Significance of Western Political Thought, Essays (university) of Political Theory

Download Significance of Western Political Thought and more Essays (university) Political Theory in PDF only on Docsity! UNIT 1 , SIGNIFICANCE OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 What is Political Thought? '1.2.1 Distinction between Political Thought, Political Theory and Political Philosopby 1.2.2 Relationship between Political Thought and Political Science 1.2.3 Framework of Political Thought 1.3 Western Political Thought: Nature and Content 1.3.1 Western Political Thought, Political Institutions and Political Procedures 1.3.2 Western Political Thought, Political Idealism and Political Realism 1.4 Significance of Western Political Thought 1.4.1 Characteristic Features of the Great Works of West'ern Political Tho.~~gflt 1.4.2 Relevance of the Western Political Thought 1.5 Summary 1.6 Exercises 1.1 INTRODUCTION Political thought begins when there is an awareness of tlie possibili.ly of attaining alternative political arrangements from the present one. Ever since organised life began with the invention , of agriculture, slowly different forms of political organisations began. Predominantly this f'orni was monarchy but the ancient Greek civilisation was n~arkeld by a rennarkabk variety of political i forms, reflected by Aristotle's study of 158 constitutions and elaboration of ihe different typologies of political systems. It is for the prevalence of wide diversity and debate that western political thought begins with the Greeks and continues till the present. Political thought means the five following things: a) Exposition of ideas, values and proposals for influencing policy, changing it and revising it drastically for total break and a new beginning. The entire classical tradition of western political thought provides a wide variety dealing with the above propositions. b) 5Political theory deals with political structure and institutions like dealing -with the theories of the state,'division of power, legal frameworks, variious forms of representation and links with other social sciences.. c) ~olitical philosophy in the normative quest for what sbould be rather than what is in a lasge macro framework. d) Political thought is a key component of the discipline of political scielice providing it t he basic concepts and tools with which tlie other sub-areas of the discipline are intrinsically linked. e) Comparative studies of different kinds of political theories originating and expatldir~g wit11 , different civilisations like the western political thought, Indian or Chinese political tllought, 19 1.2 WHAT IS POLITICAL THOUGHT? Political thought is the description of the political ideas of a host of political philosophers from beginning to the end. It is the sum-total of ideas 011 matters relating to politics, state and government as expressed by the thinkers. It is historical in nature because it is described as history. It a~~alyses, examines and evaluates issues that have a universal concern and are of perennial interest even though each political tlieorist responds to a particular political reality. It is written keeping the larger public in mind and is not confined to ivory towers for an intimate link is established between the political process, institutions, events and actors. Usually political theory flourishes in times of crises which act as stilnulus though it is tlot necessary that all crises lead to political theorising. Political tliought is the description, analysis, expression, and evaluation of the pl~ilosopl~ies of the pliilosopliers of a politic~l tra'dition. It is a tradition in so far as it comes to us as a body of thouglit. It is the sum-total of what stays on, and an accum~llation of what is changed and what continues. It is what keeps responding to our.circ~~mstances. What becomes out-dated is not the part of the tradition. Political thought attempts to identify values and norms and makes tliern an inseparable part of a particular political trend. Westerr1 political thought, if we wish to identify its magic themes, evolves and revolves around values such as liberty and libertarian, democracy and democratic tradition, equality and egalitarian. Political thought as it has existed and/or exists in India, for example, seeks to establish etliical/rnoral values in politics, spiritualism, aooperative living and the like. Poiitical thought is pri~narily the stucly of the'state. It studies society insofar as society influences the state as political life i~nd social life, though independent is inter-dependent. Si~nilarly it focuses 011 econolnic institutions and process insofar it influences the political order and process. It also takes into consideration ethical questions for ultimately it is concerned with a just and good political order. 1.2.1 Distinction between Political Thought, Political Theory and Political Philosophy Political thought and political pllilosophy have been used interchangeably. When we talk of the history of political thought, we refer to the classical tradition that began with Plato and ended with Marx though both Germino and MacIntyre consider Hegel's political philosophy as the ending of the classical tradition, for, both see Marx as re-interpreting Hegel. The works of the great philosophers depict not only the problems faced in their respective times, but also reflect their examination, enquiry and experience. Political philosophy may, thus, be said lo be the political thought of a particular philosopher of a particular age. But political philosophy is larger than the political thought of a particular philosopher; it is the political thought of an age or of a community. Political tllougl~t is also intimately >linked with political philosophy. It arriplifies and clearly states political ideas, puts them in a time frame. So, political philosophy does include political thought even though all political thouglit is not political philosophy. The difference between political pliilosoplzy and philosophy is not about the mood or inetllod but about'the subject matter. Philosophy, accordillg to Wolin attempts to understand tbe "truths publicly arrived and publicly demonstrable" while a political thinker tries to explain the meaning of the political and its link with the public sphere. Politics assumes political activities; political thought studies them, seeks to know the objectives of those activities and gives them a shape, a vision and in the process, builds new concepts. Politics gives us the account of political activities; political thought gives up political education; politics is knowledge about the political conduct, political thought that of the theories of political conduct. Politics, therefore, identifies tlie way towards which political thought moves. Politics paves way for political thought, and political thought guides the future direction df politics. Marx's political theory inspired the Russians to launch the socialist revolutio~l and the Soviet Unio~i souglit to guide the socialist movements in the underdeveloped world. The ever- continuing direction of politics makes the basis for political thought. If politics provides political thought, political thought provides politics a vision to look to. WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT : NATURE AND CONTENT It is impossible to imagine political thought of tlie West (for that matter, of any society without history, Political thought is related to politics, but it is history that provides political thought its very basis. We do not mean to say that political thought can be studied without politics, but we certainly want to insist that we cannot study political thought without history, Understanding political thought in tlie historical context is, in fact, understanding political thought in the real sense.' A political philosopl~er's political philosophy emerges in the age of philosopher breaths. In fact, his political ~ l i i l o s o ~ h y ~ ~ ~ s an answer to the times the philosopher lives in. His philosophy ca~~not be separated from histop of his times. No political thinker builds up his political philosophy without taking an a c c o i ~ of the age or his times. To put. the point in another sense, it may be said that a political phi losoph~f' i3,understood only in his .milieu. Plato, though an idealist, could hardly be separated from his soil. his classification of states depicted the classificatioli as it prevailed then; his theory of educat~on was draw11 heavily from what existed in Athens and Sparta then. Machiavelli's whole methodology depicted liis debt to history. The contractualists-Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau-made history as the basis of their social contract theory. Karl Marx went all the way to advocate the materialistic interpretation of history. The objective conditions of history always provide the foundations on which the political pliilosopliers have built their philosophy. Furthermore, we can understand the political philosophy of a political thinker only in the historical context. Separate a political philosopher from his times, one will always find i Popper condemning Plato as an enemy of open society. A contextual study is always a safer method of understanding a text. A text without a context is a structure without a base. Machiavelli is better understood in the context of renaissance. Hobbes and Locke, with their views as apart as the north-south poles, can be better studied in the ba'ckgound of the English civil war. Marx call be u~rderstood in the light of the growing capitalism of the European/ Western society. . , Western.politica1 thought is based on history, but its history, Professor Sabine rightly says, has no concluding chapter. It has grown and is growing, and in fact, will always keep growing. or political ideas of an earlier philosopher, and in the process builds his own philosophy. It has grown in a typical way; each subsequent philosopher condemns/criticises the philosophy Aristotle did so wit11 Plato; Locke did so with Filmer; Bentham, with Blackstone; John Stuart Mill, with Bentham; Marx did so with Hegel, Adam Smith, Proudhon. So western political the days of Plato and Aristotle. No wonder if then it is said that all philosophy is a footnote thought has grown; it proceeds on polemics, it changes, but it continues. It is continuing since to Plato. Plato and Aristotle together gave the base on which stands the whole fabric of western political thouglit; for politicat idealism and political realism are the two pillars of the western political pllilosophy from where rise numerous other related shades. It is not easy to identify what the western political thought contains. The attempt, indeed, would be arbitrary. However, major contents of tlie western political thought can, for the sake of making a point, be stated, to be: (i) political institutions and procedures; (ii) political idealism and realism. 1.3.1 Western Political Thought, Political Institutions and Political Procedures Western political thought deals, largely, with political instit~ltions and procedures relating to them. If political theory deals with wliat is related to or is relevant to politics, political tliougl~t, coming as it is, from the writings of a 110st of political philosophers deals with political power, i.e., wliereil> it is vested and liow it is exercised, and for what objects does it exist. The political thinkers from tlie earlier days $to the present times have dealt with such questions relating to politics: Plato was more interested i n the state as it ought to be than Aristotle who devoted all his energy on the best practicable state. The ancient Roman theorists talked about the nature and role of law in adininistration. With the medieval Church theorists, (Thomas Aquinas especially) political power was made to work under tlie divine law, the divine law under the natural law, the natural law under the eternal law. The early modern political theorists (Machiavelli and Bodin) were concerned with the supreme power (i.e., sovereignty) of the state or with actual and pote~itial states). The contractualists (Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau) were eager to answer questions as to liow the state came into existence and as to why people obey. laws. While political pl~,ilosophy deals with institutions as they were, as they are, and as they need/ ought to be, Marx saw tlie~n in materialist terms. Sabine puts the point across wl~en lie says, "An important functio~i of political thought (meaning the theorists or tlie political thought) is not drily to show what a political practice (i.e., politics, political activity of liis time) is but also to show what it means. In showing what a practice means, or wliat it o~lgllt o mean, political theory can alter what it is." Political philosophers have sought to understand tlie political iristitutions of their times, have given them the meanings and, in doing so, have suggested ways of altering them. Thus, we may say that political thought deals with institutions. Further more, and it is imporlant as well, subsequent philosophers have after having suggested the changes in the institutions, maintained continuity, the political philosopher, to use Sabine's words, is a 'connector', a 'relator' who weaves the political fabric. Western political thought is equally dominated, since the beginning, with an interest in the political procedures as to how and why political power is applied. Indeed, political thought deals witli political institutions, but it is also related to the working of political institution. 'The political pliilosophers were and are, primarily concerned not with what a state is or what it does, but also with liow a state once entrusted with power, makes use of it. In other words, political thought lias been, along with the study of political institutions, dominated witli, if we want to give it a word, the rule of law, i.e., the procedure as to how the political power is put to use. The rule of law means that there has to be the law that rules the people, and not the man that 1.11les. It is a negation of the coercive, arbitrary and totalitarian rule. It is a justificatioli of power and its use. Tlie rule of law, as a concept, has certhin features of its own: the law is to be applied impersdnally; it cannot be used as a means for attaining individuals ends; it must be applied indiscriminately, though it is an act of particular circums'tances, lias to be independent from the particularities, it forbids people to use coercive power over others; it has to respond to the general norms of society and equilibrium; it has to be in consonance to 'reason'. Plato's ideal republic was a construction of reason and one of the major concerns of the Rep~lblic was tlie development of leadership that would not be corrupt and would rewain subservient to its rational law. Aristotle preferred the rule of law to the rule of Inan, howsoever wise tliese may be. The Ro~nalis and the tiiedieval thinkers advocate the efficacy of law: temporal or ecclesiastical. The colitractualists did refer to the natural law. The jurists, from Austin to Blackstone, and Coke, nevcr lost sight of the juridical atid legal power. The Marxists denounce the State as an instrument of exploitatiori while thc anarchists reject exter~~ally imposed authority. No modern political philosopher, if any, should preach a systelii witliout makilig rule of law as the foundation of society. 1.3.2 Western Political Thought, Political Idealism and Political Realism The two major streams along with which 1.11e whole western political thought keeps ~narching on are: (i) political idealism 01. as one riiay see political pliilosophy, (ii) political realism, or as one 1iiay call it political science. Plato represents political idealism, a ~ i d is riglitly described as the father of political philosophy; Aristotle represents political realism, and is very aptly called the father of political pliilosopliy. Pliilosopliy and science liave dominated the course of tlie western political thought. For a long time i i i the history of the west, pliilosopliy ritled political tliought till about the first half of the 19th Century. I t was then that science, owing largely to the development made in oilier social sciences and tlie urge to make political phenomena relevant, captiwed the attention of tlie political pliilosopliers, especially during tlie early years and the decades of 1950s- 1960s i n United States. Then came an era of debates between the normative political theory and the empirical one; tlie traditionalists and tlie beliaviouralist, the debate wliether political tl~eory i s dead or alive. *Tliese debates cllaracterised liotlii~ig but the tussle between pliilosopliy and science, between idealism and realisni. All tliese testified nothing but change and continuity in the western tradition. Berlin, in an article in Gould and Thtrrstoy, Confcnporary Political Thozrght, writes, "Neo-Marxism, neo-Tho~nisu~i, nationalism, historicisni, existentialism, anti- essential liberalism and socialism, transposition of doctrities of natural rights atid natural law into empirical terms ... indicate not tlie death of a great tradition but, i f anything, new a ~ l d unpredictable developments." All political tliouglit, as it has developed or evolved, has tossed between wliat it ought to be and wliat is atid constantly moves betweeu the two levels. t.4 SlGNlFlCANCE OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT Western political thought, since its beginning fioni alicieni Greece has dealt wit11 diverse varieties of issues, and each philosopher has handled them from his own angle. Indeed, tlie political philosophers liave, at times, disagreed on tlie solutions, but wliat is importar~t is the continuity of the issues wliicli have captured their intentions. The ~iiajor issues relating to politics (i.e. the content of the western political tradition) liave been the collcerns of political philosophers. By attempting to find solutions to these political issues, the political theorists have given tlie western political thouglit not only a direction, but also a unity of thought processes. 'l'lie signiiicsuice of western political thought lies in tlie attempt of tlie political philosopliers to identi6 political issues, and provide solutions, thus giving political thought a llieanillg and a vision. Sheldon Wolili puts a point, saying, "tlic desigt~atioti of certain activities and arrangements as political, the cliaracteristic way that we th ink about them, and the coticepts