What is Politics? Flashcards
Politics (Standard)
The art and science of governing
Politics (Post - Modern)
The construction of and resistance to power in society as a whole
The Art of Justice - The Republic (Written by…/Beliefs)
Written by Plato, was about
- How Politics ‘ought’ to be
- The Purpose of Politics (To create justice)
- What is the Just state?
The Art of Power : The Prince (Written by…/Beliefs)
Written by Machiavelli in Medieval Times about
- Analyze politics as they really are (struggle for power) rather than how they ‘ought’ to be
- Purpose of politics is to ensure the power of the prince and maintain order
- The virtu of the Prince must overcome the fortuna of politics
Differences between Pre & Post Modern (2)
- Science rather than Art of Governing
2. State and Citizens rather than Monarchs and Subjects
John Locke (Author of…/Beliefs)
Author of : Two Treaties of Government (1689)
Locke pioneered the ideas of natural law, self preservation & liberty, religious toleration, and the right to revolution.
Karl Marx (Creator of…/Beliefs)
Creator of Scientific Socialism (19th C)
Co-creator of Marxism
Believed that capitalism will collapse and be replaced by communism
Used the Deductive scientific method and discovered Laws of Capital
John Locke’s Social Contact Theory
Persons have natural pre-social rights to life, liberty, and property, but a central authority, brought about through a social contract, is eventually necessary to better protect those rights
Examples of Contemporary Scientific Approaches (3)
- Discipline of ‘Political Science’
- Behavioural Revolution (1960’s - today) (Behaviourism)
- Contemporary: Empirical Political Science (Empirical Analysis)
Communist Manisfesto
Written by Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels
The main argument in the Communist Manifesto is that creating one class of people would end the problem of continuous class struggles and cycles of revolution between the bourgeois and proletariat classes, which never lead to true reform
Positivism
A philosophy developed by the French count of Saint-Simon. Positivists believed that social and economic problems could be solved by the application of the scientific method, leading to continuous progress. Popular in France and Latin America.
Polis
The root of politics; translating to ‘city-state’
Relevant as politics were organized around the polis (city-state) of Athens
The ideal polis, for Plato, leads to the common good and is steered by the philosopher-king
Plato
Author of The Republic, 380 BC
An art: politics as a branch of ethics, where morality must be applied: politics is ‘the highest calling
Function of politics is to create justice; thus, the ruler’s task is to rule for the common good
Politics are elitist: ideal ruler is the philosopher-king; the individual’s soul is divided in 3 parts: rationality, spirit and appetite that correspond, respectively, to 3 positions/classes in society: rulers, warrior, artisan
Political thought looks at how politics ‘ought to be
Machiavelli
Author of The Prince, 1513
An art of POWER: The prince must manage Fortuna with his virtu (symbolized by river and dams and women and beating)
Purpose of politics is to ensure power to prince and maintain order; the ‘people’ will aways cause trouble;
Elitist
Requires dirty hands; the ends justify the means
Modern Age & Tenets
Was between the 17th to 20th centuries and replaced medieval period.
General Aspects :
1. Individuals Paramount
Renee Descartes “I think, therefore I am”: Individual is paramount; reason/science over religion/philosophy in the search for universal laws; skepticism and doubt
-modernity historically begins with Enlightenment in 17th C
- Belief in Science
- Politics as science rather than art: discover universal laws; reductionism (small to big);
- progress through science + tech: a LINEAR trajectory towards an end (dystopian/apocalyptic) - Development of Market
Creation of government begins with contract/private property in 17th C - Idea of Progress
State/citizen rather than monarch/subject: mutually constituent and dependent
- progress as a way to move AWAY from traditional forms of gov’t and thinking
Thomas Hobbes
Author of : The Leviathan, 1651
Believed that the only true and correct form of government was the absolute monarchy
Inspired by Galileo to apply deductive and COMPOSITIVE mathematical method to politics
Leviathan: 1651
At the height of english civil war and of divine rule
-‘Bottom up’ view of politics; revolutionary at the time because it ignored the ‘divine right’
Glory, power, ambition as main forces acting upon people
Gov’t must adhere to THE LAW OF SELF-PRESERVATION: the ideal would be a monarchy
- Individuals are the body of state
“Simile of the Cave”
Cave with prisoners/prisoners looking at shadows that look like forms/one wanders off beyond the cave and discovers the true Forms/goes back to inform but they don’t believe him and want to kill him
“Fortuna”
Circumstances, luck that can threaten prince’s power
- Can be controlled by virtu (drive, talent, or ability directed toward the achievement of certain goals)
Philosopher King
Plato’s ideal ruler; one that is well-versed in philosophy and knowledge; will not always want to rule
Behaviourism
Behavioural revolution in 1950s, post-WW2; gained popularity in 60s
Stressed importance of scientific method in study of social phenomena
Objective measurements the goal; value-free
Assumes human behaviour is capable of being measured and that generalizations can be made from it
Inductive Method & Drawbacks (3)
Sub-branch of empirical analysis
Associated with BEHAVIOURISM
Begin with empirical observations and draw explanatory generalizations from them (scientific inquiry)
Drawbacks:
- Strong on empirical testing
- Lacking in generation of theory; popper argues that theorists should test/falsify earlier studies;
- Hypotheses generated are don’t identify causal links between generalizations
Deductive Method & Drawback (1)
Sub-branch of empirical analysis
Associated with rational choice theories
Rational choice analysis important since 1970s; hypotheses deduced from certain fundamental assumptions about human behaviour and are tested against ‘real facts’
Assumes humans are rational, ‘utility maximizers’; best examples can be found in voting, party competition, interest group policies
Drawbacks: emphasis on assumptions
Empirical Analysis
Empirical analysis is a type of research dedicated to the discovery of concrete, verifiable evidence. Guided by the scientific method, empirical analysis allows researchers to remove personal bias and instead use concrete, accurate and repeatable real-world evidence to draw conclusions
‘WHAT IS’ rather than ‘WHAT OUGHT TO BE’
Basis of natural sciences; positivist political analyst use empirical analysis
Comparative method: developing testable generalizations by comparing political phenomena across different political systems
Semantic Analysis
Concerned with the meaning of the concepts we use, where they concepts came from, and why and how we use them
