# The Unifying State vs. Political Pluralism in The New State

> Theme guide for The New State by Mary Parker Follett.

While engaging with pluralist ideas, the author champions a 'unifying state' that does not absorb groups but integrates them, creating a whole where multiple loyalties (to family, trade union, nation) are compounded into a single, coherent allegiance.

## Where it surfaces

- [From Contract to Community](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xv-from-contract-to-community): The chapter's emphasis on law as a product of community life and the interdependence of state and law touches on the tension between unifying state authority and pluralistic group recognition.
- [XVI: Democracy Not “Liberty” and “Equality”: Our Political Dualism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xvi-democracy-not-liberty-and-equality-our-political-dualism): The chapter argues for a unified state that expresses the collective will, dissolving the dualism between individual and state.
- [XIX: The True Democracy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xix-the-true-democracy): Democracy is described as a centripetal force that draws together, creating wholes and a single life, opposing centrifugal tendencies and emphasizing unity through reciprocal relations.
- [XXVII: From Neighborhood to Nation: The Unifying State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxvii-from-neighborhood-to-nation-the-unifying-state): The chapter rejects mechanical federalism and medieval mediate articulation, insisting on direct individual relation to the state while building from groups.
- [XXVIII: Political Pluralism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxviii-political-pluralism): The chapter directly contrasts the unifying state with pluralist theories, arguing that pluralism's weaknesses must be corrected to achieve true federalism.
- [XXIX: Political Pluralism and Sovereignty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxix-political-pluralism-and-sovereignty): The chapter contrasts static pluralism with a unifying state that emerges from the bottom-up through group interpenetration, rejecting both absolute monism and fragmented pluralism.
- [Political Pluralism and the True Federal State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxi-political-pluralism-and-the-true-federal-state): The central theme contrasts pluralist theories (divided sovereignty, balance of power) with the true monistic state that unifies diversity.
- [XXXII: Political Pluralism (Concluded)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxii-political-pluralism-concluded): The chapter contrasts pluralist fears of an absorptive monistic state with the ideal of a unifying state that is all-inclusive, not all-absorptive, and integrates multiple allegiances.
- [XXXIII: Increasing Recognition of the Occupational Group](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxiii-increasing-recognition-of-the-occupational-group): The author rejects pluralistic weakening of the state, advocating instead for strong groups that minister to a unified state.
- [Part III: The Dual Aspect of the Group](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/part-iii-the-dual-aspect-of-the-group): The chapter's focus on groups as both unions and individuals within larger unions touches on the tension between pluralistic group identities and the unifying state.
- [XXXV: The World State](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/xxxv-the-world-state): Argues for a unifying international sovereignty that emerges from the interdependence of nations, rejecting isolated sovereignty.
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/chapters/endnotes): The endnotes address pluralist fallacies and argue for a sovereignty that evolves through genuine group integration, rejecting the idea of a dominant One outside.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/themes/the_unifying_state_vs_pluralism
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_new_state_se/themes