What the state is, is extremely important in terms of law and governance, and in terms of your person-al life.
The definition of this important word tells us much about how the state apparatus operates against you as one of its citizens. If you are a citizen “of” the state, you belong “to” the state.
That small word: “of” is minuscule yet essential to understanding where you stand in relation to the body politic commonly known as your “country”. For example, the UNITED KINGDOM (UK) , USA, and AUSTRALIA are what is known at law as a body politic. The body politic/ legal person: the UK, is separate and distinct from the natural landmass: Britain, as is the same at America (the landmasss)in relation to the USA (the body politic).
To understand more about these very important aspects of law, and why the words of those countries above have been capitalised, take a look at my article: The Framework Of Law And Governance. The article is essential reading for citizens looking to understand how law and governance works, and how it affects you.
If some thing is “of” some thing, then it is “from” some thing, and is therefore “created” by that thing”. There is a maxim of law that states:
The meaning of the maxim is; the creation can never be greater than its creator. The Bible (which is where these maxims of law originate) puts it like this:
If you are a citizen of the state, then the state will always have the upper hand in that relationship, because the state citizen is “of” the state, created “by” the state, and by definition belongs “to” the state.
A citizen of the state, belongs to the state and that is also evidenced here:
“The state” is concerned with all things to do with the body politic, which is a country, which is a “legal person”; and the organisation of its persons within its society.
A country is a body politic which is what it sounds like; a political body. For further and deeper exploration here is an interesting read with further analysis on the definition of the state.
This paper: A DEFINITION OF THE STATE is written by CHANDRAN KUKATHAS and published in University of Queensland Law Journal, Vol 33, Issue 2, 2014, Pages 357–366
Some excerpts: