Question

According to Henry Maine, “The movement of progressive societies has hitherto been a movement from ___________”.

• A. Status to contract
• B. Contract to status
• C. Static to Dynamic
• D. Dynamic to Static

Hint:

Henry Maine's famous thesis is easy to remember: ancient societies are based on Status, modern societies are based on Contract. The movement is from Status to Contract.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This is one of the most famous statements in historical jurisprudence, made by Sir Henry Maine in his influential work "Ancient Law.
" He observed that in ancient or "static" societies, a person's legal position, rights, and duties were primarily determined by their "Status" — the fixed family and social group they were born into (e.
g.
, slave, citizen, head of a family).
In contrast, he argued that modern "progressive" societies are characterized by individual freedom and choice.
In these societies, a person's legal position is increasingly determined by agreements they voluntarily enter into, i.
e.
, by "Contract.
" Thus, the great movement of social history is from a fixed social position (Status) to individual free will (Contract).