Answer & Solution
Answer: Option
C
Solution:
The Group Mind Theory of the origin of the state suggests that the state is not merely a collection of individuals but represents a collective consciousness, common will, or group mind that develops within society.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is most closely associated with this theory. According to Hegel, the state is the highest expression of the collective spirit of a people and embodies their ethical and moral life.
Hegel viewed the state as an organism that possesses a will and purpose greater than those of individual citizens. In his philosophy, individuals achieve their true freedom through participation in the state, which represents the universal will of society.
Option A (Aristotle) is incorrect because he is primarily associated with the theory that man is a political animal and that the state evolved naturally from the family and village.
Option B (Machiavelli) is incorrect because he is known for his ideas on political power, statecraft, and practical governance rather than the Group Mind Theory.
Option D (Harold J. Laski) is incorrect because he was a pluralist political thinker who emphasized the importance of various social groups and did not support the concept of the state as a supreme collective mind.
Therefore, Hegel is the thinker most closely associated with the Group Mind Theory of the origin of the state, making Option C the correct answer.
