what is politics? Flashcards
- why politics exists?
- what did politics become for Aristotle?
- what is politics job?
-above all what is politics ?
-‘man is by nature a political animal’ Aristotle
politics exist because people disagree about every possible thing.
-These conflicts made politics for Aristotle the ‘master science’”: that is nothing less than the activity through which human beings attempt to improve their lives and create the Good Society. Politics is, above all, a social activity. It is always a dialogue, and never a monologue.
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define politics!
-what does politics link with?
- Politics in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people:
- make,
- preserve ,and
- amend
the general rules under which they live.
- Politics is linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation.
On the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs and opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live.
On the other hand, people recognize that, in order to influence these rules or ensure that they are upheld, they must work with others. however politics is better thought of a search fro conflict resolution even though some can not be resolved .
how can politics be defined?
Politics is defined in such different ways:
- as the exercise of power
- as the exercise of authority
- making of collective decisions
- the allocation of scarce resources
- the practice of deception and manipulation
The virtue of these definitions, “the making, preserving and amending of general social rules”, is that it is sufficiently broad to encompass most, if not all, of the competing definitions.
The different views of politics ,
1- Politics as the art of government
-from where does the word polis derive?
how was ancient Greek divided ?
- what was Athens portrayed as ?
- what do you need to study if you want to study politics ?
“Politics is not a science…but an art”, Chancellor Bismarck.
-The word “politics” is derived from polis, meaning literally city-state. Ancient Greek society was divided into a collection of independent city-states, each of which possessed its own system of government.
The largest and most influential of these city-states was Athens, often portrayed as the cradle of democratic government.
-Politics can be understood to refer to the affairs of the polis; therefore, the modern form of this definition is “what concerns the state”.whoever holdes a public office is said to be in politics to serve the state/people
- To study politics is in essence to study the exercise of authority.
how does David Easton define politics ?
-David Easton defined politics as the “authoritative allocation of values”; politics encompasses the various processes through which government responds to pressures from the larger society, in particular by allocating benefits, rewards, or penalties
“Authoritative values” are the one that are widely, accepted in society, and are considered binding by the mass of citizens.
where is politics practiced in ?
and by who?
in cabinet rooms, legislative chambers, government departments, etc.
by specific group of people, notably politicians, civil servants and lobbyists.
2-politics as public affair
conception of politics :
-the distinction between :
what are the 2 different spheres ?
-A second and broader conception of politics moves it to what is thought of as “public life” or “public affairs”.
The distinction between “the political” and “the nonpolitical” coincides with the division between an essentially public sphere of life and what can be thought of as a private sphere.
Where should the line between “public” life and “private” life be drawn?
- which sectors are considered to be public? private? and why?
-the government, the courts, the police, the army, the social-security system… can be regarded as “public” in the sense that they are responsible for the collective organization of community life. (funded at the public’s expense, out of taxation.)
-In contrast, family and kinship groups, private businesses, trade unions, clubs, community groups and so on.
They are “private” (they are set up and funded by individual citizens to satisfy their own interests.)
3-Politics as compromise and consensus 9 hoe decisions are made )
- how are the decisions made ? ( revenire a la base : de quoi est la politique pour pouvoir repondre a la question )
give example political vs military decision making.
-Politics is seen as a particular means of resolving conflict; that is, by compromise, conciliation and negotiation, rather than through force . (the description of a solution to a problem as a “political” solution implies peaceful debate and arbitration, as opposed to what is often called a “military” solution.)
are always both parties equally satisfied by the end result ?
- so how is politics seen as ?
-Politics is certainly no Utopian solution (compromise means that concessions are made by all sides leaving no one perfectly satisfied).
-politics can be seen as a civilized and civilizing force.
3-Politics as power
can politics be seen at work in most social activities?
- The fourth definition of politics is both the broadest and the most radical; it sees politics at work in all social activities and in every corner of human existence
-Politics is at the heart of all collective social activity, formal and informal, public and private, in all human groups, institutions and societies.
What marks off politics from any other form of social behaviour?
-what should politics do ?
-Politics is, in essence, power: the ability to achieve a desired outcome, through whatever means.
-From this perspective, politics is about diversity and conflict, but the essential ingredient is the existence of scarcity: the simple fact that, while human needs and desires are infinite, the resources available to satisfy them are always limited.
what is politics about ?
-Politics is, quite simply, about oppression and subjugation.is also seen as the means through which injustice and domination can be challenged.
Can the study of politics be scientific?
-Any attempt to construct a science of politics must confront three difficulties:
1- Problem of data:
Repeatable experiments cannot be carried out on human behavior; therefore, in the absence of exact data, we have no reliable means of testing our hypothesis (human behavior can ultimately be explained in terms of conditioned reactions or reflexes)
2- Difficulties that stem from the existence of hidden values:
Facts and values are so closely intertwined that it is often impossible to pries them apart.
3- The myth of neutrality in the social sciences:
Whereas natural sciences may be able to approach their studies in an objective and impartial manner, holding no presuppositions about what they are going to discover, this is difficult and perhaps impossible to achieve in politics.
Politics in a Global Age
beyond the domestic/ international divide?
–what are the components of the inside shell?
– what are the components of the hard outside shell?
-Borders and boundaries of a state do matters especially in the case of distinction between domestic politics , which is concerned with the state’s role in maintaining order & carrying out regulation within its own borders, and international politics, which is concerned with relations between or among states.
-In that sense, sovereignty, the supreme or unquestionable authority of the state, is a “hard shell” that divides the “inside” of politics from the “outside”.
