Politics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power"[1] and refers to the regulation of a political unit,[2] and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.[3]
"Politics" ultimately comes from the Greek word "polis" meaning state or city. "Politikos" describes anything concerning the state or city affairs. In Latin, this was "politicus" and in French "politique". Thus it became "politics" in Middle English ( see the Concise Oxford Dictionary).
There is no academic consensus on the exact definition of "Politics", and what counts as political and what does not. Max Weber defined politics as the struggle for power.
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As an academic discipline
Political science, the study of politics, examines the acquisition and application of power. Related areas of study include political philosophy, which seeks a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behaviour, political economy, which attempts to develop understandings of the relationships between politics and the economy and the governance of the two, and public administration, which examines the practices of governance.
Spectra
Left-right politics
Main article: Left-Right politicsRecently in history, political analysts and politicians divide politics into left wing and right wing politics, often also using the idea of center politics as a middle path of policy between the right and left. This classification is comparatively recent (it was not used by Aristotle or Hobbes, for instance), and dates from the French Revolution era, when those members of the National Assembly who supported the republic, the common people and a secular society sat on the left and supporters of the monarchy, aristocratic privilege and the Church sat on the right.[4] The meanings behind the labels have become more complicated over the years. A particularly influential event was the publication of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian revolution to overthrow the bourgeois society and abolish private property, in the belief that this would lead to a classless and stateless society.
The meaning of left-wing and right-wing varies considerably between different countries and at different times, but generally speaking, it can be said that the right wing often values tradition and social hierarchy or private property while the left wing often values reform and egalitarianism.
According to Norberto Bobbio, one of the major exponents of this distinction, the Left believes in attempting to eradicate social inequality, while the Right regards most social inequality as the result of ineradicable natural inequalities, and sees attempts to enforce social equality as utopian or authoritarian.[5]
Some ideologies, notably Christian Democracy, claim to combine left and right wing politics; according to Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood, "In terms of ideology, Christian Democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles."[6] Movements which claim or formerly claimed to be above the left-right divide include Gaullism in France, Peronism in Argentina, and National Action Politics in Mexico.
Authoritarian-libertarian politics
Authoritarianism and libertarianism refer to the amount of individual freedom each person possesses in that society relative to the state. One author describes authoritarian political systems as those where "individual rights and goals are subjugated to group goals, expectations and conformities",[7] while a libertarian political system is one in which individual rights and civil liberties are paramount. More extreme than libertarians are anarchists, who argue for the total abolition of government, while the most extreme authoritarians are totalitarians who support state control over all aspects of society.
For instance, classical liberalism (also known as laissez-faire liberalism[8], or, in much of the world, simply liberalism) is a doctrine stressing individual freedom and limited government. This includes the importance of human rationality, individual property rights, free markets, natural rights, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional limitation of government, and individual freedom from restraint as exemplified in the writings of John Locke, Adam Smith, David Hume, David Ricardo, Voltaire, Montesquieu and others. According to the libertarian Institute for Humane Studies, "the libertarian, or 'classical liberal,' perspective is that individual well-being, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by 'as much liberty as possible' and 'as little government as necessary.'"[9]
See also
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References
- ^ Definition of politics from die.net
- ^ Politics (definition)@Everything2.com
- ^ Definition of politics from "The Free Dictionary"
- ^ Andrew Knapp and Vincent Wright (2006). The Government and Politics of France. Routledge.
- ^ Bobbio, Norberto, "Left and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction" (translated by Allan Cameron), 1997, University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226062465
- ^ Roberts and Hogwood, European Politics Today, Manchester University Press, 1997
- ^ Markus Kemmelmeier et al. (2003). "Individualism, Collectivism, and Authoritarianism in Seven Societies". Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 34 (3): 304–322. doi:10.1177/0022022103034003005.
- ^ Ian Adams, Political Ideology Today (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2001), 20.
- ^ What Is Libertarian?, Institute for Humane Studies
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PARIS, July 20 (Reuters) - Political and economic logic are set to collide in the byzantine decision-making over the future of German ...
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A picture speaks a thousand words and this one gives you all the political opinion you will need I call it poop and promises Original photo located here
furtune
Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:51:59 GM
It concluded that the battle for control of politics of South-west and struggle to dominate the . political. landscape of the region for the purpose of bargaining for national relevance are some of the root causes of the . political. crisis ...
Q. How do I start a political watchdog? Can I just call myself one today and be done? Can political watchdogs just be a guise for a lobbyist? Can I be a political watchdog that monitors political watchdogs? Do you have any ideas for a political watchdog?
Asked by Yepper - Thu Dec 18 14:55:46 2008 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Listen to Rush until you are totally insane.
Answered by Wounded Duck - Thu Dec 18 15:06:12 2008
