INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS

MEANING OF POLITICS
Politics in General
1. The word “politics” comes from the Greek word “polis” which means “city-state.” In the ancient world, city-states
are small countries regarded as centers of culture and civilization where people interact under a unified government.
What transpires in the polisis politics. The origin of the word therefore suggests that politics is a term encompassing
the totality of human activities transpiring within the city-state. As it is applied now, it denotes everything that
transpires in the state as well as among states.
2. Politics denotes a social activity. It is in essence the interaction of individuals. As the Greek philosopher Aristotle
explains, it is the master science through which individuals collectively set structure, purpose, and ideals in their
lives. Politics, therefore, does not emerge from the activities of a single individual but from that of many.
3. Politics is about conflict and cooperation. On the one hand, conflict is caused by the diversity among individuals.
People differ in the way they perceive things, and disagree in almost every conceivable aspect of life. On the other
hand, cooperation is motivated by men’s common goal of achieving a happy life. While it is true that men argue and
fight, it is also undeniable that they desire for peace. The process of overcoming conflict to attain order and
thereafter maintain that order is politics. In other words, politics is essentially conflict resolution.
4. Politics is the creation, maintenance, and amendment of societal norms or rules. While politics as conflict resolution
aims at establishing order in the society, the basis of order today is law. Undeniably, religion and other archaic
institutions have already lost their central role as sources of order. It is law now that serves as the undisputed order-
establishing institution. Modern states and international organizations rely on the adequacy and efficacy of their
laws to meet the demands of the people to attain domestic and international peace. Politics therefore, in its broad
sense means conflict resolution through the creation, maintenance, and amendment of societal norms or rules.
Definition of Politics
1. It must first be pointed out that politics is a vague term. As a matter of fact, scholars and authorities in the field
cannot agree on a common definition of politics. The term includes so many concepts that it could mean almost
anything (or everything). The descriptions above, for example, are overly broad and may overlap with the meaning
of other sciences. Even worse, its vagueness made it readily associable to “deception, manipulation and corruption”
so that its modern day connotation is simply everything that is “dirty.” From this perspective, the definition of
politics will always be contestable. The following definitions therefore will only serve as starting points, and the
meaning of politics will eventually be understood in the details of later discussions.
2. Politics is the science of government. As a science, it is a systematic body of knowledge (for the most part, practical)
that deals with the government and regulation, maintenance and development, and defense and augmentation of the
state. It also deals with the protection of the rights of its citizens, safeguarding and enhancement of morals, and
harmony and peace of human relations.
3. However, other political scientists prefer to define politics as the art, rather than the science, of government. It is an
art because it involves the exercise of control or authority within the society through the creation and enforcement of
consensus arrived at by the leaders. It involves the process through which the government skillfully addresses the
needs of the society by carefully allocating benefits, rewards, and penalties. This is what David Easton means when
he defined politics as the “authoritative allocation of values.” Under this definition, politics takes place only within
the polity or the machinery of the government. In other words, only the processes and events that happen in the
government bureaus, departments, and offices are said to be “political” while those outside, like businesses, religion,
and family, are “non-political.” It is in this sense also that politicians and political parties are said to be “political”
while civil society is said to be non-political.
4. Politics is the realm of public affairs or the state. Traditionally, “public” refers to the institution of the state which is
funded by the people at large through their taxes to satisfy their common interest. This is contrasted to “private”
which refers to the civil society that is privately funded to support their own interest. As the Greek used the term,
state transactions (public) characterize the term political. When the Greek philosopher Aristotle said “man by nature
is a political animal,” he means that man is naturally inclined to live in a society. Aside from his private life, man
must have a public life, for this perfects his essence and gives him the “good life.” In addition, the social theorists
 even argued that the common good could only be attained through the active participation of the citizens. Education
as well as moral and intellectual enlightenment, are among the few things that result from the public life. It must be
noted that while there is a dichotomy of public life and private life, these two are intimately connected in that they
mutually depend on each other. And under this traditional sense, politics (realm of the public/state) is intertwined
with ethics (realm of the private/individual).
5. Politics is who gets what, when, and how. This is the famous definition of Harold Lasswell. The definition
underscores the reality of “scarcity” in the society. While human needs and wants are so diverse and numerous, the
resources are always limited. The struggle involved in allocating the scarce resources, and determining what to
produce, how to distribute, and use them is said to be politics. Modern political theories conform to this definition as
it establishes the unique connection of politics and power. Power creates structures and explains the struggle among
individuals or groups of individuals. It is in this sense that politics deviates from ethics inasmuch as any
means could be used to get whatever is desired and whenever it is desired for as long as it serves the purpose.
6. According to Ponton and Gill, politics is the way in which social affairs are understood and ordered, and by which
people acquire greater control over the situation. The definition puts to light the different political ideologies and
philosophies that underlie societal structures. “Order” and the “understanding of reality” are shaped by the political
orientation of the people. That by which people view and organize the world is said to be politics. Without politics,
there is anarchy and a state of constant war. But its existence establishes order in various forms. It gives rise to
different kinds of governments: monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. That the society should be ruled by a single
individual, by a selected few, or by all is a matter of preference that depends on the temperament of the affected
group of people. What is important is that politics helps the people acquire greater control over the vagaries of their
existence.
7. From the foregoing definitions, it could be seen that politics could be defined in either of two senses: first, as
associated to an “arena” or place, and second, as a “process.” In the first sense, something is said to be political if it
transpires in any of the apparatuses of the government. Definitions in paragraphs 2 to 4 fall under this. In the second
sense, something is political because it entails distinctive qualities that make it indeed political, regardless of the
place it is performed. Definitions in paragraphs 5 and 6 fall under this.
BASIC CONCEPTS: ORDER, POWER, AND JUSTICE
To explain further the meaning of politics it is very helpful to dwell on
political concepts, models, and theories. Concepts are general or universal ideas shared by
people. Models refer to networks of ideas that seek to explain political realities. And theories
refer to series of models which aim to systemically and empirically explain political realities.
These are intimately connected because one leads to another – concepts lead to the
formation of models, and models to theories.
The present section deals with three basic concepts: order, power, and justice.[1]
Order
1. Order is central to the study of politics because it shows the different components of human societies. Politics after
all exists in diverse forms or levels of societal structures. These structures or orders are community,
government, and state:
(a) Community is one kind of social order which refers to an association of individuals who
share a common identity. This identity is formed by the unique circumstances surrounding
the group of individuals like geography, history, philosophy, religion, ideology, language,
race, and allegiance. The cause of its existence is primarily protection of individuals.
Economic prosperity, cultural enrichment and other social functions are only offshoots of
the same.
(b) Government is a higher level of social order that exists primarily for the maintenance and
perpetuation of the community. It is said to possess “sovereignty” if it can successfully assert
 its claim to rule. And it is said to “legitimate” if its claim to rule (authority) is willingly
accepted. It has the following forms: Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy. Monarchy is a
kind of government in which one man (king) noted for his noble lineage and honor is vested
with the right to rule and control the society. If this man pursues his own selfish interest
instead of the common good, this form of government may turn into a
“Tyranny.” Aristocracy is another kind of government in which a selected few who are known
for their wealth and education have the right to rule. If this selected few pursue their own
personal interests, it becomes an “Oligarchy.” And lastly, democracy is the rule by the people,
for the people, and of the people. If this form of government downgrades into the rule of
people’s passions instead of reason and law, it becomes “Demagoguery” or “Mobocracy.”
Philippines has a democratic government.
(c) State is the largest social order today and in which the term politics is originally derived.
It refers to a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a
definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of
inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.[2] It could be
seen in the definition that government is an element of the state. As a political concept, it
has undergone many developments and its discussion still occupies the very heart of the
study of politics. A separate chapter will be devoted for its discussion.
Power
1. The different social orders cannot be maintained without power. Their creation and perpetuation are brought about
by the exercise of power and the concomitant establishment of structures.
2. It is elementary to know that power has many sources aside from physical force. These include wealth, culture,
diplomatic relations and intelligence, to name a few. The basic rule is that the more abundant the power source, the
greater the capabilities of the government.[3] In a narrower sense, power implies “power over” people rather than
the “power or ability to” do something. This includes influence over the behavior of others, making them do things
which they would not otherwise have done. Under such meaning of power, politics involves manipulation through
the popular methods of reward and punishment.
3. Political scientists and philosophers, like Niccolo Machiavelli and Friedrich Nietzsche, grounded their political
treatises on the concept of power. They explained the nature of politics by studying the essence of power.
Justice
1. It is said that the correct exercise of power produces justice. If in the exercise of its power and authority, the
government gives what the people need, protect and respect their rights, and put the common good over and above
the personal interest of the leaders, then there is said to be justice.
2. It must be highlighted that the embodiment of order and power in this modern times is law, whether written or
customary. Thus, law is said to be the approximation of justice.Justice is that on which law is anchored.
3. However, since law is a mere “approximation” of the ideal concept of justice, it is never perfect. Sometimes the law
becomes unjust because it can no longer capture perfect justice. An innocent person, for instance, may be convicted,
or a perpetrator may be acquitted of a crime because of the technicalities and restrictions of the law on evidence.
Nevertheless, law must still be upheld since it is still the best medium of justice and by which power may be
exercised correctly for the promotion of societal order.

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICS

1. There are two basic approaches to study politics: political philosophy and political science. On the one hand,
political philosophy is the traditional approach in which the primary goal is to understand the essence or truth about
politics. This approach aims to establish what politics ought to be. As such, it is normative or prescriptive,
analytical, speculative, and essentially ethical. It is normative or prescriptive because it prescribes standards or rules
of conduct; it establishes what “ought to be” the nature of politics and not “what it simply is.” Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle are among the proponents of this approach. It is analytical because the approach is to a large extent an
examination and literary analysis of the various classic writings of intellectuals and philosophers such as Confucius,
Lao tzu, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Marx, to
name some. It is speculative because it entails abstract, theoretical and not scientific explanations of the varied
subjects of politics. And it is essentially ethical because the approach basically presumes that ethics is the foundation
of politics; the ethical formation of the individual is a condition precedent the society’s political formation. The
questions raised under this approach are “what is the essence of politics?”, “what is the ideal type of government?”,
“who should be and what are the attributes of a ruler?”, “what are the limits of the government?”, and “what are
rights and limits of individual freedom?”
2. On the other hand, political science is the empirical approach in which it places little emphasis on abstract and
normative questions, and concentrates on a dispassionate and objective description of the realities of politics. As
such, it is descriptive, empirical, objective, and it avoids ethics. It is descriptive because it simply establishes “what
politics is” and not “what it ought to be;” it describes the political phenomenon but does not prescribe standards or
rules of conduct. It is empirical because it studies only observable facts, and not abstract values and concepts. It is
objective because it adheres strictly to the methods of the natural sciences; it considers only the observable
(quantifiable) facts that can be measured through the scientific method. It avoids ethics, in that values are not within
its scope; only directly observable facts are studied.
3. It is nevertheless wrong to ask which of the two approaches is better. They complement each other. While political
philosophy provides the aim, purpose, and guidelines of politics, political science gives a realistic account of what is
actually happening in politics. Political science concretizes the abstract concepts of political philosophy, while
political philosophy provides a basis or direction to political science. As one writer aptly puts it, political philosophy
without political science is lame, and political science without political philosophy is blind.[4]

Guide Questions
1. What does politics have to do with conflict and cooperation?
2. Should politics be defined as a process or an arena?
3. Discuss briefly and distinguish from each other the basic concepts of politics.
4. What is the relation of justice and law?
5. How do political philosophy and political science as approaches in studying politics differ?
[1] See also Thomas M. Magstadt & Peter M. Schoten, “Understanding Politics: Ideas,
Institutions, & Issues. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988), p. 4.
[2] Garner, Introduction to Political Science, pp. 38-41.
[3] Magstadt & Schoten
[4] Amable Tuibeo, Politics and Governance.

Government vs Governance

Government and governance are two very similar words.

People often get confused about the differences between
“governance” and “government.” Here we are going to
discuss the differences between these two related words.

Government
Government is a group of people who rule or run the
administration of a country. In other words, it may be said
that a government is the body of representatives that
governs and controls the state at a given time. Government
is the medium through which the power of the state is
employed.
Government may be of different types. It may be
a democracy or autocracy, but most of the modern
governments are democratic. Here we are taking into
consideration the democratic ones in relation with the
government.
A democratic government may be defined as that which has
the public mandate to run the affairs of the country with a
well-defined term after which in the successive term the
same people may be elected again. The government may be
labeled as good or bad according to their ways of working
for the good of the people. If a government provides capable
governance, then it has a chance of coming back into power
again.
Governance
Governance is the act of governing or ruling. It is the set of
rules and laws framed by the government that are to be
implemented through the representatives of the state.
Simply put, governance is what governments do.
Governance is a concept that can be followed in an
organization of any size, be it a single cell or an organism or
all of humanity. Governance may function variously for
profit or non-profit, for people, or itself. The main purpose
of governance is to assure good results following a set
pattern of rules.
Governance may be of various types:
Global Governance
Corporate Governance
Project
Information Technology
Participatory
Non-Profit and a few others
The difference between “government” and “governance”
may be clarified using an example of a business which is run
by a group of people. The rules and regulations which they
follow in order to run the business successfully are called the
management. This involves the experience and
the knowledge of the owners working together with the
employees to meet the set target. On a similar pattern, the
government is a body of elected representatives which is
headed by a single person. This body makes use of
established rules and a principle to efficiently run the affairs
of the country in favor of the people of the nation is called
governance.

Summary:

1.Governance is what a government does.

2.Governance is the physical exercise of the polity while the

government is the body through which this is done.

Read more: Difference Between Government and

Governance | Difference
Between http://www.differencebetween.net/language/word
s-language/difference-between-government-and-
governance/#ixzz5pdO8RFSn

Quick Reference
POLITICS AND LAW - POLITICAL
IDEOLOGIES
Political Ideologies | Parliamentary Terms | British
Politics | British Law | Legal Terms
Ideologies are the sets of basic beliefs about the political,
economic, social and cultural affairs held by the majority of
people within as society.
absolutism. System where the rulers have unlimited control.
anarchism. Society without government, laws, police or other
authority. System of self-control.
aristocracy. The privilege of social class whose members
possess disproportionately large percentage of society's wealth,
prestige and political influence.
autocracy. Supreme political power is in the hands of one
person whose decision are unregulated..
capitalism. Right-wing political system where the principle
means of production and distribution are in private hands.
communism. Extreme left-wing ideology based on the
revolutionary socialist teachings of Marx. Collective ownership
and a planned economy. Each should work to their capability
and receive according to their needs.
conservatism. Governmental system where the existing
institution are maintained, emphasizing free-enterprise and
minimal governmental intervention.
democracy. Government by the people usually through elected
representatives.
dictatorship. Government by a single person with absolute
control over the resources of the state.
egalitaranism. Belief where all citizens have equal rights and
privileges.
fascism. Extreme right-wing ideology where the existing social
order is protected by the forcible suppression of the working
class.
imperialism. The extension of power and rule beyond
established geographical boundaries.
liberalism. Representative government, free-speech, abolition
of class privilege and state protection of the individual.
Marxism. Developed by Marx and Engles, it proposes that all is
subject to change and resistance to change necessitates the
overthrow of the system through class struggle.
Maoism. Interpretation of Marxist communism emphasizing the
development of agriculture.
Monarchy. A form of rule in which the head of state is a King or
Queen.
nationalism. The unification of the state and release from
foreign rule.
oligarchy. A system of government in which virtually all power
is held a small number of wealthy people who shape policy to
benefit themselves.
populism. Collective noun for the ideologies which demand the
redistribution of political power and economic leadership to the
'common people'.
socialism. Left-wing political system where the principle means
of production, distribution and exchange are in common
ownership.
theocracy. Rule by the church.
totalitarianism. Government control of all activities.
Trotskyism. Form of Marxism incorporating the concept of
permanent revolution.
THE LEFT
liberty. The freedom of speech and the right to dissent.
equality. A classless society with the redistribution of wealth
through a welfare state.
fraternity. The communal brotherhood, working and living as
one.
THE RIGHT
authority. The preservation of order through an evolved
authority.
hierarchy. The continuation of the existing social order.
property. The right to private ownership.

In social studies, a political ideology is a certain set

of ethical ideals, principles, doctrines, myths or symbols of a social
movement, institution, class or large group that explains how society should work and offers
some political and cultural blueprint for a certain social order. A political ideology largely
concerns itself with how to allocate power and to what ends it should be used.
Some political parties follow a certain ideology very closely while others may take broad
inspiration from a group of related ideologies without specifically embracing any one of
them. The popularity of an ideology is in part due to the influence of moral entrepreneurs,
who sometimes act in their own interests. Political ideologies have two dimensions: (1)
goals: how society should be organized; and (2) methods: the most appropriate way to
achieve this goal.
An ideology is a collection of ideas. Typically, each ideology contains certain ideas on what
it considers to be the best form of government (e.g. autocracy or democracy) and the
best economic system (e.g. capitalism or socialism). The same word is sometimes used to
identify both an ideology and one of its main ideas. For instance, socialism may refer to an
economic system, or it may refer to an ideology which supports that economic system. The
same term may also be used to refer to multiple ideologies and that is why political
scientists try to find consensus definitions for these terms. While the terms have been
conflated at times, communism has come in common parlance and in academics to refer
to Soviet-type regimes and Marxist–Leninist ideologies whereas socialism has come to refer
to a wider range of differing ideologies which are distinct from Marxism–Leninism.[1]
Political ideology is a term fraught with problems, having been called "the most elusive
concept in the whole of social science".[2]While ideologies tend to identify themselves by
their position on the political spectrum (such as the left, the centre or the right), they can be
distinguished from political strategies (e.g. populism as it is commonly defined) and
from single issues around which a party may be built (e.g. civil
libertarianism and support or opposition to European integration), although either of these
may or may not be central to a particular ideology. There are several studies that show that
political ideology is heritable within families.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
The following list is strictly alphabetical and attempts to divide the ideologies found in
practical political life into a number of groups, with each group containing ideologies that are
related to each other. The headers refer to names of the best-known ideologies in each
group. The names of the headers do not necessarily imply some hierarchical order or that
one ideology evolved out of the other. Instead, they are merely noting that the ideologies in
question are practically, historically and ideologically related to each other. As such, one
ideology can belong to several groups and there is sometimes considerable overlap
between related ideologies. The meaning of a political label can also differ between
countries and political parties often subscribe to a combination of ideologies.