Who is the subject? Usually this word is associated with citizenship, which is understood as the relationship of a person and the state. However, such a trip is not entirely accurate. In the case of citizenship, this is not about the country in general, but about the monarch as its head. More information about who this is - a subject will be described in the article.
What is said in the dictionary?
To find out the meaning of the word "subject", we turn to its dictionary interpretation. There we see two options:
- A person who is a citizen of a state.
- An obsolete word denoting a person who is economically dependent on another person.
To understand the first of the given meanings of โsubjectโ it is necessary to understand the interpretation of the word โcitizenshipโ. If we look in the legal dictionary, we will see that in it this term is interpreted as belonging of a person to a state headed by a monarch.
Synonyms and Origin
To better understand who this subject is, we consider synonyms for this word and its origin.
Among the synonyms are such as:
- subject to;
- subordinate;
- vassal;
- initial;
- tributary;
- citizen;
- subordinate;
- bonded;
- dependent;
- jurisdictional.
As for the origin, then, according to etymologists, it goes back to the Latin adjective subditus. In the Polish language there is the word poddany, which is tracing paper from the Latin language. In the XVII century it was converted to Russian and is literally translated as being under a tribute, taxed, that is, dependent.
To make it easier to understand the meaning of the word we are studying, we will consider it in comparison with a close, but not identical, institution of citizenship.
What is the essence of citizenship and citizenship?
Citizenship is an earlier legal institution than citizenship. Its appearance dates back to the time of the establishment of the monarchist system. At the heart of citizenship is the relationship between the individual and the monarch, who rules the country in which the person lives. Such a monarch can be, for example, a king, king, emperor. The indicated connection is expressed in the fact that the subject is obliged to serve his monarch and obey him in everything and without question.
Citizenship is also a kind of legal connection, but already between other entities. Such subjects are the individual and the state. These relationships imply the presence of bilateral obligations between the individual and the government. The first must comply with the laws established by the state, and the second - to organize his life in harmony with these laws.
To finally clarify the issue of who this subject is, let us single out the similarities and differences between the two legal institutions.
Similarity and difference
The similarity of citizenship and citizenship lies in the fact that both the first and second express a close mutual relationship between a person and those highest structures of power that are at the given moment in time at the head of state.
Whereas the differences between them are as follows:
- Regarding territorial formation: submission of power in the person of the ruler individually, in case of citizenship; represented by the state, which is a collegial body, in a situation of citizenship.
- Regarding the relationship structure. The institution of citizenship implies the existence of obligations that are accepted by an individual unilaterally. They do not entail the responsibility of the other party. Citizenship contains mutual rights and obligations.
- Regarding participation in the exercise of power. People living in a country ruled by a special monarch are made subjects in the position of unconditional followers of the sovereign's instructions. And citizenship gives them the opportunity to participate in the election of power structures through the voting procedure, as well as the opportunity to make historical decisions through participation in a referendum.
All of the above allows us to say that the understanding of a subject as a person who is a citizen of the state is incorrect and is permissible only when used in colloquial speech. It will be correct to say that the filed is a person who is in close legal connection with the monarch.