• Polity refers to an organization designed to regulate the entire community, involving rule-making, decision-taking, and authority over each member.
• The term ‘political’ denotes matters that are ‘public,’ serving the whole community, in contrast to private affairs or those applicable to a limited group.
• Wolin describes political institutions as uniquely concerned with what is ‘common’ to the whole community, addressing functions like national defense, internal order, justice, and economic regulation.
• Aristotle considered humans as naturally ‘political animals,’ emphasizing the natural inclination to live within a state for the benefit of all community members.
• ‘Polity,’ ‘politics,’ and ‘political’ derive from the Greek word ‘polis,’ reflecting the ancient Greek city-state model.
• In ancient Greek city-states, institutions and activities aimed at securing the ‘good life’ for the community were considered part of ‘polities.’
• In modern society, politics is more narrowly defined, distinguishing between public and private spheres of human life.
• The scope of politics today includes decisions of cabinets and parliaments, election campaigns, political party activities, and people’s movements for legal and policy changes.
• Matters like faith, worship, education, art, and culture are not typically considered part of politics unless regulation is needed for public order and safety.

• Political theory involves systematic knowledge of political phenomena.
• It deals with three types of statements: empirical (observation), logical (reasoning), and evaluative (value-judgment).
• Political science relies on empirical and logical statements, while logical positivism argues for a value-neutral approach.
• Political theory encompasses both political science and political philosophy.
• Values, determined through dialogue and understanding, are crucial for sound public policy.
• George Catlin identifies political theory’s components: political science (facts) and political philosophy (values).
• Andrew Hacker emphasizes the dual role of political scientists as scientists and philosophers.
• Political science describes and explains political realities, while political philosophy prescribes goals for citizens, states, and societies.
• Adequate knowledge of political science is essential for informed political philosophy.

• Political science follows scientific method in its approach.
• Steps in scientific method include observation, generalization, explanation, and prediction/prescription.
• Observation relies on sense-experience and excludes supernatural or metaphysical causation.
• Generalization can be inductive (particular to general) or deductive (general to particular), expressed in a verifiable form.
• Explanation provides reasons for general rules, making correlations meaningful.
• Prediction and prescription use known facts and rules to anticipate outcomes and suggest measures.
• Behavioral approach focuses on studying the actual behavior of individuals in political situations.
• Formal political institutions are dissolved into systems and processes.
• Post-behavioral approach prioritizes human values and ends without compromising scientific methods.
• Calls for applying political science to overcome crises in various aspects of human life.

• Political science is sometimes seen as dealing with the ‘real,’ while political philosophy deals with the ‘ideal.’
• This view does not adequately define the scope of political philosophy.
• Political philosophy is characterized by its ‘critical’ function.
• Classical political philosophers set out ideal forms of society to criticize existing society and promote understanding.
• The fundamental purpose of philosophy is the critical evaluation of beliefs.
• Philosophy seeks justification, attempting to provide rational grounds for accepting or rejecting beliefs.
• Another function of political philosophy is the clarification of concepts.
• Concepts like society, authority, social class, justice, liberty, and democracy are general and vague.
• Clarification involves analysis (specifying elements through definition), synthesis (showing logical relationships), and improvement (recommending clearer definitions or uses).

• Political philosophy deals with the needs, objectives, and goals of human life, which cannot be scientifically ascertained.
• These aspects can be discussed, argued, and reached through reasoning and available data.
• The ongoing process of searching for values and critically reviewing positions justifies the pursuit of political philosophy.
• Political philosophy arose from critical reflection on political activity, exemplifying the Socratic function of ‘speaking truth to power.’
• Distinguishing political theory from ‘ideology,’ Andrew Hacker emphasizes the importance of dispassion and disinterest in theory.
• Ideology aims to justify a particular system of power and is driven by personal interest, leading to clouded vision and special pleading.
• Political philosophy aims at a disinterested search for principles, while ideology rationalizes current or future political and social arrangements.
• Ideologies, whether capitalist, socialist, nationalist, or internationalist, are biased toward partisan ends, obstructing the search for truth.
• In political science, a disinterested search for knowledge is crucial, as ideological clouding results in a distorted depiction of political and social reality.
• Scholarly detachment is the keynote of political theory.

II. SIGNIFICANCE OF POLITICAL THEORY

• Political science enables the understanding and solution of social problems through scientific analysis of political life.
• Similar to geology explaining earthquakes, political science reveals causes of conflict and violence, offering insights for prevention.
• It aids in securing societal development from human resources, akin to physics generating electricity from thermal and water resources.
• Political science, like medical science, guides in controlling and remedying political instability and social crises.
• Political philosophy, concerned with right and wrong in social life, engages in social criticism and envisions reconstruction.
• Political philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, and Marx offer insights into social ills and propose schemes for reconstruction.
• While not accepting proposals as final truths, these ideas contribute to understanding societal problems and formulating individual schemes for social reconstruction.
• Political philosophy contributes significantly to the clarification of concepts used in the analysis of social and political life.
• The field’s difficulty lies in utilizing common parlance terms with parallel usages, requiring precise meanings determined by political philosophy.
• Agreement on the meaning of terms fosters dialogue between individuals with different ideologies, paving the way for mutual understanding and appreciation.
• The tradition of political theory encourages dignified debates between proponents of different viewpoints.
• Political theory serves as a continuous conversation among theorists, fostering mutual respect, toleration, and peaceful resolution of differences.
• Understanding each other’s viewpoints, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and convincing and being convinced contribute to a democratic and peaceful resolution of political differences.

• Political theory encompasses political science and political philosophy.
• Functions of political theory: Description, Criticism, Reconstruction.
• Political science focuses on empirical methods for reliable knowledge and specializes in ‘description.’
• Political philosophy deals with value judgments and specializes in ‘criticism’ and ‘reconstruction.’
• Positivism, neo-positivism, and behavioralism advocate confining political theory to political science, excluding value judgments.
• Post-behavioralism and the revival of political philosophy emphasize the importance of values in political theory.
• Value judgments are seen as essential guides to social policy, particularly in areas like environmentalism, feminism, human rights, and social justice.
• Ignoring value judgments in political theory may lead to societal ignorance and manipulation by less competent agencies.
• The tasks of political theory are demanding, and systematic pursuit is crucial to prevent politics from being dominated by the ignorant or self-interested.
• In the globalized world, political theory plays a vital role in addressing problems with global dimensions and recognizing them as humanity’s shared issues.

III. DEBATE ON THE DECLINE OF POLITICAL THEORY

• Political theory aims to systematically understand the goals and methods of politics, with a tradition spanning over two-and-a-half millennia.
• In the mid-twentieth century, proponents of new political science questioned the relevance of traditional political theory.
• David Easton criticized traditional political theory as speculative, lacking observation of political reality, and being irrelevant to contemporary society.
• Easton advocated for behavioral political science, emphasizing scientific foundations and distancing from classical studies and history of political ideas.
• He later shifted to a ‘post-behavioral’ approach, acknowledging the importance of values in political science.
• Alfred Cobban argued that political theory lost significance in both capitalist and communist systems, citing the overwhelming role of bureaucracy and the decline of normative issues.
• Seymour Martin Lipset questioned the continued relevance of political theory, suggesting that contemporary societies like the United States had already achieved their values.
• Leo Strauss criticized the behavioral approach for neglecting normative issues and argued that the decline of political theory was a symptom of adopting a positivist approach.
• Dante Germino highlighted the revival of political philosophy in the works of various writers, emphasizing its critical study of principles in human social existence.
• Germino asserted that political philosophy addresses perennial problems and cannot grow along with positivism that remains neutral to values.
• Herbert Marcuse warned of the risks associated with demanding a scientific study of society, as it might support the status quo and become an instrument of social control.
• Since the 1970s, the dispute between political science and political philosophy has subsided, with a renewed concern for values in political science and empirical insights in political philosophy.
• Scholars like Karl Popper, John Rawls, C.B. Macpherson, Herbert Marcuse, and Jurgen Habermas have integrated empirical methods with political philosophy to understand both means and ends in social life.

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