Meaning of National Knowledge – Friends of Reader, are there any of you who have a focus of interest in studying the country? Studying the country is a fundamental part of studying the building of national science. By studying the science of the state, we have opened the gates of other state sciences, such as the science of state administration law and the science of state law.
That is why, many scientists say that national science is a “knowledge gate” to the next national science. It is the same as studying politics which is a basic part of studying the building of political science.
Similarly, studying law is the main part of studying law. We will know that studying or understanding a country will expand our way to understand a country. Therefore, understanding the concepts of the country first becomes the main prerequisite in learning the science of the country.
Below will be an explanation of the meaning, systematics, and the connection of national science with other sciences.
Meaning of National Science
National science is a science that belongs to the group of social sciences that study the origin, purpose, formation, and disappearance of the state in a general, abstract, and universal way. Further explanation can be presented as follows.
- National science “studying the country in general”, meaning discussion using general arguments, that is the general understanding of the country. If it is applied to the countries in the world, the above argument is generally agreed as a valid statement;
- National science “studying the country abstractly”, meaning in its description it presents the country as a value. In this case, what is observed is not just a country, but the country in general. Thus, the science of the state is distinguished from the science of state planning or state administration and the science of government. These three sciences study a country in a real situation, for example the constitution of Indonesia, the administration of Indonesia, and the government of Indonesia;
- National science “studying the country universally”, meaning the values that exist and apply anywhere.
From the description above, it can be stated that national science is science. The meaning of science here is the result of human thought that is objective and organized systematically. A science has the following characteristics.
- Being objective, it means that science must also be able to pursue the truth that can be generally accepted;
- Being systematic, it means that the understandings obtained cannot be separated, but are a close and whole unity.
National Science Systematics
A scholar named George Jellinek, in his book entitled Algemeine Staatslehre , revealed that national science has the following systematics.
- National science as s taatswissenschaft (science in the narrow sense), which investigates the country in an abstract and general state;
- National science as rechtswissenschaft (science in a broad sense), which is divided into two categories, namely individual staaslehre (science that investigates a specific country), for example studying state institutions, the judiciary, and so on; as well as pezielle staaslehre (science whose research is aimed at the country in a general sense, as well as representative institutions that are studied specifically).
George Jellinek.
George Jellinek is the figure who first formulated national science as a science that stands on its own. This caused him to be nicknamed “the father of national science.” This then raises a question, namely “Has national science been studied as science before the systematization done by George Jellinek?”
In this case, the answer to the question still raises speculation because at that time national science has not yet become an independent science and its nature is still descriptive or includes all knowledge related to the state. Questions such as religion, politics, culture, morality, and economy related to the country are included in the discussion of national science.
This can be known from the works of Plato and Aristotle in Ancient Greece in the book titled Politeia and Politica , which talks about the issues of the state in it. At that time, the object that was observed and studied was the city state (city state) which is known as the police with a territory that is not as large and the number of people is not many.
It is not surprising if all issues related to the country can be compiled and poured into a work that discusses the country. However, that condition in its development could no longer be maintained due to the emergence of the nation state , with the boundaries of sovereignty expanding and reaching even larger territories and populations.
As a result of this condition, there is a need for lessons about the country that need to be systematized in independent science.
Regarding learning in Indonesia, national science was introduced by Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in 1946. When compiling the study material for the law faculty, UGM compared it with the Rechstsschool (law school) located in Jakarta. However, the curriculum structure was found to be incompatible with the reality of independence and then a comparison was sought at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands.
In relation to that, the initial lecture on national science was named Staatsleer (the term national science which comes from the Dutch language) which covers the main issues about the state and is free from colonial reality. In further development, there are also those who use the term “Theory of the Nation”, especially in the study of political science to systematize the object of research on the country.
The Relation of National Science with Other Sciences
National science has been taught for a long time, but it was only at the beginning of the 20th century that it was compiled as a systematic science by George Jellinek. With the development of the social situation as taught by Herbert Spencer, there is also a need for branches of science that conduct specific research on certain fields.
With that statement, national science then has a relationship with other branches of science, among others with the science of constitutional law, the science of state administrative law, political science, and economic science.
1. The relationship between State Science and State Law
It has been stated that national science has a general research object regarding the growth, existence, formation, and disappearance of the country or it can also be about a specific country. This is the similarity between the science of the state and the science of constitutional law, that is, they both have the object of research in the form of the state.
However, the object of research in the science of constitutional law is more concrete because it is bound to time, place, situation, and certain arrangements, for example the constitutional law of Indonesia, the constitutional law of the United States, and so on. Some parties even say emphatically that the science of constitutional law is law about the organization of the state.
This is what causes the details of discussion in the science of constitutional law to be linked to state organs, relations between state organs, citizenship, the validity of laws, and so on. Thus, the connection between the two branches of knowledge is the same in its object, but the issues discussed are different.
Of course, in order to learn the science of constitutional law, you must have a sufficient introduction to the subjects related to the joints of the state, all of which are found in the science of the state.
2. The relationship between State Science and State Administration Law
In general, administrative law is defined as the law that regulates the relationship between administrative organs and citizens. The areas that are the focus of the discussion are licensing, state officials, taxes, registration that creates rights, and so on.
Thus, what is learned from the science of national administration law is the same as the science of the state, namely the state. The difference is that political science examines the basic elements of the state in general and abstract terms, while the legal science of state administration actually examines “the state in motion”, that is the relationship between (organs of) the state and society.
For this reason, the knowledge of the state becomes the basis for learning the law of state administration, because to learn the latter, it also requires basic concepts related to the state.
3. Relationship between National Science and Political Science
Political science is a branch of science that studies issues related to the state. The object of his study is grundlagen (conditions for the establishment of the state), wesen (state essence), e rscheinungsformen (formations of the state), and landesentwicklung (state development).
However, not all things that intersect with the state studied by a branch of science can be categorized as political science, but become a supporting element in the study of politics, for example:
- History, especially that which concerns people or the country, is not part of the discipline of political science, unless it concerns the history of statecraft or the constitution. The behavior of community life, individual actions, history of literature, science, economic conditions, morality, military, diplomatic struggle, all of these cannot be categorized into a part of political science;
- Statistics, especially those related to societal social problems, are not part of the discipline of political science;
- Economic politics, especially those related to economic law and applied to individuals, are not related to the state, so they are not part of the discipline of political science;
- Social studies, especially those related to identity, are not related to the state, so they are not part of the discipline of political science.
Based on the Greek tradition, political science is called the term politiki . Furthermore, in Germany, studies were developed on s tasrecht (public law) and politics ( politics) as two different branches of science. Later, other differentiations developed, such as political statistics, administration, international relations, and so on.
In its development, especially in the practice of learning, there is a difference between the object of study of political science in Europe, especially England and France, and in the United States. In learning in Europe, they take the root of the material in Ancient Greece, so the character of the material is conservative and normative. As for the study of political science in the United States, it already has a more specific meaning, which is about certain symptoms related to other countries.
Meanwhile, political science in Indonesia until the 1960s was still taught by legal scholars, so the nature of the study was analytical and normative. It was only later with Miriam Budiardjo’s initiative and the establishment of an independent faculty that political science began to establish its object of study which has more special characteristics than the object of study of national science in the Faculty of Law.
Although the method and institutionalization of the idea of study differ from one country to another, in general it can be said that the object of political science study is about the country. This is where his attachment to national science lies. National science in this case provides a basic understanding of the main issues of the country, while the study of certain aspects of the country is empirically done by political science.
In the subsequent growth, the object of study of political science becomes the provisions that apply in a certain country, so that in its development it will be studied by the science of constitutional law.
4. Relationship between National Science and Economics
The question of the role of the state or government in the economic field has for a long time given rise to an ideological debate between the four main schools of the world economy, namely laissez faire (let it happen), socialism, modern liberalism, and modern conservatism. However, the fundamental question that is being questioned is what kind of role is played in terms of government ownership and management in the economic field.
Laissez Faire trend
Some economists are of the view that laissez faire is the same as capitalism, even though capitalism itself is not a political ideology, but rather an economic system dominated by the private sector, especially in terms of production methods, distribution of production products, and the exchange of goods and services.
Laissez faire in the Western world is a political ideology that is completely dependent on capitalism, which in its development always strives for capitalism itself to become an economic system.
Currents of Modern Liberalism
The understanding of classical capitalism then gets criticism and a sharp spotlight. A group of thinkers began to question the economic system of classical liberalism which is seen as more inclined to emphasize the notion of freedom form (free from) state or government intervention in economic affairs.
This tendency is later referred to as negative freedom (freedom that is negative) because the emphasis on freedom from actually consumes freedom itself. On the other hand, what is needed is an economic system that emphasizes freedom to (free to) in the context of the role of the state or government in all areas of the economy.
In further development, freedom to is known as positive freedom , which encourages the government to seriously and realistically provide guarantees of freedom of life for all levels of society.
Modern Conservative Trend
The trend of conservatism has a different view. This trend basically deals with efforts to preserve traditional values and institutions. The strange question they face is the various radical changes driven by classical liberals in the 19th century.
Adherents of conservatism believe that society should continue to run as it is. However, the holders of power are the aristocracy, not the emerging business groups.
Trend of Socialism
The view of socialists about freedom and competition is different from other trends. Because freedom and competition are very closely related to the social structure as a whole, freedom and competition
in an unfair social order will strengthen the injustice itself.
Therefore, the state or government cannot and should not take a certain role more actively so that the weak parties can be protected from the strong parties because they have power. Morally and politically, government intervention in the economic field can be justified and is absolute so that justice and common prosperity can be created for all members of society.
Well, that’s the information about the Meaning, Systematics, and Linkage of National Science with Other Sciences . National science is a science that studies the basic concepts and joints of the national system in general. The study covers the same or similar things in the countries that exist or have existed in this world, for example about the emergence of the country, the disappearance of the country, the purpose and function of the country, the development of the country, the form of the country, and so on.