Politics: the inescapable stalker of our society
Politics is a process by which a group of people, whose opinions or interests might be divergent, reach collective decisions that are generally regarded as binding on the group and enforced as common policy.
Political theory or political philosophy is as old as the oldest civilisations. The Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, developed important political theories and methods of government alongside their more abstract philosophies. One may contest that every society and every belief we hold is a reflection of the political system we live under. Politics, in it absolute form, is a concept of society that definitely intrudes into every aspect of human life. No one can escape it.
The word politics comes from the Greek word “polis”, meaning the state or community as a whole. The concept of the “polis” was an ideal state and came from the writings of great political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. In his novel "The Republic", Plato describes the ideal state and the means to achieve it. Hence, the word politics originally has connotations in the ways in which to create the ideal society. An ideal society is in practice a rather difficult aim and even an impossible aim to achieve. Imperfections in society inspired Aristotle and Plato to compose the first written political philosophies. In Aristotle's “The Politics”, he states that, “Man is by nature a political animal”, in another words, it is a primal instinct of man. Therefore, in his statement, Aristotle concludes politics is not a dreamt up concept, but rather an inherent feature of mankind. Argument, in our lives and about the way that we live them is a fundamental part of our sociological make-up.
A main factor in modern government is what is dubbed “Party Politics”. Each party with its manifesto attempts to gain parliamentary superiority over others in each general election. People vote for the party that broadly represents the individual's values. Although, the average turnout for elections
The most common method of categorising political theories is by use of a horizontal line from right to left (the far and moderate right, the right of centre, the centre and the left of centre, the moderate left, and the far left) gradually.
What follows is an attempt to clarify this contentious issue of categorisation. It is not a defin...
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Politics is the means to creating a more organised and peaceful society, by providing methods to resolve conflict that naturally occurs in society. From this, politics also endeavours to further society to perfection and to create an absolute harmony between the ruling body and the populace. It thus aims to replace violence and prevent us from returning to chaos. Authority and order are the underlying features of politics and ensures its enforceability. Power underscores its very existence; it is necessary for politics exist. Without authority, politics simply is not feasible. The most visible and widely accepted example of politics is the workings of the governmental institutions. However, although at first glance one may not be aware of it, politics in its various forms is present wherever and whenever humans form a community. Returning to the writings and beliefs of Aristotle, politics is an intrinsic feature of mankind.
References
“Politics”, Heywood, Palgrave. 1997
“The Republic”, Plato (Tr Des. Lee), Penguin, 1987
“On Liberty”, J.S.Mills, Penguin, 1985
BBC Politics page:
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/talking_politics/default.stm>
Politics and its inner working can be described as the activities that determine the governance of a specific area, country, or continent. Imagine living in the United States during the 1800’s when there were two political parties, namely Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. Personally, I would choose to join the Democratic-Republican Party. As compared to the Federalist Party, the Democratic-Republicans had their policies centralized. They emphasized on agrarian interests that protected the rights of every single individual living in the United States of America. I would be very focused on promoting these facts to my best friends.
Party is an inevitable feature of the democracy and it is defined as ‘an autonomous group of citizens having the purpose of making nominations and contesting elections in the hope of gaining control over governmental power through the capture of public offices and the organization of the government’ (Caramani, 2011, p.220). Parties are ubiquitous in modern political systems and they perform a number of functions, they are: coordination, contesting elections, recruitment, and representation (Caramani, 2011). Political parties are the product of the parliamentary and electoral game, and party systems reflect the social oppositions that characterize society when parties first appear (Coxall et al., 2011).
Aristotle purposed his theory through a way of stating how political community is best of all for
Because he is so involved in metaphysics, his views on politics are more theoretical as opposed to actual. Aristotle, contrarily, holds the view that politics is the art of ruling and being ruled in turn. In The Politics, he attempts to outline a way of governing that would be ideal for an actual state. Balance is a main word in discussing Aristotle because he believes it is the necessary element to creating a stable government. His less metaphysical approach to politics makes Aristotle more in tune with the modern world, yet he is far from modern.
During the second half of the past century the notion that, political science should be treated as a science became extremely popular among academics specially in the United States. One of the most prominent exposers of this school of thought was Anthony Downs, who developed a theorem to explain in a rather economic sense, how and why voters behave in a certain way when it comes to voting. Downs did not only applied his theory to the way voters behave, he also used it to explain the way political parties align themselves when it comes to elections in a two and a multiparty system nevertheless this essay will analyze Downs’ claims about a two party system only. This essay argues that the Downs’ model has proven to be accurate in many cases throughout history, nevertheless it makes a series of assumptions about voters and parties that can not be considered realistic neither in 1957, when he published his paper An Economic Theory of Political Action in Democracy in 1957 nor in 2013. This essay also acknowledges that fact that this theory might help to explain how parties behave but it is by no means the only explanation. Furthermore this essay will prove that it is a multiplicity of factors rather than an economic theory what can help us understand why parties behave the way they do. In order to support the argument previously stated this essay will state and critically analyze a number of Downs assumptions, then his theory will be outlined. Then it will carefully consider how effective it has been at predicting the way in which parties align themselves by examining the behavior of political parties during general elections in different countries.
...quals for political rule, the theoretical possibility of absolute rule becomes a crucial part of it. This causes difficulties because if Aristotle values citizenship and political participation as vital for attaining eudaimonia, then the possibility of absolute rule is clearly inconsistent with his standard of justice as virtuous and capable citizens would have to give up their citizenship. Conversely, Aristotle would argue that surrendering citizenships can be done without loss of virtue or eudaimonia as both types of rule are equally just. Fundamentally, both provide outstanding virtuosity, ability and rule in the interest of all which is crucial for obtaining a good government and eudaimon life. Thus, even in the most just state, the value of political participation is such that it should be accepted when offered although it is not essential for the eudaimon life
According to Plato, Socrates means that human nature shapes out politics. Where in Book 2, Socrates and the companions discuss how one behaves depends on his human nature, for example, Socrates discusses about how it is human nature to keep one’s body healthy. (Plato, 1992, p. 33). H...
This is cited in Aristotle, The Politics Book 1 Part 1, 1253a1, pg.59: “Hence it is evident that the state is a creation of nature, and that man is by nature a political animal.” This argument is somewhat logical because our skilful deployment of reason enables us to comprehend concepts such as justice and injustice, dubbing us political animals. As political animals, this higher level thinking would inevitably ensue into the creation of a political society and political rule. This is because we are naturally hierarchical (Aristotle, The Politics, Book 1 Part 2, 1252a24, pg.56). In a political society, there would naturally be a hierarchy of power, with a sovereign at the top to govern the populace. A sovereign is needed, to keep order and peace within the population; otherwise, there would be a state of chaos. If what Aristotle says is correct, that we are all political animals, then it would be logical that the establishment of political rule would naturally ensue. However, this is not the case. As discussed above, man is not a political animal but an individual only concerned with survival. On the other hand, if the concept of mastery over animals (e.g. ox plow farms) and master and slaves were established, what would be stopping mankind from creating the concept of sovereignty? Following this logic, a
A Political Culture is a set of beliefs and practices held by how a person shapes their political behavior, and a person’s attitude about how the government should function. This includes moral judgment, political myths, beliefs, and ideas about what makes a good society.
In the Aristotle’s Politics Book I, Aristotle determines that man is by nature a political animal, and in accordance to that the polis is created naturally. Aristotle’s first argument states how a polis comes into being by stating “Now in these matters as elsewhere it is by looking at how things develop naturally from the beginning that one may best study them.”(Pg 2, line24)
"Comparison of Plato's and Aristotle's Political Theories." Novel Guide. Novel Guide, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. .
According to Lipset and Rokkan, modern party systems are defined by historical conflicts and the lasting identities created by the interaction of these conflicts and social institutions that can explain national
Politics is the perfect society. Each and every man helps and does things for each other for mutual benefit. The government only exists to protect the rights of everyone and only uses physical violence in self-protection. No person exists as another’s slave or master everyone is equal. In the perfect society government is separated from economics like it is from the church.
What is politics? Throughout history, people have participated in politics on many different levels. They may have participated through a direct democracy, in which they directly governed, or they may have participated through a representative democracy, in which they participated by electing representatives. As citizens’, people have participated in politics to attain the things they needed or wanted, the valued things. Participation in politics has been the way that people have a voice and change the things that directly affect their lives. Throughout the course of history, politics has been the competition of ideas; they decide who gets what, when, where and how.
The word politics comes from the Greek word "polis", meaning the state or community as a whole. The concept of the "polis" was an ideal state and came from the writings of great political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. In his novel "The Republic", Plato describes the ideal state and the means to achieve it. Hence, the word politics originally has connotations in the ways in which to create the ideal society.