mistake to think of it as entirely autonomous and to define the State is to try to account for the entity that exists through these relations.

In conclusion, the core business of every State is to survive in a competitive and anarchical political environment.

Hon Cain Mathema’s conceptualisation of the “State”, vehemently agrees that societies can and have existed without a State, in fact he argues that the State came into being as societies progressed not when societies started.

Contrary to various academic submissions that do not separate the society from the State, Hon. Mathema is of the view that the State is a specific institution within a given society. The behaviour of the State owes to the thinking of the ruling social class. The interests of these elites are at times reflected as the interests of the State.

The State is thus an institution through which individuals and groups seek to exercise power (though it is not the only such institution); but it is also an institution that exercises power over individuals and groups.

Tedious Teddy Ncube is a Political scientist and Public Policy Analyst