Nature of Political Thought

• Philosophers, sages, and intellectuals have reflected since ancient times on problems of the universe, including those of human life and society.

• Their observations focus on human nature, human predicament, human ingenuity, and ways to achieve human emancipation and human progress.

• These reflections form a rich heritage of social thought that encompasses economic and political thought.

• To understand the nature of political thought, it is essential to first identify the nature of the ‘political’.

• Then, one must inquire into the characteristics of thought concerning the political aspects of our social life.

What is Political?

• When an organization regulates the whole community, it takes the character of a polity.

• Polity denotes an organization where rules are made, decisions are taken for the entire community, and authority is exercised over each member.

• The term ‘political‘ refers to something public, as opposed to private or limited to a few persons.

• Sheldon S. Wolin in Politics and Vision (1960) describes the political as uniquely concerned with what is common to the whole community.

• Functions such as national defense, internal order, dispensing justice, and economic regulation are primarily the responsibility of political institutions because they benefit all community members.

• The polity or state holds a unique position among social institutions.

• Aristotle described man as a ‘political animal’, emphasizing that living in a state is natural; those outside the state are either beasts or gods.

• The terms polity, politics, and political derive from the Greek word ‘polis’, meaning ancient Greek city-state.

• Greek city-states were small, geographically separated communities with a compact social life and culture where institutions and activities were interconnected.

• These institutions and activities aimed at securing the ‘good life’ were considered part of politics.

• In modern society, the scope of politics is narrower, distinguishing between public and private spheres.

• Today, politics applies to institutions and activities in the public sphere, such as cabinet and parliament decisions, election campaigns, political parties, and people’s movements.

• Areas like faith and worship, education, art, and culture generally fall outside the political sphere unless regulated to maintain public order and safety.

• An important modern characteristic of the political is its concern with the use of power.

• In political context, power is understood as the ability of a human agency to influence or control other human beings.

• Power is traditionally defined as the capacity to attain compliance from others, even against their will, often implying the use or threat of force.

• However, power alone is one-sided; effective and stable power often takes the form of authority, which includes legitimacy.

• Legitimacy is the capacity to secure willing obedience without force.

• Force, coercion, or sanctions are used only when legitimacy fails.

• Authority ensures social acceptance and effective implementation of rules, policies, and decisions.

• Authority = Power + Legitimacy

• Power: Ability to use force to make others obey commands.

• Legitimacy: Quality of being considered lawful or right according to morality, common good, or social justice.

What is Political Thought?

• The observations of distinguished thinkers and philosophers regarding the political aspect of social life largely constitute political thought.

• Political thought includes key characteristics of social thought, such as views on human nature, human predicament, human ingenuity, and paths to human emancipation and progress.

• It focuses on the use of power to realize a vision of an ideal social order in practice.

• Political thought is closely related to political philosophy.

• Among various forms of political study, political philosophy or political thought is distinguished by its critical function.

• As D.D. Raphael (1976) notes, classical political philosophers depicted ideal societies mainly to criticize existing society and promote understanding of general social concepts like justice.

• According to A Dictionary of Political Analysis (Geoffrey K. Roberts, 1971), political thought is the area of political philosophy concerned with studying the ideas and systems of influential thinkers relevant to the development of politics as a practice or study.

• Roberts explains that political thought is often equated with political philosophy, but it tends to focus more on thinkers and ideas than on philosophic problems or empirical/analytic theories.

• A Dictionary of Political Thought (Roger Scruton, 1982) states political thought includes theories explaining political behavior, values for judging it, and mechanisms like law used for control.

• Scruton highlights the close relation between political philosophy and political thought by noting that concepts like justice appear in both and are subject to philosophical analysis.

• Political thought serves as an important source of political philosophy.

• Genesis of Political Thought involves: Reflection on existing human predicament -> Vision of a new, ideal social order -> Reflection on human nature and potential -> Presenting a scheme for reconditioning the power structure to realize the new vision, including a critical review of existing ideas

• Some writers use political theory and political philosophy as synonyms of political thought, evident in titles like:

  • George H. Sabine: A History of Political Theory (1937)

  • William A. Dunning: History of Political Theories (1902–1920)

  • Raymond G. Gettell: History of Political Thought (1924)

  • Francis W. Coker: Recent Political Thought (1934)

  • Andrew Hacker: Political Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science (1961)

  • C.C. Maxey: Political Philosophies (1961)

  • James V. Downton Jr., David K. Hart (eds.): Perspectives on Political Philosophy (1971–1973)

• These works broadly cover the subject regarded as political thought; thus, such usage should not cause confusion.

• Technically, political theory and political philosophy focus on themes like Freedom, Equality, Justice, Democracy, Progress, etc.

• Political thought deals with various thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, J.S. Mill, Green, etc.

• Political theory encompasses a wider field, including political science (scientific study of political institutions and behavior) and political philosophy (conceptual study of political ideas and ideals).