Submitted by: Submitted by melina123abc
Views: 10
Words: 1268
Pages: 6
Category: People
Date Submitted: 09/28/2015 10:12 AM
Introduction
Why Is Politics So Hard to Define?
* Politics is often seen in a negative light, associated with conflict and corruption
* It can also be seen in a positive light, as a calling to improve the lives of the people that politicians represent
What makes up Politics?
* Politics identifies it as the process by which groups representing divergent interests and values make collective decisions
1. All complex societies need a mechanism to sort out those different interests and values and try to reconcile them
2. Economic scarcity is not avoidable in all of society- if there are not enough goods to go around, a society needs some mechanism to determine how limited goods will be distributed
* Who gets what, when, how- helps to determine both the nature of society and the well-being of those who live in it
* The study of politics before the 19th century was almost entirely concerned with the study of values
Is Politics Inevitable
* If we define politics in terms of differences, conflicts, and scarcity, then we might say that it is an inevitable feature of all societies.
* Many fundamental conflicts require political resolution some are based on territory, others on political values; the most difficult contains elements of both
Political Questions
1. Ask what values political decisions serve
* Do they serve the values of justice or liberty?
* What do we mean by justice and liberty?
* Is a just decision one that is made in the interests of the few, the many, or all?
2. Concerns who makes the decisions and who should make them
* Does one person do decision making, or a few, or many, or all?
* Are we under an obligation to obey decisions taken in a democratic way than in other ways?
3. How do those who make decisions are able to enforce them
* The need to distinguish between power and authority, two concepts central to politics
* Rulers are able to enforce their decisions either...