Written by Conor Newman (October 2007)
Plan
Introduction
Main Body
-Politics is about Government
-Politics is about Public Affairs
-Politics is about compromise
-Politics is about power
-Which definition?
-Three theories: pluralism, elitism, and Marxism
-Politics in the UK-Liberal democracy, representative democracy, who holds power? Etc
Conclusion
-Summing up of main points
-What is Politics?
Introduction
This essay will attempt to analyse, discuss and, eventually, define the nature of Politics, one of the most contentious words in the English Language. It comes from the Ancient Greek word, “Polis”, which means City-state, whereas the Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the art or science of government or governing”. So which definition is correct?
Politics is about Government
In fact, to truly understand Politics, you must look deeper into it, by taking into consideration who takes part in Politics, how it works, and why it is such an important part of our lives. To do this, we must take into consideration four definitions that have been used throughout the years.
Firstly, that Politics is about Government. This is generally what most people imagine when they think of Politics; they think of the UK Prime Minister, MPs, Parliament, and all the things the public hear about on the news everyday. The Government is essentially the governing body of a country, as it makes all the decisions that affect people’s lives, carries out policies and enforces laws. So, is politics simply about decisions made at the macro level, not at the micro level, such as within our daily lives?
This definition does tell us who is involved in politics; however, Politics is far wider reaching than this. If we take this statement as the true definition of Politics, then this means that ordinary people take absolutely no part in Politics. But this is not true. People take part in politics every single day, by voting, joining pressure groups, protesting, or merely talking about politics. However, under this definition, all these things are not political, but common sense tells us that they are. As Greek philosopher Plato once said, “Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber”. What this essentially means is that everyone must engage in politics to reap the full benefits of it; by simply not voting or participating in politics, your voice is not being heard, and thus those who perhaps do not have the people’s best interests at heart, but participate in politics, come into power. Therefore, this tells us that everyday participation in politics is in fact the essence of politics, and so this definition is not far-reaching enough to be adequate.
Politics is about Public Affairs
This definition is far broader than the first. It essentially takes into consideration that our actions as people are almost always in public; social interaction, voting and so on. Whenever we engage in such activities, we are in effect participating in politics. Therefore, politics is about public affairs of all kinds. It is about making decisions of all kinds, whether in our families, in the street, or in the office. An example of thiswould be the often derogatory phrase “Office politics”. This raferS to the way the team leader is in cha®ge, delegating work to his team mates, and enforcing the rules that have been laid down by the CEO. Taking this definition further, politics c`n be interpreted simply as very basic decision making, especially when such decisions affect others. When parents make th% decisions in the household that every family member must abide by; when school councils and petitions are organised, these things are all political, albeit at the micro level. Even conversation between two people can be defined as a part of politics, as every day we use politically charged statements when talking to each other.
Politics is about compromise
Although the previous definition of Politics is mostly adequate, it does not fully explain the concept, in regards particularly to why people participate in Politics; is it a part of Human nature, is it the society we have been brought up in, or is it written our genetic make-up? The Greek Philosopher Aristotle once said that, “Man is a Political Animal.” By this, he did not mean that we have an insatiable appetite for making decisions and speeches; rather, what he meant was that it is natural for Human Beings to live together and in association with each other. According to this view, Human Beings are sociable creatures and therefore interact with each other on daily basis-in the family, in the street, in the shops, or in the school. Humans are inherently selfish, in that they always have their own personal views and agendas; conflicting views lead to conflict. Therefore, politics is about making a compromise that will appease or satisfy the majority of people affected during a conflict. It would be impossible to satisfy everyone, but as long as everyone feels they have been consulted or that the ruling is legitimate then a compromise has been reached.
However, there are several flaws with this definition. According to this definition, when a Government makes a decision which the public has not been consulted on, then this is not “political”, even though we would normally recognise such an act as a political one. Also, the use of force is an important one in politics; the UN uses in various global crises, and militaristic Governments use force to put down rebellion. However, this definition does not take the use of force-it seems to imply that when a Government uses force against an unruly group of citizens then this is not a political act, even though force is a tactic used in politics every day. So, perhaps this definition is still too narrow to properly define politics.
Politics is about power
This is the definition that is probably the most far-reaching and comprehensive. Under this view, politics can be seen in every aspect of our lives, in both our public and private spheres. According to this definition, with social interaction comes conflict-it is unavoidable. A conflict is only resolved when someone wins, and someone always does. This person or group will generally be the one with the most power, in the form of support from the public, the use of force, economic power, or, if in a family group, the dominant and older family member. In an office, the victor in conflicts will generally be the person in charge, as they hold the power. This clearly goes against the third definition of politics, which states that politics is about reaching a compromise to end conflicts, rather than simply one side winning because the hold the most power. However, this definition is much broader than the first three definitions as it takes into consideration those circumstances that the previous definitions did not; things such as the use of force, public political activities, and the Government imposing decisions on the public without consultation.
Although, this definition is far from complete. It implies that the group with most power will always win a conflict; essentially this means that the same groups get their own way again and again. However, throughout our history the ones with very little power have defeated more powerful groups, such as Mahatma Gandhi claiming India’s independence from the British, and the Americans fighting for their independence in the 18th century. However, many political theorists who believe in this definition state that the same groups win again and again; groups such as the rich capitalists, the ruling aristocracy, or, for feminists, men.
Which definition do we choose?
The problem with defining politics is that it encompasses such a broad range of topics, many of which are incredibly contentious, and so coming up with a single, perfect definition is nigh-on impossible. Each of the four main definitions have their advantages and disadvantages, and each one takes into consideration things that other definitions do not. However, clearly the broadest definition is that Politics is about power, as this takes into consideration most circumstances. However, a proper definition of politics would most likely encompass each of the different definitions in some way, so that it could cover the most politically related topics possible.
The three models of Power
If we take the fourth definition as being the true definition of politics, then we must also define what we mean by power. To do this, political theorists have devised three separate models of power, each one looking at who exercises power in society.
The first model is the pluralist model. Those who believe in pluralism state that power is exercised by everyone in society. In the UK, for example, if the people do not agree with their Government’s policies, they can vote them out of office, thus, the people hold power. Also, pluralists argue that even if people don’t vote, they can get involved and exercise power by joining pressure groups, signing petitions, and other political activities. They also say that no one group can possibly dominate society, because for every group there is always an opposite and equal force exerted by opposing groups.
However, there are several flaws with this theory. It has been seen in society that often people have none or very little power, for example in totalitarian regimes like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or Stalin’s Soviet Union. In these regimes, the people do not have the power to vote, and they cannot even join pressure groups or sign petitions, because the state governs every aspect of their lives-so do they truly hold any power in society?
This leads onto the next model of power-elitism. Elitists believe that power is held and exercised by a ruling elite; a small group of people who run society, known by many as “the establishment” In contrast to pluralism, elitists argue that the various political groups are not, as pluralists say, equal in power. Some are more powerful than others and in fact dominate society, for example in the UK the labour and conservative parties generally dominate UK politics, and it is very difficult for other parties to gain support.
Finally, the third model of power is that of Marxism. This is very similar to elitism, in that society is governed by a ruling elite. However, Marxists argue that this minority are not the political elite-they are the economic elite. Marxists believe that any political aspects of society are generally useless as it is in fact the capitalists who govern society behind closed doors. In fact, there is much evidence to support this theory. In the UK, multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch owns most of the newspapers in the UK through his company News Corporation. This means that he essentially runs a large proportion of the media, and as the media has such a powerful influence on society, capitalists like Murdoch in fact exercise power.
Politics in the UK
Politics in the UK is rooted in tradition over its long and eventful history. It is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that although the Monarch is the head of state, they hold very little real power and society is governed by a constitution. In the UK, this is not a written document but rather incorporates various case laws and acts of Parliament that have occurred over the years.
The UK is a liberal democracy, meaning that its citizens have many civil liberties and freedoms, such as freedom of speech and choice, and are able to choose for themselves who shall lead their country. The UK is also a representative democracy, which means that the people, rather than participating directly in governing, elect members of Parliament who are supposed to represent the views of their constituency in Parliament. However, this theory is flawed as MPs often follow their own agendas and the views of their political party, rather than the views of the electorate.
Parliament itself consists of the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and the Monarch, although the role of the House of Lords and the Monarch is limited. In fact, the real decision making body of the UK’s legislature is the House of Commons, which consists of democratically elected officials called MPs. The political party with the most seats in the House of Commons then goes onto form the Executive, which in the UK is called the Cabinet and is headed by the Prime Minister.
Using this information, we can see that power generally lies with the cabinet, as they effectively run the state, although legislation must be passed through Parliament, the legislature, to become law. Also, the Judiciary has the power to enforce these laws and administer Justice.
Conclusion
Overall then, Politics is such a broad topic, that it is almost impossible to define it. Many have tried, and some have come closer than others, but Politics covers such a wide range of topics, and it is such a controversial subject that there will always be those who disagree with any definition that is made. Probably the broadest definition is that Politics is about power. But even this view has many flaws in it, and so is not perfect or even close to perfect.
Bibliography
Mark Garnett and Philip Lynch-AS UK Government and Politics 2nd edition-Philip Alan Updates (2005)
Roy Bentley et al-British Politics in Focus