Political Science Definition Essay

Definition of Politics

Politics is a significant factor in the effective governance and administration of power in any group of organized individuals both at high and low levels. This includes government levels, as well as, local levels of authority. The present paper provides a precise definition of politics and outlines and various views of politics over time. More importantly, the paper describes the political ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, liberalism, fascism, and feminism.

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Politics is the mastery of science. It is the phenomenon that enables human beings to try to improve their lives and come up with the upright society (Hay, 2010). Politics is, by far, a social venture which always has a dialogue approach and never a monologue one. 'Politics' is obtained from the Greek word polis, which effectively means 'city-state.' The ancient Greek society was grouped into a conglomeration of the autonomous city-state. Each city-state has their government system. Therefore, politics should be widely understood as the general affairs of the polis and what concerns it (Leftwich, 2015).

My views on politics have gradually evolved regarding its manifestation and approach. Initially, I looked at politics as a science that involves a series of defined systems and processes that take a more scientific approach. This has always been a traditional approach that over-emphasizes the machinery and personnel of government. However, I have come to adopt a broader view of politics to involve the study of exercising and implementation authority (Macridis, 1986). This view also points to various processes involved in ensuring that the government provides an appropriate response to different forms of pressures emanating from other societal entities. This includes means used to allocate rewards, penalties, benefits, and other trappings of power.

Various Paradigms or Worldviews Drive Social Philosophies or Political

Ideologies. These include liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, and feminism. Key to each of the paradigm is the politics in the context of public life. This is a significant shift from my previously held outlook of politics as being more of a private affair that should be hidden from the public. The public sphere and the private sphere can be clearly distinguished by focusing on the state and the civil society as two different entities controlled differently. In this respect, the government organs including courts, army, social security system, and police can be considered as public because they are charged with the joint arrangement of the social life (Marsh, & Stoker, 2002). This is also with the realization that most of the political activities in advanced democracies are funded from the public coffers using taxes collected. This happens in arrangements that have a more conservative approach to political organization.

Feminism views politics as an obstructive venture to the free interaction and should not be allowed to infiltrate into the family and private institutions (Neill, 2006). The stated view brings out the need to establish a clear separation between professional life and domestic or personal conduct. The presentation of politics as public affair also suggests that it is possible to possess and project public and private character from the same person. Many liberalists have favored the civil society over the state due to the privacy and the individual freedom involved as opposed to the undesired intrusion from public life (Gerson, 2004).

I have also come to conceive politics as a confrontational activity borne out of a conflict and the dire need to resolve it. In effect, it is a clear way to address a disagreement that can only be achieved by conciliation, negotiation, and compromise without resorting to arbitrary force such as through military action. To this end, politics has been described as "the art of the possible" which usually leads to what is commonly known as a political solution (Hansen, & Koehler, 2005). This has always necessitated the sharing or dispersion of power by two antagonistic powers. This sort of thinking is mostly fronted by liberals who believe that the society can continue to hold due to consistent reconciliation efforts. I have come to view politics as an imperfect and non-utopian venture which necessitates the parties in a conflict. Failure to understand politics in this sense leads typically to a catastrophic end including bloody confrontations.

I have also shifted in my understanding of politics as a means to capture power to politics being the real power. This means that politics can permeate various social circles and cause very far-reaching effects making politics to exist at the heart of every social activity. One face of power can be used in decision making, and politics profoundly influence it. The other faces of political power are a power of agenda setting and thought control (Savigny, & Marsden, 2011). The second face of political power is essential in blocking certain decisions from being made by their denial of opportunity to the unpopular decisions. The third face of political power is critical in influencing other people thus determining what they want, think or need.

Conclusion

In conclusion, politics can enable facilitation, blockage or delaying of individual decisions based on the interests at hand. Radical feminists believe that the societal orientation is vastly patriarchal where women are undermined in an organized manner and forced to bow to male power. The Marxists believed that exploitation was the order of the day in the political arrangement of a capitalist society. However, politics is also seen as a capacity building and emancipating tool through which injustice and domination by a particular group can be challenged.

References

Gerson, G. (2004). Liberalism, welfare and the crowd in JA Hobson. History of European ideas, 30(2), 197-215.

Hansen, R., & Koehler, J. (2005). Issue definition, political discourse and the politics of nationality reform in France and Germany. European Journal of Political Research, 44(5), 623-644.

Hay, C. (2010). New directions in political science: responding to the challenges of an interdependent world. New York: Macmillan International Higher Education.

Leftwich, A. (2015). What is politics: The Activity and its study. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Macridis, R. C. (1986). Contemporary political ideologies: Movements and regimes. Little, Brown & Company.

Marsh, D., & Stoker, G. (2002). Theories and methods in political science. Palgrave.

Neill, E. (2006). Political Ideologies: Liberalism, Conservatism, and Socialism. A Companion to NineteenthCentury Europe, 209-223.

Savigny, H., & Marsden, L. (2011). Doing political science and international relations: theories in action. Macmillan International Higher Education.