A
polity is a
state or one of its subordinate
civil authorities, such as a
province,
prefecture,
county,
municipality,
city, or
district. It is generally understood to mean a geographic area with a corresponding
government.
Thomas Hobbes considered bodies politic in this sense in
Leviathan. In previous centuries,
body politic was also understood to mean "the physical person of the sovereign:"
emperor,
king or
dictator in monarchies and despotisms, and the electorate in republics. In present times, it may also refer to representation of a group, such as ones drawn along ethnic or gender lines.
Cabinets in
liberal democracies are chosen to represent the body politic.
