politics as the art of government

7/31/2019 Politics as the Art of Government

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Chapt er 1

What is Po l i t i c s?


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Man by nature a political animal.

Aristotle Politics, 1.

Politics exists because people disagree.

For Aristotle, politics is nothing less thanthe activity through which human beings

attempt to improve their lives and createthe Good Society. Politics is a socialactivity. It is always a dialogue, and never

a monologue.


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Def in ing po l i t i c s

Politics in its broadest sense, is theactivity through which people make,preserve and amend the general rules

under which they live. Politics is inextricably linked to the

phenomena ofconflictand cooperation.


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On the one hand, the existence of rivalopinions, different wants, competingneeds and opposing interests guarantees

disagreement about the rules under whichpeople live.

On the other hand, people recognise that

in order to influence these rules or ensurethat they are upheld, they must work withothers.


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Two major problems on clarifying the

meaning of politics.1. Few people come to politics without

preconceptions. Many automaticallyassume that students and teachers ofpolitics must in some way be biased,

finding it difficult to believe that thesubject can be approached in an impartialand dispassionate manner.


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2. Politics is defined in such different ways as

the exercise of power, the exercise ofauthority, the making of collective decisions,the allocation of scarce resources, the

practice of deception and manipulation, andso on.

Politics may be treated as a essentiallycontested concept in the sense that theterm has a number of acceptable or

legitimate meanings.


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The different views of politics examined

here are as follows.

Politics as the art of government

Politics as public affairs

Politics as compromise and consensus.

Politics as power and the distribution ofresources.


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Pol i t i c s as t he ar t o f governm ent

Politics is not a sciencebut an

art.Chancellor Bismarck

The art Bismarck had in mindwas the art of government, theexercise of control within societythrough the making andenforcement of collective

decisions.


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US political scientist David Easton defines

politics as the authoritative allocation ofvalues. By this he means that politicsencompasses the various processes

through which government responds topressures from the larger society, inparticular by allocating benefits, rewardsor penalties. Authoritative values aretherefore ones that are widely accepted in

society, and are considered binding by themass of citizens.


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Politics is what takes place within apolity, a system of social organisationcentred upon the machinery of

government. Politics is thereforepractised in cabinet rooms, legislativechambers, government departments and

the like, and it is engaged in by a limitedand specific group of people, notablypoliticians, civil servants and lobbyists.


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Cabinet Of f ic e


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Br i t ish Cabinet Room


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Governance Governance is a broader term than government. Although

it still has no settled or agreed definition, it refers, in its

widest sense, to the various ways through which sociallife is coordinated. Government can therefore be seen asone of the institutions involved in governance. It ispossible to have governance without government.

The principal modes of governance are markets,hierarchies and networks. The wider use of the termreflects a blurring of the state/society distinction, resulting

from changes such as the development of new forms ofpublic management, the growth of public-privatepartnerships, the increasing importance of policynetworks, and the greater impact of both supranationaland sub-national organisations.


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Pol i t ic s as Publ ic Af fa i rsA second broader conception of politics

moves it beyond the narrow realm ofgovernment to what is thought of as

public life or public affairs. Where should the line between public life

and private life be drawn? The traditionaldistinction between the stateand civilsociety.


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Tw o v iew s o f t he pub l ic /p r iva t e d ivide

Public Private

The state:apparatus of

government

Civil society: autonomous bodies:businesses, trade unions, clubs,

families, and so on

Public Private

Public realm: politics,commerce, work, art,culture, and so on

Personal realm:family and domesticlife


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Pol i t ic s as Com prom ise and Consensus

The third conception of politics relates not

so much to the arena within which politicsis conducted as to the way in whichdecisions are made. Specifically, politics is

seen as a particular means of resolvingconflict: that is, by compromise,conciliation and negotiation, rather thanthrough force and naked power.

This is what is implied when politics is

portrayed as the art of the possible.


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Pol i t i c s as Pow er

Power in its broadest sense, is the abilityto achieve a desired outcome, and it issometimes referred to in terms of the

power to do something. In politics, power is usually thought of as

a relationship: that is, as the ability toinfluence the behaviour of others in amanner not of their choosing.


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Approac hes t o t he s t udy o f po l i t i c s

The philosophical tradition(perspective/normative)

This involves the analytical study of ideas anddoctrines that have been central to political

thought. Most commonly, it has taken the formof a history of political thought that focuses on acollection of major thinkers (that spans, e.g.

Plato to Marx) and a canon of classic texts.

The normative approach is prescriptive in the

sense that it makes judgements and offersrecommendations.


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The empirical tradition

The empirical approach to political analysisis characterised by the attempt to offer a

dispassionate and impartial account ofpolitical reality.

The approach is descriptive in that itseeks to analyse and explain.


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The scientific tradition

- Objective and quantifiable data againstwhich hypotheses could be tested.

- concepts such as liberty, equality,justice and rights are sometimes

discarded as being meaningless becausethey are not empirically verifiable entities.


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Recent developments

- Amongst recent theoretical approaches topolitics is what is called formal political theory,variously known as political economy, public

choice theory and rational-choice theory.

- This approach to analysis draws heavily upon

the example ofeconomic theoryin building upmodels based upon procedural rules, usuallyabout the rationally self-interested behaviour of

the individuals involved.


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Can t he st udy o f po l i t i c s be

sc ien t i f i c?

Three difficulties:

1. The problem of data.

2. The existence of hidden values.

3. The myth of neutrality in the socialscience.


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Conc ept s , m odels and t heories

Aconceptis a general idea about

something, usually expressed in a singleword or a short phrase. A concept is morethan a proper noun or the name of a thing.

Models and theories are broader thanconcepts; they comprise a range of ideas

rather than a single idea. The purpose of a model is to resemble the

original object as faithfully as possible.


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Conceptual models are analytical tools; their value

is that they are devices through which meaning canbe imposed upon what would otherwise be abewildering and disorganised collection of facts.

It is vital to remember that conceptual models areat best simplifications of the reality they seek toexplain.

The terms theory and model are often usedinterchangeably in politics. Theories and models

are both conceptual constructs used as tools ofpolitical analysis.


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The Pol i t i c a l Sys t em m odel

by David East on (1979)

People Inputs GateKeepers

Inputs Government

Outputs

Outputs


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Levels o f Conc ept ua l Analysis

politics as the art of government

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