Transcription
What is Politics?GVPT 100SEPTEMBER 10, 2007
OUTLINE1. Defining politicsi.ii.iii.iv.Politics as the art of governmentPolitics as public affairsPolitics as compromise and consensusPolitics as power and the distribution of resources.2. Studying politicsi.ii.iii.Approaches to the study of politicsCan the study of politics be scientific?Concepts, models and theories
Politics: Conflict and/or Cooperation? People disagree about both what it is that makes socialinteraction ―political,‖ and how political activity canbest be analyzed and explained. Heywood‘s definition: ―Politics, in its broadest sense, isthe activity through which people make, preserve, andamend the general rules under which they live.‖ Compare Harvey Mansfield‘s characterization:―Politics means taking sides; it is partisan. Not onlyare there sides—typically liberal and conservative inour day—but also they argue against each other, so thatit is liberals versus conservatives.”
Different Conceptions ofPoliticsPolitics as the art of government Politics as public affairsPolitics as compromise and consensusPolitics as power and the distribution ofresources.
Politics as the Art of Government This is a state-centered view of politics. Politics iswhat ―governments‖ or ―states‖ do. This meansthat most people, most institutions and most socialactivities can be regarded as being ‗outside‘politics. Businesses, schools and other educationalinstitutions, community groups, families and so onare in this sense ‗nonpolitical.‘
Machiavelli Italian Renaissancepolitical philosopherand statesman,secretary of theFlorentine republic,whose most famouswork, The Prince(1531), brought him areputation as anatheist and animmoral cynic.
Carl von Clausewitz The Prussian general andmilitary thinker, whosework On War (1832) hasbecome one of the mostrespected classics onmilitary strategy. Anotable line from hisbook: ―War is only acontinuation of statepolicy by other means.‖ Cf. Mao Tse-Tung:―Politics is war withoutbloodshed while war ispolitics with bloodshed.‖
Otto von Bismarck Prime minister ofPrussia (1862–73,1873–90) and founderand first chancellor(1871–90) of theGerman Empire. Known for his famousline "politics is the artof the possible."
Realpolitik The adjective ―Machiavellian‖ subsequently cameto represent the Realpolitik principles ofMachiavelli. It has been used in a pejorative senseto describe those who prefer expediency tomorality and practice duplicity in statecraft or ingeneral conduct. Both Clausewitz and Bismarck are known as majorfigures of the Realpolitik tradition.
The Cynic View of Politics Another implication of this state-centricconception of politics is that politics is thought ofas a pejorative word. It conjures up images of trouble, disruption andeven violence on the one hand, and deceit,manipulation and lies on the other.
The Cynic View of Politics Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as acontest of principles. Ambrose Bierce, TheDevil's Dictionary Politics is the art of preventing people from taking partin affairs which properly concern them. Paul Valery The more you read and observe about this Politicsthing, you got to admit that each party is worse thanthe other. The one that's out always looks the best.Will Rogers
The Cynic View of Politics One has to be a lowbrow, a bit of a murderer, to be apolitician, ready and willing to see people sacrificed,slaughtered, for the sake of an idea, whether a good one ora bad one. Henry Miller A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for hiscountry. Texas Guinan [A politician is] a person skilled in the art of compromise.Usually an elected official who has compromised to getnominated, compromised to get elected, and compromisedrepeatedly to stay in office. Dick Gregory
The Cynic View of Politics We would all like to vote for the best man but he is never acandidate. Frank M. Hubbard You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make himthink. Milton Berle In our age there is no such thing as "keeping out ofpolitics." All issues are political issues, and politics itself is amass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.George Orwell
The Cynic View of Politics Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding itwhether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, andapplying the wrong remedy. Ernest Benn Politics is perhaps the only profession for which nopreparation is thought necessary. Robert LouisStevenson Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. Ihave come to realize that it bears a very closeresemblance to the first. Ronald Reagan
Perception of Politics as a Frivolous Activity The whole art of the political speech is to put 'nothing‗into it. It is much more difficult than it sounds. HilaireBelloc Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies. DaltonCamp Being in politics is like being a football coach. You haveto be smart enough to understand the game, and dumbenough to think it's important. Eugene McCarthy I have come to the conclusion that politics are too seriousa matter to be left to the politicians. Charles De Gaulle
Politics as Public Affairs A second and broader conception of politics movesit beyond the narrow realm of government to whatis thought of as ‗public life‘ or ‗public affairs‘. Inother words, the distinction between ‗the political‘and ‗the nonpolitical‘ coincides with the divisionbetween an essentially public sphere of life andwhat can be thought of as a private sphere.
Aristotle In Politics, Aristotledeclared that ―man is bynature a political animal,‖by which he meant that it isonly within a politicalcommunity that humanbeings can live ‗the goodlife‘. From this viewpoint,then, politics is an ethicalactivity concerned withcreating a ―just society.‖ Itis what Aristotle called the―master science.‖
Etymology of Politics The notion of politics is derived from the Greekword polis meaning a “city-state‖ such as Athens orSparta. Affiliated words such as politeia, politika,and politike techne have the following meanings:a.b.c.politeia: constitution, political regime, republic;politika: political activities, anything in relation withthe state, constitution, political regime;politike techne: political skill; management skill.
One view of the public/private divide The traditional distinction between the public realm andthe private realm conforms to the division between thestate and civil society. On the basis of this ‗public/private‘ division, politics isrestricted to the activities of the state itself and theresponsibilities that are properly exercised by publicbodies.
An Alternative view of the public/private divide An alternative ‗public/private‘ divide is sometimes definedin terms of a further and more subtle distinction, namelythat between ‗the political‘ and ‗the personal‘ Although civil society can be distinguished from the state, itnevertheless contains a range of institutions that arethought of as ‗public‘ in the wider sense that they are openinstitutions, operating in public, to which the public hasaccess.
Hannah Arendt This conception of politics assomething positive andpublic activity was firmlyendorsed by Hannah Arendt,a German-born Americanpolitical theorist. She argued in The HumanCondition (1958) that politicsis the most important form ofhuman activity because itinvolves interaction amongstfree and equal citizens. Itthus gives meaning to lifeand affirms the uniquenessof each individual.
Václav Havel Another example is VáclavHavel: ―Genuinepolitics—politics worthy ofthe name and the onlypolitics I am willing todevote myself to—issimply a matter of servingthose around us: servingthe community andserving those who willcome after us. Its deepestroots are moral because itis a responsibilityexpressed throughaction.‖
Politics as Compromise and Consensus The third conception of politics relates to the way inwhich decisions are made. Specifically, politics is seenas a particular means of resolving conflict: that is, bycompromise, conciliation and negotiation, rather thanthrough force and naked power. Politics becomes theprocess of ―conflict resolution." In this view, the key to politics is a wide dispersal ofpower. Accepting that conflict is inevitable and socialgroups possess and compete for power, they must beconciliated; they cannot merely be crushed.
James Madison ―There are two methodsof curing the mischiefs offaction: the one, byremoving its causes; theother, by controlling itseffects .The inference towhich we are brought is,that the causes of factioncannot be removed, andthat relief is only to besought in the means ofcontrolling its effects.‖The Federalist #10
Politics as Power The fourth definition of politics is both thebroadest and the most radical. Rather thanconfining politics to a particular sphere (thegovernment, the state or the ‗public‘ realm) thisview sees politics at work in all social activities andin every corner of human existence. In this sense, politics takes place at every level ofsocial interaction; it can be found within familiesand amongst small groups of friends just as muchas amongst nations and on the global stage.
Distribution of Power and Resources At its broadest, politics concerns the production,distribution and use of resources in the course of socialexistence. Politics is, in essence, power: the ability toachieve a desired outcome, through whatever means.This notion was neatly summed up in the title of HaroldLasswell‘s book Politics: Who Gets What, When, How?(1936). From this perspective, politics is about diversity andconflict, but the essential ingredient is the existence ofscarcity: the simple fact that, while human needs anddesires are infinite, the resources available to satisfythem are always limited. Politics can therefore be seen asa struggle over scarce resources, and power can be seenas the means through which this struggle is conducted.
Studying Politics Approaches to the study of politicsCan the study of politics be scientific? Concepts, models and theories
The Philosophical Tradition The term politikē usedboth by Plato andAristotle meant theknowledge, the art, orsome other capacity thatis devoted to the politicalaffairs. For both Platoand Aristotle, the task ofpolitical expertise wasnormative.
Values What we today call ―values‖ or as the ancientscalled ―ends‖ were central to the philosophicalapproach to political science. Values are the sort of things that can inducepersonal and social conflict by stirring humanemotions such as anger, envy, and hatred. Disputesover quantifiable ―facts‖ do not necessarily giverise to such emotions. Socrates points this out in Plato‘s dialogueEuthyphro.
Euthyphro Socrates: What is the difference about, best ofmen, that makes for enmity and anger? Let'sconsider as follows. If you and I should differ aboutnumber—which of two groups of things is greater—would our difference about these things make usenemies and angry at each other? Or would we goto calculation and quickly settle it, at least aboutsuch things as these? Euthyphro: Quite so .
Euthyphro Socrates: Then what would we differ about andwhat decision would we be unable to reach, that wewould be enemies and angry at each other? Perhapsyou have nothing ready to hand, but consider while Ispeak whether it is these things: the just and theunjust, and noble and shameful, and good and bad.Isn't it because we differ about these things and can'tcome to a sufficient decision about them that webecome enemies to each other, whenever we do, bothI and you and all other human beings. Euthyphro: Yes, this is the difference, Socrates,and about these things.
Anti-Busing Protests, Boston City Hall, 1976. The young man holding theflagpole, now a labor foremanliving in Maine, vividly recallsthe ―blind anger‖ thatmotivated him—anger aimed,he says, at the urban policiesthat were ruining the closeknit South Bostonneighborhood where he‘dgrown up: ―When the busingstarted, it was, ‗You can‘t havehalf your friends‘—that‘s theway it was put towards us,‖Rakes says. ―They took halfthe guys and girls I grew upwith and said, ‗You‘re going toschool on the other side oftown.‘ Nobody understood itat [age] 15.‖
The Empirical Tradition The empirical approach to political analysis ischaracterized by the attempt to offer a dispassionateand impartial account of political reality. Theapproach is ‗descriptive‘ in that it seeks to analyzeand explain, whereas the normative approach is‗prescriptive‘ in the sense that it makes judgmentsand offers recommendations.
The Scientific Tradition In the 1870s, ‗political science‘ courses wereintroduced in the universities of Oxford, Paris andColumbia, and by 1906 the American PoliticalScience Review was being published. The enthusiasm for a science of politics peaked in the1950s and 1960s with the emergence, most stronglyin the USA, of a form of political analysis that drewheavily upon behaviouralism. For the first time,this gave politics reliably scientific credentials,because it provided what had previously beenlacking: objective and quantifiable data againstwhich hypotheses could be tested.
Can the study of politics be scientific? The attraction of a science of politics is clear. Itpromises an impartial and reliable means ofdistinguishing ‗truth‘ from ‗falsehood‘, therebygiving us access to objective knowledge about thepolitical world. The key to achieving this is todistinguish between ‗facts‘ (empirical evidence)and ‗values‘ (normative or ethical beliefs). Factsare objective in the sense that they can bedemonstrated reliably and consistently; they canbe proved. Values, by contrast, are inherentlysubjective, a matter of opinion.
Objective Facts: What are they good for? An objective fact often involves some kind ofnumeric value or undisputable piece of information. That the capital of the United States is Washington,DC is an undisputable information. That the current population of the US is about 300million and the US citizens without health insurancecoverage is about 47 million are also ―facts.‖ But can ―facts‖ alone say anything meaningful aboutthe political reality without making use of valueladen concepts?
THE SACK OF ROME In 410 CE, the Goths invadedand sacked Rome. Thepsychological effect among theRomans was one of shock: ―Thecity to which the whole worldfell has fallen. If Rome canperish, what can be safe?‖lamented St. Jerome. TheBritish monk Pelagius, who wasin Rome when the attackoccurred, gave this report:―Every household had its grief,and an all-pervading terrorgripped us.‖
St. Augustine, the bishop of Hippo (354-430 CE) The non-Christian Romansblamed the abandonment ofthe worship of ancient Romangods and the ascendance ofChristianity for this calamity. Against their indictment ofChristianity, Saint Augustinepointed out that Rome hadalready been destroyed twice inthe past when the Roman godswere actively worshipped. Thisshows that Christianity couldnot be responsible for the sackof Rome.
Interpreting September 11: Competing Narratives On September 11,2001, America wasattacked. But while weknow what happenedon that tragic day,many of us don‘tunderstand why ithappened.
The Official View ―Americans are asking, whydo they hate us? They hatewhat we see right here inthis chamber -- ademocratically electedgovernment. Their leadersare self-appointed. Theyhate our freedoms -- ourfreedom of religion, ourfreedom of speech, ourfreedom to vote andassemble and disagree witheach other.‖
The Religious-Conservative ViewOn a Christian televisionprogram, Rev. Jerry Falwellmade the following statement:―I really believe that thepagans, and the abortionists,and the feminists, and thegays and the lesbians who areactively trying to make that analternative lifestyle, the ACLU,People For the American Way,all of them who have tried tosecularize America. I point thefinger in their face and say‗you helped this happen.‘‖
The Religious-Conservative View To clarify his remarks, Falwell later said that hebelieves the ACLU and other organizations ―whichhave attempted to secularize America, haveremoved our nation from its relationship withChrist on which it was founded. . . I thereforebelieve that that created an environment whichpossibly has caused God to lift the veil ofprotection which has allowed no one to attackAmerica on our soil since 1812.‖
The Religious-Conservative View D. James Kennedy in his book Why Was AmericaAttacked? : ―Maybe the timing of Rev. Falwell'sstatements could have been a little better, but Isuspect that no matter when he would have spokenthe truths he did he would have been maligned fordoing so. He also made the mistake of not includingthe sins of Christians in with the other groups hediscussed. Rev. Falwell has apologized for hiscomments. However, I think that in spite of that, weneed to recognize that what he said has been said inchurches across the nation for years. What he saidwas the truth, just not the whole truth.‖
The Left-Liberal View Douglas Kellner, a UCLA Professor:―In retrospect, the events of September 11 can beseen as a textbook example of ―blowback,‖ aconcept developed in a book with this title byChalmers Johnson (2000) who uses it to describethe unintended consequences of aggressivemilitary and covert policies, a shorthand term fordescribing that a nation reaps what it sows.‖
CONCLUSION The inescapable presence of diversity (we are notall alike) and scarcity (there is never enough to goaround) ensures that politics is an inevitablefeature of the human condition. The study of politics is scientific to the extent thatit is possible to gain objective knowledge about thepolitical world by distinguishing between facts andvalues. This task is nevertheless hampered by thedifficulty of gaining access to reliable data, byvalues that are implicit in political models andtheories, and by biases that operate within allstudents of politics.
The whole art of the political speech is to put 'nothing‗ into it. It is much more difficult than it sounds. Hilaire Belloc Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies. Dalton Camp Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game,
