B.A. (Hons.

) Political Science Semester-I

Core Course
Paper-I : Understanding Politics and Theory

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

University of Delhi

Department of Political Science

 CONTENT

Lesson 1 : What is Politics: Theorizing the Political

Lesson 2 : Approaches to Political Theory: Normative, Historical and
Empirical

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

University of Delhi
5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007
 Lesson 1
WHAT IS POLITICS
-- Amaresh Ganguly
Zakir Husain College
After reading this lesson you will be familiar with:
• What is politics? .
• The different conceptual approaches on viewing politics.

Politics is the most important activity of organized life in society. If one tries to argue
that on a macro basis life without social or political thought is than one wrong.

Why and in what manner people behave in their economic and political activities, should
be systematically studied. That is what the study of politics seeks to do and political
behaviour is almost entirely linked to economic and social behaviour and interests and
vice-versa.

Nowadays young people often pompously declare: “I am not interested in politics”. To

them politics is some disreputable art of manipulating one’s way into positions of state
power for personal and party gains. And they don’t look forward to being called a
“politician” ever in their working lives. In fact the word has almost gradually become a
term of abuse.

As far as the concept of politics is really concerned this is a most naive and dumb notion.
Actually we are all politicians. In everything we say or do, we are taking a position that
is actually a political position whether we like it or not. For politics concerns everything
in life. What and whether you will be educated, what and whether you will get a job, how
much money you need to pay your bills and run your life and that of your family, how
much money you can or should earn and from it how much you need to and should
surrender in taxes to the state etc are all political questions. Should your education and
preparation in life be the same as of everybody else or should some people other than you
have more or less opportunities than you have? . Even whether what you call your
private property is or should be strictly your own or is or should be owned ultimately by
the whole of society and the nation and what rights you can or should have to dispose off
your property as you like are political questions. In other words one’s level of individual
and collective freedom, equality vis-à-vis others, justice, rights and duties are all part of
the realm of politics.

You are not living in a ‘no man’s land’ or in the middle of the ocean or on some planet in
outer space. You always exist within and under the jurisdiction of a state that has it’s own
set of laws, rules and policies with it’s own bias. So when you take the stance, as many
do, that you are only following the rules of the game and trying to live your life, that is
also a political position because that only means you have by your actions (by default)
accepted the status quo whatever it is. If you are advantaged in society relative to others
then you have accepted that deal (probably happily) and don’t want to touch politics for

1
things are fine with you. If you are not advantaged on the other hand or you are exploited
or are otherwise getting a bad deal you have still accepted the state of affairs as they are
without trying to change your lot. So when you say you want to keep away from politics
and do nothing, you are actually taking a political position in favour of the system as it is.
If you do decide to do something then of course you are in politics in one form or the
other. Even if you don’t you still are in politics because you are helping the status quo to
prevail and be as it is by accepting it and working under it.

Frankly therefore whatever you do or you don’t is political one way or the other whether
you like it or not.

So you might as well start thinking and pondering politics systematically. How about
staring out by looking at how mankind has been thinking on politics conceptually from
earliest times to the present day. Then maybe you can decide for yourself what you think
politics is or more accurately what your politics is or should be? .

The route that the evolution of human thought took was substantially determined by
history. The political structures of the times often egged on the growth of some streams
of thought in political philosophy.

Generally politics has always been about state and government at it' s most basic and has
involved the study of formal political institutions such as parliament, executive, judiciary
and the bureaucracy etc. Politics is thus a science and art of government and the basic
political relationships: between state and individual and between states.

The Greek View

In fact the word politics itself has its origin in the Greek word polis, which means the
community or populace or society. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle saw politics as
everything that is concerned with 'the general issues affecting the whole community'.
According tot the Greek view the participation of each and every citizen in the life of the
community is necessary for the self-realization of each human being. In fact Aristotle
argued he who did not live in a polis is to e considered 'either a God or a beast'. He also
commented that basically man is a political animal. It has to remembered that Greeks
were organised into small city states or communities where each and every male was a
citizen and attended parliament styled meetings for deciding the affairs of the community
and so the distinctions that we make nowadays between what is private for an individual
and what is public in his necessary relationships with the state and government organs
were not quite what they are today. So much of the Greek view has to be seen as
emanating from those circumstances and sociological realities. Thus in the Greek view all
behaviour of a citizen was his political stance and nothing was private. The Greeks also
stressed that the purpose of politics is to enable men to live together in a community and
also to lead a high moral life. Or in other words the aim of Politics was also to foster the
adoption and following of ethical goals leading to spiritual self-realization. Thus the

2
Greek concept of politics included the study of man, society, state and ethics and the
subject was treated as a combination of religious and moral philosophy, metaphysics, a
course for civic training of citizens and a guide to power.

The View of Politics as Study of the State

With the decline of city-states of the Greek sort and the rise of large empires, beginning
with the Roman empire, the notion of politics inevitably began to be more and more
linked to the state. The idea of the state became accepted as the principal mode of human
organisation and developed with the rise of nation states particularly since the close of the
middle ages. Hence subjects like international law also became a part of part of politics.
The state, it became accepted would have monopoly of coercive power and the right to
enforce obedience using police and military force. The state in practice meant the
government because whatever was done in the name of the state was done by the
government and hence the study of government organs like and institutions became a part
of the study of politics. Also different forms of government like monarchy, aristocracy,
democracy, federalism also became a part of the study of the state. In the twentieth
century, the effect of public opinion, political parties and bureaucracy on government
institutions were also included. Works like Modern Democracies (1909) by Herman
Finer represented this trend.

Politics as a Dimension of the Social Process

It was realised over time that politics as a study of the state and institutions of the state
like the government bodies does not go deep enough into various aspects of the political
life of a citizen. The ordinary citizen and his political life is an interaction between him
and the society and polity of which he is a part. To understand politics therefore one has
to understand the whole social process and phenomenon.

To study politic as a social science and as a dimension of the social phenomenon and
social process however leads to divergent views. Different schools of thought view the
social process differently. Many people and thinkers at different times in history have
propounded on the social process of politics but the main schools of thought that have
made an impact are as follows: (a) The Liberal View (b) The Marxist View, (c) The
Common Good View and (d) The Study of Power View.

(a) The Liberal View - Politics as a Conciliation of Interests

The Liberal view evolved over time in Western Europe in the writings of thinkers like
Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Bentham, J.S. Mill T.H. Green, Laski,
Barker, MacIver, J.B.D. Miller, Bernard Crick, Maurice Duverger etc. The main thrust of
this view is that man is a selfish self-interested being and in the pursuit of his selfish
goals is likely to clash and collide with other men resulting in disorder, indiscipline and
chaos. Politics is a part of the social process to manage and provide conciliation in such

3
conflicts and thus for providing law and order, protection and security which according to
the liberal view constitutes the fundamentals of justice.

The liberal view as has been mentioned evolved over time. The early liberal view was
that only the individual human being with his self-interest, enterprise, desire for richness
and happiness and reason can be the foundation of a stable society. Thinkers like Thomas
Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith etc not just saw man as a selfish, egotistic being
concerned only with his own self-preservation and not a social or moral being, they even
argued, this was all for the best, because when everybody tries to promote his own selfish
interest, the utility or happiness of society as a whole, is maximised.

In the 20th Century (after the major competitive school of thought of Marxist thinking
had already made its appearance) the liberal view changed and thinkers like Bentley,
Truman, G.D.H Cole, Laski, MacIver etc suggested that society is not just composed of
self-interested individuals but also of interest groups that can be along the lines of social,
religious, cultural commercial, economic and political through which man fulfils his
interests and needs. However, like individuals, the groups themselves are also based upon
self-interest and competition. The groups and aggregate of groups are constantly in
competition and this competition is for the good of a free society and this competition
should be allowed but it should be seen that it does not lead to violence and chaos.

In the liberal view therefore fundamentally the individual is the real social entity and the
society is artificial. Hobbes for instance called society like a sack of corn with the corns
being the individuals who pursue their own interests. Bentham called society the creation
of a social contract between individuals who are after individual ends. MacPehrson
termed this concept of society the 'free market society', a meeting place of self-interested
individuals, a society based upon free will, competition and contract.

In this process however, liberalism acknowledges there are likely conflicts of various
kinds like between individuals, between group, between different economic classes,
between groups along lines of economic, geographic, cultural or ethnic etc. Liberalism
basically believes as has been mentioned above that the role of society is to mediate in
these disputes but later liberal writers like Green emphasised the social nature of man and
the need to get everybody to cooperate. Max Weber and Karl Mannheim also stressed on
the need for cooperation and in fact argued that for competition to benefit some
cooperation is essential without which chaos and violence would be the likely result.

Further it is important to see politics, the liberal view argued as the principal way of
reconciling conflicts in the process of competition and foster the essential cooperation.
Without the political process in the meeting place that is society there would an inevitable
breakdown of law and order. There is no harmony in society automatically without the
political process. The early liberal wanted free competition between individuals to prevail
with society only stepping in to set the rules of the game. But starting with the early
twentieth century, liberals veered to the view that if individuals, groups, classes are left

4
free to compete for advantage, one section or class may accumulate greater portion of
wealth, services, profit, or power. Hence, they defined politics as an activity to create
conditions of greater equality, social justice, as a process of resolving conflicts without
destroying the underlying competitive framework. This view is available in J.D.B.
Miller's The Nature of Politics (1965), Bernard Crick's In Defence of Politics (1962), and
Adrain Leftwich's What is Politics(1984). Bernard Crick for instance defines politics as
'an activity by which different interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by
giving them a share in power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and survival
of the whole community'. The conflicts that arise when personal are a part of the realm of
ethics but when public are a part of politics. The new liberals argued to renounce politics
is to destroy the very thing which gives order to the pluralism and variety of civilised
society, to enjoy variety without suffering either anarchy or the tyranny of a single truth.
Crick further commented: 'political rule arises because of the problem of diversity and
does not try to reduce all things to a single unity...........Politics is a way of ruling divided
societies without undue violence - and most societies are divided'.

If the liberal view is accepted that politics is a process of finding conciliation, then the
next question is how exactly this is to be achieved. The main ways of achieving harmony
are (a) laws, (b) political institutions, (c) social welfare, (d) cultural traditions etc.
Traditionally laws have been relied upon the most by liberal societies. In fact in liberal
cultures there is a constant boasting of the rule of law. The fear of punishment is what is
supposed to ensure compliance and deter breaking of laws. Over time there are many
other methods that have evolved to great efficacy like universal suffrage, electoral
democracy, political parties, non-governmental organisations, trade unions etc that fosters
individual and mass participation in society.

It has to be understood clearly that on questions of economic systems, liberalism is for

free market capitalism and private property unhindered and uncontrolled. The later
liberals particularly Laski were for a welfare state where government does play an
important role economically but on the whole liberals are for a model led and dominated
by private business with only the least participation of the government in the economy.

(b) The Marxist View - Politics as Class Struggle

Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) was an immensely influential philosopher of German

Jewish origin, a political economist, and a socialist revolutionary. While Marx addressed
a wide range of issues, he is most famous for his analysis of political history in terms of
class struggles, summed up in the opening line of the introduction to the Communist
Manifesto: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."

Marxian philosophy propounds a different view of human nature that hinges on Marx’s
view of human nature. According to Marxian thought “existence precedes consciousness”
and who a person is, is determined by where and when he is — social context takes
precedence over innate behavior; or, in other words, one of the main features of human

5
nature is adaptability. Nevertheless, Marxist thought rests on the fundamental assumption
that it is human nature to transform nature. For Marx, this is a natural capacity for a
physical activity, but it is intimately tied to the active role of human consciousness. He
comments:
'A spider conducts operations that resemble those of a weaver, and a bee puts to shame
many an architect in the construction of her cells. But what distinguishes the worst
architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in imagination
before he erects it in reality. (Capital, Vol. I, Chap. 7, Pt. 1)

Marx did not believe that all people worked the same way, or that how one works is
entirely personal and individual. Instead, he argued that work is a social activity and that
the conditions and forms under and through which people work are socially determined
and change over time. Marx's analysis of history is based the distinction between the
means of production, such as land, natural resources, and technology, that are necessary
for the production of material goods, and the relationships in the process of production, in
other words, the social and technical relationships people enter into. Together these tow
(means and labour relationships) comprise the mode of production. Marx observed that
within any given society the mode of production changes, and that European societies
had progressed from a feudal mode of production to a capitalist mode of production. In
general, Marx believed that the means of production change more rapidly than the
relations of production (for example, we develop a new technology, such as the Internet,
and only later do we develop laws to regulate that technology). For Marx this mismatch
between (economic) base and (social) superstructure is a major source of social
disruption and conflict.

By "social relations of production" Marx meant not only relations among individuals, but
also between or among groups of people, or classes. He defined classes in terms of
objective criteria, such as their access to resources. For Marx, different classes have
divergent interests, which is a source of social disruption and conflict. Marx proposed
that history should be studied in terms of such conflicts.

Marx argued that the capitalist system of production leads to alienation of human work
and gradually results in commodity-fication of labour. This he argued is the defining
feature of capitalism. Prior to capitalism, markets existed in Europe where producers and
merchants bought and sold commodities but according to Marx, a capitalist mode of
production developed in Europe when labour itself became a commodity — when
peasants became free to sell their own labour-power, and needed to do so because they no
longer possessed their own land. People sell their labour-power when they accept
compensation in return for whatever work they do in a given period of time (in other
words, they are not selling the product of their labour, but their capacity to work). In
return for selling their labour power they receive money, which allows them to survive.
Those who must sell their labour power to survive he called "proletarians." The person
who buys this labour power, generally someone who does own the land and technology

6
to produce, is a "capitalist" or "bourgeoisie" and the proletarians outnumber the
capitalists.

Marx distinguished industrial capitalists from merchant capitalists. Merchants buy goods
in one market and sell them in another. Since the laws of supply and demand operate
within markets, there is often a difference between the price of a commodity in one
market and another market. Merchants, then, practice arbitrage, and hope to capture the
difference between these two markets by buying in the market where prices are lower and
then selling it in the market prices are higher. Marx explained, industrial capitalists, on
the other hand, take advantage of the difference between the labourer's wage and the
market price for whatever commodity is produced by them. Marx observed that in a
viable industry, input unit-costs are lower than output unit-prices enabling a profit. Marx
called this difference "surplus value" and argued that this surplus value had its source in
surplus labour, the difference between what it costs to keep workers alive and what they
can produce.

The capitalist mode of production initially creates tremendous growth because the
capitalist can, and has an incentive to, reinvest profits in new technologies and constantly
revolutionized the means of production. But capitalism, Marx predicted is prone to
periodic crises. He suggested that over time, capitalists would invest more and more in
new technologies, and less and less in labour. Since Marx believed that surplus value
appropriated from labour is the source of profits, he concluded that the rate of profit
would fall even as the economy grew. When the rate of profit falls below a certain point,
the result would be a recession or depression in which certain sectors of the economy
would collapse. During such a crisis the price of labour would also fall, and eventually
make possible the investment in new technologies and the growth of new sectors of the
economy. Marx believed that this cycle of growth, collapse, and growth would be
punctuated by increasingly severe crises. Over the long-term the consequence of this
process was necessarily the enrichment and empowerment of the capitalist class and the
impoverishment of the proletariat. So he argued the proletariat needs to seize the means
of production to ensure social relations that would benefit everyone equally, and a system
of production less vulnerable to periodic crises. This is the reason his view is regarded as
revolutionary.

So Marxian view of politics is based on the fundamental social relationship between the
rich and poorer work classes and his theory cum prediction that capitalism leads to a
progressive loss of power and pauperisation of the poorer working classes or the
proletariat who then ultimately are forced to politically react in a violent manner leading
to a revolution. Thus politics is an expression of the fundamental class conflict leading to
class struggle for overthrowing the control over society, economy, state and even religion
by the upper classes who control modes of production.

7
(c) The Common Good View - Politics as Common Good

There is a way of looking at politics, which views the purpose of politics to be the pursuit
of the common good. The problem of course is no two people can most of the time agree
on what constitutes the common good.

It is suggested that when individuals live together in a society their common life creates
common interests which constitutes the common good. And the pursuit of these common
interests is the job of politics. The idea of politics as common good is very old. Plato and
Aristotle in the Greek city-states, the political theologists of the middle ages, the
utilitarian philosophers like Bentham and Mills, Karl Marx an socialists, the positive
liberals like Green and Laski in relatively recent times and even the thoughts of Gandhi
in India all fundamentally propose a notion of politics for the common good. But of
course they have differed on what constitutes common good.

The Greek notion of Common Good

Plato viewed politics as a process through which men debate matters concerning the
whole populace and take decisions to realize the common public good. Aristotle saw
common good as an objective thing for man for it existed in nature. He said: "The end of
polis is not mere life, it was rather good life. Polis came into existence for the sake of
bare means of life but it continues its existence for the sake of good life....If all
communities aim at some good, the political community which is the highest of all and
which embraces the rest, aims in a higher degree than any other at the highest good. The
individual is for the state. The task of politics is to decide the Good'. Plato called 'Justice'
as man's highest good and the task of politics he argued is the dispensation of justice. He
further said the common good is realised by each man sticking to his station in life.
Interestingly that meant slaves should serve their masters without complaining. So the
essence of the common good according to Plato lay in for instance in that the good of the
slave in serving the master and the good of the master lay in serving the polis.

The Liberal view of Common Good

Within Liberalism the notion of common good changed from the early to the later
positive. The early liberals were fanatical in their belief that all that was needed for
achieving the common good was for each individual to pursue his own happiness in his
own way so long as it did not interfere with the happiness of others. In this he needs to
have the total freedom to do as he pleases with only societal institutions like courts and a
constitution existing only to solve disputes and fights. They invented the concept of
utility maximisation to explain their theory. Later liberals took a positive and constructive
view of the common good and suggested it was not enough for each individual to blindly
seek his own selfish interest in a state of free competition. That way the common good
would never be realised. T.H. Green who is believed to have provided the ethical
foundation to liberalism, argued that the individual is a social being and he comes to

8
acquire his capacities by being a part of the larger social whole. For a free, rational and
moral life one has to live in accordance with the common good which may or may not be
the individual's good. It is only this wider common good defined in a more real and
benevolent sense which provides the context for rights. He suggested the common good
is served when the external conditions prevailing within in a society provide the
conditions for the internal development of man. This can be achieved not just by making
provisions for rights, liberty and justice but also by such things like providing public
education and health care, factory and minimum wage legislation, food adulterations laws
etc. For the sake of the common good meant in this sense the state needs to intervene and
regulate the economy and even should stand in the way of free competition if necessary.
The liberal thinker R.H. Tawney even went to the extent of suggesting that common good
is served by proper distribution of resources and regulation of the economy for social
purpose. Thus they supported the idea of a welfare state rather than a free market
economy.

The Communitarian View of Common Good

In the middle of the last century there was a certain revival of classical liberalism also
referred to as neo-liberalism, which advocated values away from those of the positive
liberalism of the early decades of the twentieth century. Partly as a reaction to this there
arose a revival of the idea of the state as a political community in the 1980s and 1990s.
This school of thought is known as Communitarianism. The most important thinkers of
this school have been writers like Charles Taylor, Michael Sandal, Walzer etc. The
communitarian view advocates the necessity of attending to the community along with
individual liberty and equality because they feel that the value of the community is not
sufficiently recognised in the individualistic liberal theories of politics. Usually the
community already exists in the form of social practices, cultural traditions and shared
social understandings. It is important to take the reality of existence of this community
into account and protect it. Unlike free-for-all Liberalism or revolutionary rebuild-it-all
Marxism, in contrast Communitarianism asks that what already exists be valued and
protected and within it the common good be identified and promoted without an
obsession for individual political and economic freedom. In fact the communitarians
suggest the rights of the individual should be replaced with the 'politics of common good'
and common good should mean that which is in conformity with the natural way of life
of the community. The Common Good should conform to the three tests: (a) it should
help build a cultural structure that is determined not by the individual or the market
economy but by the community's values as a whole, (b) the individual's judgement of the
good is replaced by the shared vision of the community and (c) political legitimacy in the
community should identify with the common good.

The communitarians like the Positive Liberals or the Marxists also believe that man is a
social being and true freedom of the individual is only possible in the community. The
task of politics they argue is not the good of the individual or the protection of his rights

9
but the good of the society as a whole. Politics should be an activity that encourages the
cultural concept of a good life for the community in a participatory social set up.

Gandhiji had also proposed what must be regarded as a communitarian notion of the
common good in his notion of Sarvodaya. He meant by sarvodaya a harmonious welfare
and goodwill to all. He also suggested the purpose of politics is to create a society based
upon the principle of Samanvaya, i.e., harmony among classes, groups and individuals
and insitutions, idea and ideologies. This common good can be achieved through six
principles: Equanimity, non-violence, decentralisation, satyagraha, synthesis and world
peace.

(d) The Study of Power View - Politics as the Study of Power

Even though from the earliest times it has been recognised that politics is in many ways
fundamentally a study of power, it is an American school of politics called the Chicago
School of Political Science which suggested that to make the study of politics scientific it
is necessary to make politics a study of power as the essence of politics. In all the
traditional classical schools thought politics focussed on the common good, but in this
new proposed scientific study of politics more emphasis was laid on methods and
techniques and on creating a study based upon facts. This school asserted that political
science had been influenced by ethics, morality, religion, patriotism etc but it needs to
based on behavioural psychology, empirical sociology and economics studied as a
science as opposed to political economy. They also argued that studying politics as a
study of the state is insufficient.

There is no single accepted definition of power. Many people have defined power
differently. Sociologist Max Weber defined politics in terms of power as follows:
"Politics is the struggle to share or influence the distribution of power, whether between
states or among the groups within a state. Max Weber defined power itself as 'the
probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his
own despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which this probability rests'.

Power can be of different natures. It can be the simple relationship where one party
attempts to mould the will of the other in a direct visible manner and if he succeeds we
can say he is powerful. It can also be of an indirect nature where for instance where one
party controls the other not directly but indirectly by limiting the agenda of their
interaction to his convenience and suitability rather than of the other. lastly and this is the
most complex power can be exercised by shaping other's beliefs about what is and is not
in their best interest which may have nothing to do with the reality of what is really in
their best interest. Thus exerting power by creating a false consciousness. Lukes for
instance observed that in many capitalist societies, workers accept the system even
though their real interest lies in radical change. Tools like the process of education and
mass media etc can all be used in exerting this form of power and control.

10
Even thought the concept of power is one of the most important concepts in political
theory there is a lack of agreement among thinkers about it's scientific definition and the
conceptual context in which it should be placed. Hence the view of politics that relies on
a study of power is to that extent weak and limited.

All forms of power whether of money-power, muscle-power (legal or illegal), derived

from social customs etc can be broadly categorized according to John Kenneth Galbraith
in three categories: (i) Condign power or the power of punishment (ii) Compensatory
power or the power of winning submission by an offer of reward, i.e., by giving
something to those who bow down tot he power and (iii) Conditioned power which is the
most subtle because it is exercised by changing beliefs and includes persuasion,
education, culture etc.

Basically there are only three forms of power: Political, Economic and Ideological.

Political Power

The power of political coercion and political authority is referred to as political power.
This power is based on the power of force or muscle power ultimately - exerted by the
state or potentially capable of being exerted by the state. In fact Law is nothing but a set
of rules according to which the coercive physical power will be exercised by the state. It
is this power which is used to implement policies in democracies and punish those who
disobey whatever the consequences and hardship that it causes to the people on whom it
is forced. For instance many shopkeepers in Delhi and their staff might lose their
livelihoods if sealing due to implementing for urban planning rules is done but that is o
consequence and the power of state coercion is used to make everybody fall in line. In
Marxian analysis, political power is basically a derivative of economic power and does
not stand on it's own. Those who control the economic production in society always
inevitably corner it and appropriate it to themselves. Thus also unlike power theorists
who believe in the decentralisation of political power Marxist thinkers emphasise the
unified power of a particular class.

Economic Power

A powerful minority can exercise it's will over a powerless majority even more than by
political or legal power than by exerting economic power. The holders of economic
power can influence submission of others by offering rewards or denying them and thus
can be more powerful than political or legal power. In India we often get the feeling that
the rich and the powerful get away with legal violations but it is the poor who have to
suffer. This is because economic power always leads to political power in the end. As
mentioned above Classical Marxist theory considers economic power as the source of all
other dimensions of power According to the Marxist definition economic power consists
of the ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange of material goods
and services in society. political power is the concentrated expression of the economic

11
power but at the same time, it exerts a great retroactive influence upon the latter. No class
can establish its lasting economic influence without the active help and protection of
political power. To that extent political power becomes more important than economic
power.

Ideological Power

Apart from political and economic power, there is another form of exerting power known
as ideological power. The Marxist thinkers were the first to point out the reality of this
form of power and pointed out it's subtle power. Later even the liberal schools of thought
accepted this form of power and called it by various names like 'political culture',
'political socialisation' etc. Developing and exerting of ideological power is a process
where the attitudes, values, symbols, traditions etc of the masses are gradually moulded
and shaped by a minority leadership according to their own plans and agendas and
thereby a certain level of deference, loyalty and obedience is established. This gradual
process of achieving persuasion is even done sometimes by using the mass media like
newspapers and television channels or rallies, meetings and yatras etc. Some liberal
thinkers like Max Weber, Lucian Pye, Sydney Verba etc associated this ideological
power with religion, education, culture, literature and history.

Marxist thinkers have however taken the position that ideological power acts like a
mediator in the context of other powers in the society. Economic power transforms itself
into political power using ideological power as a means to achieve this goal. Marxism has
focussed on how the dominant economic classes in society, in a situation of open free
market competition is able to achieve and secure it's dominance always. Marx had said
that the ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas because that class,
which is the ruling material force in society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual
force. The class, which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control
too of the means for influencing minds and attitudes. This control can create what Marx
called a 'false consciousness' which is used to hide the underlying economic factors and
make class exploitation legitimate.

Question:

1. What is Politics? .
2. Compare the Liberal and Marxists views of politics? .
3. Write a short note on the communitarian views of politics.

Suggested Reading:

1. Harold J. Laski, 'A Grammar of Politics'.

12
 Lesson 2
INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THOUGHT
-- Amaresh Ganguly
Zakir Husain College
After reading this lesson you will be familiar with:
• What is Political Theory? .
• The relevance of Political Theory? .
• Why is it important to study the history of political thought? .

The word theory refers to a body of logically collected and analysed body of knowledge.
And Politics as we know is about many things including relationships among individuals
and groups and classes and the state, and state institutions like the judiciary, bureaucracy
etc. So one definition of Political Theory given by David Weld sees political theory as a
network of concepts and generalisations about political life involving ideas, assumptions
and statements about the nature, purpose and key features of government, state and
society, and about the political capabilities of human beings'. Andrew Hacker defines it
as 'a combination of a disinterested search for the principles of good state and good
society on the one hand, and a disinterested search for knowledge of political and social
realty on the other'.

What is Political Theory?.

A rather comprehensive definition has been given by Gould and Kolb who defined
political theory as a 'sub-field of political science which includes: (i) political philosophy
- a moral theory of politics and a historical study of political ideas, (ii) a scientific
criterion, (iii) a linguistic analysis of political ideas, (iv) the discovery and systematic
development of generalisations about political behaviour'. We can conclude that political
theory is concerned basically with the study of the phenomenon of the state both in
philosophy as well as empirical terms. An attempt is made to provide explanations,
descriptions and prescriptions regarding the state and political institutions. Also of course
there is an underlying theme of studying the moral philosophical purpose. The thinker
Weinstein had put it very succinctly when he had suggested that political theory is
basically an activity, which involves posing questions, developing responses to those
questions and creating imaginative perspectives on the public life of human beings. the
questions that are asked are like what is the nature and purpose of the state and why
should we prefer one form of state over another; how do we judge the ends, aims and
methods of political organisation; what is and should be the relationship between the state
and the individual. Through out history political theory has been answering these
questions. It has been regarded as important because the fate of man is dependent on the
kind of system of rulers and the ruled that is achieved and whether it leads to united
action for the common good.

13
Political Theory and Political Thought

Political theory is sometimes synonymously regarded with political thought but it is

important to understand they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. Political thought is a
generalized term which comprises all thoughts, theories and values of a person or a group
of persons or a community on state and questions related to the state. Any person
expressing his views whether he is a professor, journalist, writer, novelist, poet etc and of
course if he is a politician that has a bearing on our lives and that is about he state and
governance and related questions then he is engaging in political thought. His thoughts
may or may not comprise a theory if it is not a systematic logical hypothesis advanced to
explain historical and political phenomenon related to political rule of the state and
governance etc. Political thought thus is always of persons or groups while political
theory is a self-contained and self-standing explanation or speculation or theory
attempting to answer questions and explain history and the predict likely events in the
future. Of course this theory is always some individual thinker' s creation. Barker had
commented that while political thought is the immanent philosophy of a whole age,
political theory is the speculation of a particular thinker.

Political Theory and Political Philosophy

Philosophy is all thinking really on anything and everything in search of the truth and
wisdom. When this search is on political topics we call it political philosophy. Hence it
may not necessarily have a theory to propose and that is the distinction between political
philosophy and political thought. So while political theory is a part of political
philosophy mostly political philosophy is much wider and need not necessarily be
comprised of any theories.

Thus we can say political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the
state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a
legal code by authority etc: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a
government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it
should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate
government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown or not. We often refer
"political philosophy" to mean a general view, or specific ethic, belief or attitude, about
politics that does not necessarily belong to the whole technical discipline of philosophy.

Political philosophy is often not concerned with contemporary issues but with the more
universal issues in the political life of man. But a political theorist is looking at
contemporary political life mostly and while he is interested in explaining the nature and
purpose of the state and general questions like that he is also looking to describe and
understand the realities of political behavior, the actual relations between state and
citizens, and the role of power in the society.

14
While studying political science one gets the feeling political theory has to be
supplemented by political philosophy. Otherwise it appears barren and irrelevant.

Political Theory and Political Science

Political Science is a comprehensive subject or field of study of which political theory is

only a sub-field. Political Science includes everything: political thought, political theory,
political philosophy, political ideology, institutional or structural framework, comparative
politics, public administration, international law and organisation etc. Some thinkers have
stressed on the science aspect of political science and they suggest when political science
is studied as a science with scientific methods political theory to the extent it is a part of
political philosophy can not be regarded as political science because whereas there is no
room for abstract intuitive conclusions or speculations in political science, political
philosophy relies on exactly those un-exact methods. Political theory is neither pure
thought, nor pure philosophy, nor pure science.

Some Basic Characteristic of Political Theory

1. A political theory is generally the creation on individual thinker based on his moral and
intellectual position and when propounding his theory he is looking explain the events,
phenomenon and the mysteries generally of mankind's political life. The theory may or
may not be accepted as true but it always can be regarded as one more theory. Generally
we find the political theory of an individual thinker is put forward in a classic work y the
thinker like Plato did in his Republic or Rawl in A Theory of Justice.

2. A political theory attempts to provide explanations on questions relating to mankind,

the societies he formed and history and historical events generally. It also suggests ways
of resolving conflicts and sometimes even advocates revolutions. There are also often
predictions made about the future.

3. Political theory thus is also sometimes not only providing explanations and predictions
but also sometimes actively influencing and participating in historical events particularly
when they propose political action of a particular kind and that line of action is widely
adopted. The great positive liberal thinker Harold Laski had commented that the task of
political theorists is not merely of description but also of prescription on what ought to
be.

4. Political theory is also usually discipline based and thought he subject of study remains
the same the theorist might be a philosopher, historian, economist, theologian or a
sociologist etc.

5. Political theories are often also the basis for a whole ideology. The liberal theories
became the basis for liberalism and Marx's theory became the basis for Marxian socialist
ideology. A political theorist proposed by a thinker is usually always reflecting the

15
political ideology of the thinker too. That is also the reason why when there are conflicts
between ideologies it leads to debates about the theories underlying those ideologies.

Issues in Political Theory

The issues that have held prominence in political theory have changed over time.
Classical and early political theory was mainly concerned with the search for a morally
perfect political order and focused on questions like the nature and purpose of the state,
the basis on which political authority should be used and the problem of political
disobedience. The rise of the modern nation state and changes in the economic structure
and the industrial revolution gave rise to new priorities and he focus shifted to
individualism and liberty of the individual and his relationship to society and the state.
Issues like rights, duties, liberty, equality, and property became more important.
Gradually it also became important to explain to the inter-relation between one concept
and the other such as liberty and equality or, justice and liberty or, equality and property.
After the second world war a new kind of empirical political theory emerged which
studied the political behaviour of man and believed in making theoretical conclusions on
that basis. Also the behavioural scholars created new issues for study ofetn borrowd from
other disciplines Some of these issues are political culture and legitimacy, political
system, elites, groups, parties etc. In the last two decades a number of different issues
have emerged like identity, gender, environmentalism, ecology and community etc. Also
there has been a resurgence of value-based political theory with a new focus on the basic
issues of freedom, equality and justice. The traditional twin ways of looking at issues -
liberal and marxist - therefore is also changing.

Relevance of Political Theory

We humans as social beings live together and societies where we share the resources,
jobs and rewards. We are also individuals needing some basic human rights. The process
of organising state and society therefore becomes important to maximize harmony and
prosperity and to allow the circumstances for individual self-realisation. So to facilitate
the unity and integrity of human societies or the collective needs of society political
theory becomes important it tries to study and find solutions to problems in this process.
The relevance lies in evolving various approaches regarding the nature and purpose of the
state, the basis of political authority and the best form of government to practice, relations
between the state and the individual in the context of his basic rights. Apart from this
political theory also seeks to establish the moral criterion for judging the ethical worth of
a political state and to suggest alternative political arrangements and practices. To sum up
in brief the relevance of political theory lies in the following:
(a) In providing an explanation and description of political phenomenon (b) helping
select the political goals and actions for a community and (c) helps in providing the basis
for making moral judgments.

16
Also it has to be remembered increasingly at least in contemporary times states face
challenges of poverty, corruption, over-population and ethnic and racial tensions,
environment pollution etc. This is not to mention international problems like conflicts etc.
Political Theory seeks to study the present and future problems of political life of the
society and to suggest solutions for dealing with those problems. David Held has
commented that the task of the political theorist is very great in its complexity because in
the absence of systematic study, there is a danger that politics will be left to the ignorant
and self-seeking people who are in pursuit of power.

Thus if one has to systematically think about the nature and purpose of the state and the
problems of government while looking at the socio-political reality and keeping in mind
the ideals and political philosophy, then one has to take the route of theoretically studying
the problem. Thus political theory is relevant. Also studying political theory at an
individual level makes one aware of one's rights and duties and helps one understand and
appreciate the socio-political realities and problems like poverty, violence, corruption etc.
Political theory is also important because it can go forward basing itself on the theories
and propose the means and directions for changing society to establish an ideal society.
Marxist theory for instance is an example of a theory which not only proposes the
direction but also goes so far as to advocate a revolution for establishing an egalitarian
state. If the political theory is sound and it can be transmitted and communicated to
people then it can become a very powerful force or the advancement of society and
mankind.

The Important Schools of Political Theory

The most important schools of political thought that have lasted in importance and have
stood the test of time so to say are as follows:

1. Classical Political Theory

2. Liberal political Theory
3. Marxist Political Theory
4. Empirical Scientific Political Theory
5. Contemporary Political Theory

Classical Political Theory

The political theories that emerged starting from the 6th century B.C. and evolved
through the Greeks, Romans and early European Christian thinkers and philosophers is
referred to as Classical Political Theories. Among the Greeks, Plato and Aristotle are the
two thinkers who are studied and who have great influence till today. Classical political
theory was deeply dominated by philosophy and the whole focus was on taking a holistic
gaze searching for the most general of truths. So there was no clear distinction between
philosophical, theological and political issues and political science or thought was not
separately recognised as a discipline as such. Political theory was concerned with probing

17
into issues, asking important questions and serving as a sort of conscience keeper of
politics. The underlying quest was to arrive at the best possible form of government. The
state and government were also viewed as a tool for realising the moral goals of man and
society and for promoting the good. Thus the state was to serve as some sort of promoter
to foster high moral standards among the members of the community. There had some
debate about whether the individual good should be the priority or the common good.
The common good was required as more complete than the private good of the
individual. The classical tradition also sought to search ways for an ideal state and a
stable system. The main questions that the classical tradition was asked was what is the
best form of government? and who should rule and why? . Also how should conflict
situations be resolved.

Liberal Political Theory

With the historical period referred to as Renaissance and Reformation in Europe which
was followed by the Industrial Revolution, the dominance of the classical tradition came
to an end. This new philosophical wave was led by thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Thomas,
Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, Herbert Spencer and a host of other
writers. The main thrust of the liberal tradition was the individual's rights and the state
was merely regarded as a contract between individuals to benefit from the conflict
resolution mechanism that a system of rule of law provides. The main aim of the state in
the liberal tradition is to help individuals realise their fundamental inalienable rights. In
fact the liberal thinkers went so far as to propose that when the basic contractual
relationship between the individual and the state is violated, the individuals have not only
the right but the responsibility to revolt and establish a new government. Social control is
best secured by law. The new liberal theories also dismissed the idea of common good
and an organic community and instead advocated that the government should govern as
less as possible for individual rights to reign supreme and free him from political, social
and economic restraints as far as possible.

Marxist Political Theory

The fundamental changes that industrial revolution brought about caused inequality and a
large class of impoverished industrial workers emerged. The basic liberal position that
supported total economic freedom was challenged by Karl Marx and Engles and their
followers who in the later half of the nineteenth century proposed what they called
'scientific socialism'. Socialism predated the theory of Marx but he gave it a strong
theoretical foundation. Marx offered a new way of looking at the history up to that time
and suggested that the task of knowledge is not just to understand the world but also to
change the social life of mankind for the better. For that he suggested a revolutionary
path. He suggested that to win the basics of life for their emancipation he working class
has to takeover the means of production and the means of production should be
controlled by the state. This takeover will need to happen via a revolution he suggested
because the upper classes will use the power of the state to crush any attempts for

18
liberation and emancipation of the lower classes. Marx saw societies that liberal
capitalism helped create as fundamentally unequal as a consequence of property
concentration with a few families of fortune. Hence he wanted to create a society where
"man shall not be exploited by man" and where each individual will have the full
opportunity to develop his or her personality and potential. He also was the first major
thinker to stress on the historical exploitation of the female gender and the need for
women's liberation. The most important themes of Marxist political theory are class
division, class struggle, property relations, modes of production, state as an instrument of
class domination and revolution by the proletariat. Marxism also suggests that rights,
liberty, equality, justice and democracy in a capitalist liberal democracy are really only
enjoyed by the rich and properties classes because the state is controlled by the upper
classes who use the institutions of the state as a tool for class exploitation. He believed
real liberty and equality can only be achieved in a classless and stateless society. Thus
whereas Liberal theory provided the theoretical basis for a capitalist free market system,
Marxist political theory provided the basis for the establishment of a socialist state
through revolutionary action.

Empirical-Scientific Political Theory

In America a new kind of political theory was developed particularly in the post second
world war period that suggested relying on the scientific method (instead of
philosophical) and base theories upon facts (rather than on values). Political Scientists at
the Chicago University (known as the Chicago School) such as Charles Merrium, Harold
Lasswell, Gosnell, David Easton, Stuart Rice etc focused on studying politics in the
context of behaviour of individual human beings as members of a political community.
The task of political theory according to this new school of thought is to formulate and
systematize the concept of science of political behaviour in which emphasis is placed on
empirical research than on political philosophy. The behavioural scientists suggested a
political theorist should clarify and critcise systems of concepts which have empirical
relevance to political behaviour.

Behavioural schools differed fundamentally from all the previous schools because they
suggested that the job of political theory is only to explain political phenomenon and
extrapolate from that and predict the future. It is not to make philosophical and moral
judgements. It is not at all to advocate revolutionary action. Thus political theory is not to
question or propose who rules, should rule and why but rather who does rule and how? .
Or in other words it should not question the basis of the state but should be happy witht
he status quo, stability, equilibrium and harmony in the society. It should focus attention
on the study of political behaviour of man, group and institutions irrespective of their
good or bad character. Practical political theory is not only concerned with the study of
the state but also with the political process.

19
Contemporary Political Theory

Since the 1970 the sole focus of the empiricists and behavioral scholars on science,
value-free politics and methods came under criticism and lost popularity because it failed
to address pressing political and social issues. So there has been a revival of interest in
political theory in USA, Europe and other parts of the world. Thinkers like John Rawls,
Robert Nozick, Habermas etc made noteworthy contributions and took up basic issues
like liberty, equality, justice etc again. Theory again regained the status of a legitimate
form of knowledge and enquiry. Also on the question of what exactly is science there
emerged many views that challenged the old notions. Further many scholars opined that
social sciences throw up distinctive problems that cannot be grasped by scientific models.
This is because perceptions and resulting actions of men vary and the same phenomenon
can be viewed differently by different minds who may interpret the social issues
differently. Hence it is difficult to do an objective scientific analysis of social issues and
events with scientific rigor.

The publication of John Rawls 1970 book A Theory of Justice was important because he
examined basic issues like rights, duties and obligations with great brilliance and offered
a justification of civil disobedience, and with an original enquiry into intergenerational
justice. Scholars like Peter Laslett, John Pocock, Quentin Skinner and John Dunn were
called the 'new historians' of political thought. Juergen Habermass and the Frankfurt
School gave important theories and Ronald Dworkin focused on the philosophy of law.
David Held has opined that contemporary political theory has four distinct tasks:
Philosophical: to focus on the fundamental philosophical positions of the normative and
conceptual framework; Empirical: to empirically understand and explain the concepts;
Historical: to examine the important concepts in the historical context; and Strategic: to
asses the feasibility of moving from where we are to where we might like to be.

Why study History of Political Thought? .

As has been mentioned above political thought concerns the state and its policies and
decisions and activities. the various terms political science, political theory, political
thought and political philosophy have not been used consistently in the same sense by
scholars at all times. They have even been used as synonyms popularly. Political thought
is the most general term of all these, which can be easily used to refer to the whole
discipline easily and if we do that then political science and political philosophy become
specific sub-categories. Also political thought also accommodates ethics and moral
philosophy, theology, role of politics in human development and the dignity of political
activity.

On the question which is the best way of studying political thought, Gould and Thursby
have opined that there are two ways to study political thought.

20
The first is to list the all the political thought considered to be classic such as Plato's
Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Machiavelli's Prince, Hobbes' Leviathan, Locke's Two
Treatises on Government, Hegel's Philosophy of Rights, Marx's The Communist
Manifesto, Rawl's A Theory of Justice and to make a note of the constant questions and
approaches in them like: What is the meaning of freedom and equality? , Why men
should obey the government at all? , What are the ideals and goals of a state and what is
the meaning of democracy? etc. The problem in this method one can' t not easily decide
what should be classified as a classic.

The second method is of general philosophical methodology and applying it to political

matters which means picking the central concepts problems, methods, questions etc from
the classics and adding to that list important omissions if any. The items selected should
then be arranged in an order from general principles to specific ones on the basis of
importance. That way a coherent and comprehensive general account of political thought
can be built.

The study of any social science is impossible without an understanding of the historical
evolution of the subject. The political institutions and systems of political behaviour
which we observe today are a result of evolution of centuries. A political theorist needs to
study history to understand this evolution. He does not need to study the dates and
colorful historical details of kings and princes and the battles they fought and the lives
they led but rather the growth and changes in the economic structures, in technological
capabilities and the impact that had and in political institutions and ways of governing.
Social classes, political power and economic processes do not emerge overnight and
cannot be understood by examining them in isolation in their contemporary settings. One
needs to study the history of political thought to understand the evolving relationships
between man, society and political authority and indeed the popular perceptions of those
relationships through history. The study of the views and theories of past political
thinkers enables one to go beyond the dominant contemporary political orthodoxies and
draw intellectual resources from the past. A reflection on the thoughts of past thinkers
provides a guideline to actual theorising. Political theories thus emerge not from nowhere
but is constructed by building, expanding and developing the vocabularies of the past
author's texts. This also enables easy comparison and judgement between past and
contemporary works.

Ideology has been inseparable from political thought and proceeding historically it has
been possible to build theories that are supportive of a particular ideology. Of course
history can be both used and misused but is has been always used to buttress theoretical
constructions. For instance the same history of Europe led Marx and Engel to support
their arguments that the political history of mankind is a history of class struggle but the
liberal thinkers saw it differently and some like Burke and Tocqueville glorified the past
and saw it as an age of harmony, civility and ordered liberty.

21
Whatever the ideological pre-dispositions a study of the history political thought allows
for evaluating the social and economic circumstances in which the political institutions
arose and maintained themselves. Without a sense of history political theory can not be
constructed because it would then not take into account the full range of human social
behaviour. Taking the historical route often throws up patterns and order for the theorist
to discern.

Another reason to study the historical development of political thought is to examine if

the political thoughts of a particular time influenced the actions of men and if so how.
Some thinkers like Plato and Marx have argued that ideas and philosophical thoughts
have little no effect on the conduct of men in power. But there are other thinkers who
have argued that the history of political thought and the history of political action are
quite related and the thoughts of thinkers do significantly influence actual political action.

The reverse - that is whether political thoughts are influenced by political events and
historical circumstances is equally important and another reason for studying from the
historical point of view. It has been argued for instance that the thoughts of Plato were
influenced by a decline in the moral standards of the city-states and that of John Locke by
the Glorious revolution and that of Marx by the economic inequality created by industrial
capitalism. Thinkers are also men of their times and are influenced by the events and
circumstances of their times. But the lasting value of their theories only is only there if it
points out at some general truth which can transcend societies and classes and ethnic
communities. For instance the political thoughts of Plato, Aristotle, J.S. Mill or Marx
throw up principles, which often have universal value over time.

Social sciences like Political Sciences and Thought is meant to improve our
understanding of the world and history is a part of social sciences. Historical view is
essential to create theoretical constructions of human life and social phenomenon that
transcends time. We need to ask though while studying a theory from the past (which
inevitably drew on the historical circumstances present at the time the theory was
proposed) what meaning has political thought in the contemporary world that we live in.
In answering that question we are able to test the lasting validity of the theory. But it has
to be realised ultimately the history of political thought is important because the central
theme is timeless. Neal Wood while commenting on the importance of studying the
classical texts of political thought has commented:
'...these texts reflect and comment upon that nature of the Western state with all its
blemishes and deficiencies as well as benefits. Some of the texts call for radical
recognition of state, others for its reform and in so doing grapple with fundamental social
and political problems which we share with past. Whether we like it or not, these works
have indelibly stamped our modern culture and the world today'.

22
Questions:

1. What is political theory? .

2. Discuss the relevance of political theory.
3. Why do we need to study political theory? .

Suggested Reading:

1. Hampster-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought

23