organicism

In political philosophy, a theory about the nature of the state, describing and explaining the state in terms of a living organism. The theory owes much to the ancient Greek political philosophers, especially Aristotle.

Some organicists, notably the German G W F Hegel, seem to hold that the state is a superperson, and an end to which its citizens are the means. The French Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the English neo-Hegelian T H Green were also organicists.