Justice And Power Flashcards
What do social sciences study
Concepts not things, leads to constant debate
What is implicit politics
The political messages that underly media, the assumptions
What is political socialization
How do we learn and internalize political beliefs and values
What are media politics
Who decides what fees published? With what values?
Summarize Aristotle’s views on politics
Politics is to master science for the good of man, legislates what we can or cannot do, needs to be concerned with everything.
Humans are naturally political, the good life vs mere life (polis)
Politics originates to continue life, when we want to improve it we create the state
Politics and people have the same natural beginning and are dependant on each other
How does Aristotle define politics?
Politics originates to continue life, the state forms to create the good life
Why are we distinctly political according to Aristotle?
Because we can scrutinize and discuss
What is the good life? What is mere life?
mere life is survival
The good life is moving beyond survival into joy
What is Robert Dahls view?
That economic power is important (wanted to democratize corporate/economic power). Workers are under the rile of those who own corporations so they should have unions. NOT that economic power was the SOLE power (Marxist)
How does robert Dahl define politics and political systems?
Politics: Social relationships that involve power, rule, and authority.
Political systems: persistent pattern of human relationships that involve control, influence, power and authority.
What is Robert Dahls opinion on authority?
Authority can be limited by power structures around them, sometimes people in power are able to effectively maintain their power.
What is the Second Wave of feminism?
“The person is political” sexuality, housework, reproduction. There is more at play than just individual choices (systematic/political choices).
Power laden social relationships change people choices - constrain or enable people in certain ways
How did Kate millet (second wave feminism) define politics?
An arrangement whereby one group of people is controlled by another
Is there a value neutral way to describe a democracy? Why?
No, because it always requires us to divulge our values
What is the Socratic method?
Not just pointing out answers, but guiding others to an understanding of ideas through dialogue - interplay of questions and answers (finding the kerb all of truth in a statement)
What is Plato’s view on justice
That it is objective, [ideal form of a chair, everything else has an aspect of a chair but still isn’t a chair] we can “find” justice and truth
Justice is to give to each what is proper to him, give everyone his due
Treating enemies badly makes them and society worse
Just man would not want to do harm to anybody, good to friends but not bad to enemies
Justice has a clear meaning, giving each person their due (fair), leaving open debate about implementation
What is Confucius’s view on justice?
There is a relationship between virtue and ruling - justice will be brought by good and virtuous government
Moral excellence inspires more moral excellence
Moral excellence is tied to tradition, respect and wisdom
What is Machiavelli’s view on justice?
There is a distinct morality for princely rule:
1. maintaining the state - does not want power for its own sake but for sake of city, glory of city
2. Political virtu vs personal virtue - political virtu is maintaining power to do good things (not moral excellence, being ABLE to govern effectively)
3. Means and ends - politics requires morally questionable things to bring about goos ends, people judge the outcome and not the steps it took to get there
There is a limit: cruelty well used vs cruelty abused
How are plato, Machiavelli, and Confucius different? How are they the same?
Plato and Confucius think there is god given objective morality, leaders should be good people
What is Gaventas primary question?
Why are certain oppressed groups quiescent, are there particular power aspects that lead to change, those who have concerns should be able to speak up but they dont and what does that mean for us
What is quiescence?
Being quiet and just going along
What are the 3 dimensions of power according to gaventa?
1st, 2nd, 3rd
What is the first dimension of power according to gaventa?
A more powerful and b less powerful
A exersizes power over B when they get B to act in a way that benefits A against B’s interests
who participates, who gains/loses, who prevails in various decision making arenas
What is the second dimension of power according to gaventa?
Focuses on non participation, why do people go along?
When those in power are there for a long time, they operate society in a way to benefit certain people and maintain the system that keeps them in power, (mobilization of bias)
What is the mobilization of bias?
Various beliefs/values that benefit some at the expense of others - it self perpetuates to keep it going this way
What is the 3rd dimension of power according to gaventa?
Shapes the conceptions of the powerless about the nature and extent of the inequality.
Internalizing belief system “thats just the way it is”
Are the dimensions of power accumulative? Is a reversal of power possible?
It’s accumulative of 1 and 2, 3 can only happen when a controls all institutions and mass media and society has entrenched the beliefs of A so much that B begins to believe it.
There is a possible reversal of power dynamics but changing perspective and conciousness
What is michel Foucault’s question? How is it other than Gaventas?
How various groups came to be. Gaventa focuses on relationships between various groups, Foucault wants to know why and when the groups formed.
What is michel Foucaults 4th dimension of power? What is truth? Examples?
Our understanding of truth is fundamentally shaped by the society and power dynamics we are surrounded by. Ideas become widespread then institutionalized and then understood as true. Groups become categorized/categories of people are created according to this same idea of power and truth - according to focuault differs by questioning origin of groups.
Scientific knowledge reflects social attitudes
Race theory in the 19th century
What are the 5 political economies of truth (according to Foucault)
- Truth is centred on the form of scientific discourse and institution
- Is subject to constant economic and political incitement
- Object under diverse forms of immense diffusion and consumption
- Produced and transmitted under control of a few great political and economic apparatuses (university media, military)
- Battle for truth - struggle over what is true and false and the specific effects of power
What is epistemology?
How we know what we know
What does ulrich beck mean when he says the world economy is a kind of meta-power?
That states are supposed to recuglate economies in line with the will of the people but now corporations control countries in a organized irresponsibility and threat of pulling investments