4 Important Reasons for the Decline of

Political Theory
Barley a decade after Sabine proclaimed in his article What is Political Theory (1939),
political theory has remained a subject of perennial concern, that writers such as Easton
and Cobban declared it to be declining. Peter Laslett and Robert Dahl declared it as
already dead. While Reimer saw it to be in the doghouse.
The main thrust of their argument was that they associated political theory with political
philosophy as Easton points out lives parasitically on ideas a century old and what is
more discouraging, we see little prospect of the development of new political synthesis.
Its genesis had been synthesised in the background of a school called logical positivism
known as Vienna Circle.
The prominent figures were, Rudolf Carnap, O.V. Nevrath etc. and they laid stress on
experience as a mode of knowledge construction. However, there is hardly any unanimity
among the proponent of decline as regards the causes.Major proponents of decline
thesis are:
S.P. Varma in his work Modern Political Theory identifies following causes for the
decline of political theory which have been attributed by Easton. These include:
1. Historicism:
According to David Easton, writers such as Dunning, Sabine, Mcliwain, Lindsay, Carlye,
are more interested in describing the causes for rise of an ideology, system of values etc.
They do not engage in stimulating their own thought to find solutions to contemporary
social problems.
2. Moral Relativism:
Easton accuses Hume and Weber of having relativistic attitude towards values and
neglecting what consequences do they have for the facts. However, a political scientist
to be sensitive towards social problems, construct values and not transplant them.
3. Confusing Science and Theory:
Easton accuses the political theorists of using science and theory in a wrong way. In fact,
he points out that mere use of scientific method cannot generate theories. The latter task
involves identifying major variables and establishing a harmonious relationship between
them.
4. Hyper factualism:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Easton accuses writers like Paul Bryce of using theory simply to accumulate facts. Such
tendencies, in his opinion fail to relate themselves with the significant problems in a
political system. He observes theory without facts may be a well- piloted ship with an
unsound keel.
But where preoccupation with fact-gathering siphons away energy from seeing the facts
in their theoretical significance then the ultimate value of factual research itself will be
lost
Cobban:
Alfred Cobban presents a very pessimistic picture of political theory. He holds that
despite being an intellectually rich tradition since the time of Plato, there has been a
dearth of such work since the 18th century.
Among the external causes for the decline of political theory, he mentions increasing role
of the state and bureaucratic machinery and military establishment.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
However, political theory with which he associates political philosophy has been deeply
affected by growing influence of scientific attitude and historical approach.
Pointing at the earlier phases, he observes they wrote to condemn or support existing
institutions, to justify a political system or persuade their fellow citizens to change it
because, in the last resort, they were concerned with the aims, the purpose of political
society cannot remain insulated from the sphere of values, it will have to engage itself
in such exercises and only then can it give a sense of direction.
Germino:
Despite being an advocate of decline thesis, Dante Germino is optimistic about its future.
Like Cobban, he locates the decline of political theory to the growing ascendancy of
Scientism.
But he also brings in what he describes as ideological reductionism found in the works
of Tracy, Comte and Marx.
These writers considered ideas as a reflection of and determined by some determinate
variable, while Tracy considered sensation as the source of ideas. Marx gave importance
to matter.
Such scepticism with the state of political theory set pace for methodological purification
and theory building. It found its most elaborate accommodation in the behaviouralism
characterized by Germino as Neo Positivism.