The following are some of the differences between the state and society:
1. Society is defined as a collection of individuals held together by certain relationships. Society is a net of social relationships of the individuals. The state, on the other hand, is a particular portion of society politically organised for the protection of its common interests.
2. The society regulates all forms of social conduct but the state regulates only the external relationships of men in the society.
3. The state possesses the power of coercion. Disobedience to its law is followed by punishment. Society, on the other hand, does not enjoy the power of coercion. Society secures the cooperation of its members by persuasion and not by coercion. The state alone possessed sovereignty.
4. The state is a territorial organisation but society is not a limited to any geographical area. The Jews, for example, constitute a society as they are spread all over the world. So is the case of Hindu Society or Christian society. There may be a society without a state. For example, the Jews had once society but no state.
5. The state is a compulsory organisation whereas society is a voluntary organisation.
Points of interdependence: State and society have some common features also. The state and society sometimes include practically the same persons and in most cases as overwhelming majority of the members of a society may be included in the same state. Hence the state and society go hand in hand. They help each other. Progress of society depends upon the progress of the state. The working of the state is influenced by social customs and traditions. Social conduct or the structure of society must conform to the laws of the state.
