There have been several attempts by various scholars and philosophers on the origin of state and law, however, only two of them have received the world’s attention and recognition. These broad theories are Idealist theory and Materialist theory.
Idealist Theory.
Scholars who believe that the source and origin of everything is God propound idealist theory. They believe that all material beings originate from a transcendental being that is God. They contend further that since God is the source of all material beings, he is, by the same token, the prime mover of such material beings. Therefore they argue that God is the sole determinant of all phenomena including law and state, which he gives once and for all. Thus according to this theory state and law are God given and for that matter they are eternal categories, which are over and above man and society generally. To them Kings and rulers are representatives of God in the world with the assignment to rule by divine right. It is therefore a must for man to obey God fully. Founders of this theory include John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, these and many others connect state and law with God.
Materialist Theory.
Unlike Idealist theory, materialist theory contends that to understand the origin of state and law it is important to study the historical and dialectical development of the two phenomena. They therefore argue that the two are social institutions, in which their origin is to be traced through modes of production at each particular stage of human development. To them, state and law came into being at a particular stage of human development. They argue that state was not in existence at the primitive communalism because at this time man lived a very low and primitive life due to low level of development. They are of the view that state and law originated at the time when man was highly developed economically, socially and technologically, where man was able to produce surplus. At that time when man had improved means of production. They conclude by saying that state and law emerged when there was tremendous improvement in the productive forces, production relations and social relations which in turn guaranteed division of labour, production of surplus, and class formation in society.
