Post by rasel101 on Oct 6, 2015 18:02:36 GMT
Politics is exciting because people disagree. They disagree about how they should
live. Who should get what? How should power and other resources be distributed?
Should society be based on cooperation or conflict? And so on.
They also disagree
about how such matters should be resolved. How should collective decisions be
made? Who should have a say? How much influence should each person have? And
so forth. For Aristotle, this made politics 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.
Solitary individuals such as Robinson Crusoe may
be able to develop a simple economy, produce art
, and so on, but they cannot
engage in politics.
Politics emerges only with the arrival of a Man (or Woman)
Friday. Nevertheless, the disagreement that lies at the heart of politics also extends
to the nature of the subject and how it should be studied. People disagree about
what it is that makes social interaction ‘political’, whether it is where it takes place
(within government, the state or the public sphere generally), or the kind of activity
it involves (peacefully resolving conflict or exercising control over less powerful
groups). Disagreement about the nature of politics as an academic discipline means
that it embraces a range of theoretical approaches and a variety of schools of
analysis. Finally, globalizing tendencies have encouraged some to speculate that the
disciplinary divide between politics and international relations has now become
redundant.
live. Who should get what? How should power and other resources be distributed?
Should society be based on cooperation or conflict? And so on.
They also disagree
about how such matters should be resolved. How should collective decisions be
made? Who should have a say? How much influence should each person have? And
so forth. For Aristotle, this made politics 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.
Solitary individuals such as Robinson Crusoe may
be able to develop a simple economy, produce art
, and so on, but they cannot
engage in politics.
Politics emerges only with the arrival of a Man (or Woman)
Friday. Nevertheless, the disagreement that lies at the heart of politics also extends
to the nature of the subject and how it should be studied. People disagree about
what it is that makes social interaction ‘political’, whether it is where it takes place
(within government, the state or the public sphere generally), or the kind of activity
it involves (peacefully resolving conflict or exercising control over less powerful
groups). Disagreement about the nature of politics as an academic discipline means
that it embraces a range of theoretical approaches and a variety of schools of
analysis. Finally, globalizing tendencies have encouraged some to speculate that the
disciplinary divide between politics and international relations has now become
redundant.