LESSON 2 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THOUGHT B.A. PROGRAMME Pol Sci 1st Semester Important Notes

 

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THOUGHT

 

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.

 

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.

 

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. 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 behaviour, the actual relations between state and citizens, and the role of power in the society.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Important Questions:

1. What is political theory?

2. Discuss the relevance of political theory.

3. Why do we need to study political theory?