The word state was first used by the famous sixteenth-century Italian statesman Machiavelli. The word state is often used as a synonym for government , society , race , country, etc. But in political science the word state is used in a special sense. At present, the state is the most important political organization in any country. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle , the state is the sum of several families and villages whose purpose is to lead a self-sufficient life. According to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson , the state is a community organized in certain territories in need of law. According to Professor McIver , the state is an association that acts in accordance with the laws declared by the government. Professor Garner states that the state is a people whose population is small or large and who lives permanently in a certain territory , which is independent or almost independent of the control of external forces and which has an organized government to which most of the inhabitants are naturally loyal. Therefore , the state is a geographical and political institution which has its own territory , population , government and sovereign power and whose inhabitants form an organized government and live independently.