Political theory
The development of
modern ideologies
Types of normative questions
asked by political theories
What purpose should government serve?
Equality? Justice? Security?
How should governments be organized?
To advance their power? To limit their
power?
Should they help citizens lead ethical
lives? Can a state be ethical if its citizenry
is not?
Plato’s allegory of the cave
. People in the cave believe they are free, but
they don’t see the reality of their intellectual
slavery. All they do is watch shadows cast by a
hidden fire in the cave, thinking that the shadows
are reality. They are passive and accepting.
They never turn around, never ask questions.
They remain completely unaware of how blind &
shackled they are.
Who does he mean when he writes about the
single enlightened person who stands up
and dares to go outside?
The allegory of the cave, continued
Socrates, Plato’s teacher.
His eyes adjust to the light and see how
wonderful the world is beyond the cave.
But instead of staying, he decides to return
to the others in the cave, to free them as
well.
What happens when he returns to tell
others in the cave about the truth?
The allegory of the cave, continued
The prisoners in the cave think he’s mad and
dangerous; if he persists in talking nonsense,
he’ll be killed.
In other words, truth is dangerous, because we
don’t want to hear the truth. We like our
comfortable illusions.
The text mentions how political thinkers on the
left and the right have been ridiculed for their
ideas, even in open political societies like the
U.S. and Britain.
Socrates was sentenced to death about 400
B.C. for “corrupting youth” with his teachings.
Plato’s The Republic
Plato’s ideas of a utopian society:
Three natural groups:
Workers, farmers, shopkeepers & artisans who
provide material wealth for the community.
Military units- called auxiliaries - who defend it.
Guardians – who govern it, with Philosopher-king at
the top
Each person performs the tasks for which he or she is
best suited. Injustice occurs when people act
contrary to their nature. Ambition & competition
unnatural.
The Republic, continued
To maintain the utopia, Plato said these elements
were necessary:
Hierarchy of the best, rule by meritocracy.
Dangerous and untrue ideas censored.
The "Noble Lie."
a.) people's previous memories of the old
ways are just dreams
b.) people given their place in society due to
the metallic quality of their souls. This gives the
system its legitimacy; you cannot question your
place in society.
The Republic, continued
Totalitarian elements for the top two
classes. No family life or private property;
otherwise, they would put self-interest
above the good of the whole.
Ordinary people in the bottom class can
amass wealth and have families.
B.F. Skinner, Walden Two (1948)
Utopian society possible but only through behavioral
engineering. Human beings are sometimes selfish,
greedy and mean. Human nature must be changed,
engineered so that people are noncompetitive, happy
and harmonious. Positive rewards can change both
outward behavior and inner motives. People can be
“conditioned” live together in peace and harmony.
This means people will not be free, but they aren’t free
anyway. Freedom is an illusion. Every choice we make
is the result of societal conditioning.
What purpose does
government serve?
Plato says justice and truth.
John Locke says protection of our natural
rights.
Thomas Hobbes says security, to keep us
from killing each other.
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
English political theorist from 1588 to 1679.
Humans are equal and capable of rational
thought, but:
Human nature is aggressive and greedy,
and human life is “brutish and short”. The
state of nature is ruthless and frightening.
No advancement in science, arts,
commerce, etc., is possible because
existence itself so fragile.
Hobbes, continued
Government formed for the sole purpose
of providing security. Need a strong
authoritarian government to control
humans’ violent passions.
Hobbesian world: might makes right and
the weak are victimized. Pessimistic view
of human nature.
Should government promote
equality?
Political theorists divided on this.
Review ideas of Aristotle, Jefferson,
Tecumseh, Chico Mendes, Friedrich
Nietzsche and Kurt Vonnegut.
Equality of rights
Thomas Jefferson’s view of equality: a
natural human right which government is
supposed to secure.
A government which fails to do this forfeits
its authority; the people then have a right
of revolution.
Evident in Declaration of Independence, a
classical liberal document (John Locke)
Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are
created equal.
That they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights.
To secure those rights, Governments are instituted
among Men.
Deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the
Governed.
Whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.
Equality of property rights
Tecumseh (early 19th century) emphasized
the property rights of Native American
communities, the right to regain lands
taken by white settlers. The Native
American leaders who had negotiated the
treaties had no authority to give away
tribal lands, because the land was held in
common.
Equality of participation
Chico Mendes of Brazil (mid-20th century)
advocated equality of participation for
indigenous people in making decisions about the
rainforests. Mendes demanded that the people
in the rainforest have a voice in the decision
making process. Neither cattle ranchers nor
environmentalists could speak for them,
because those groups had their own interests.
Unlike Aristotle, he saw equality of process as
the only way to ensure equality of results.
Idea of equality false & dangerous
Friedrich Nietzsche (late 19th century), a
German philosopher, believed egalitarianism
harmful as well as false, derived from a slave
mentality advanced by the weak to drag down
the “best” people. Christianity a “slave morality,”
because it taught humility and forgiveness. In
contrast is the master morality which extols
strength.
Nietzsche blamed for fostering elitism; his ideas
influenced the development of Nazi thought.
Equality produces mediocrity
Kurt Vonnegut, an American author who
favors democracy but warns of the
dangers of complete equality in a futuristic
short story. To ensure absolute equality,
those with exceptional mental or physical
abilities were hampered with “equalizing
gear.” The resulting society was drab and
mediocre.
Power: maximized or restrained?
Should the government be free of
constraints? Yes, in order to act decisively
against threats, according to Niccolo
Machiavelli
Should government power be checked?
Yes, to guard against tyranny, according
to James Madison and the framers of the
U.S. Constitution
Machiavelli’s The Prince
Machiavelli argued for a strong central
ruler who was amoral but would appear to
be moral; who would use moral and
religious appeals to win support from the
citizenry. Relying on the people’s love
was too insecure, yet fostering their hate
was dangerous. Better to have people
fear the ruler, because they can then be
controlled.
Should government promote ethical
or moral citizenry?
In fact, they inevitably do. What are laws
against homicide and theft but statutory
expressions of our collective morality.
The question gets complex in more
contested areas of morality.
John Stuart Mill suspicious of societal &
governmental limits on individual behavior.
Fundamentalists hostile to Mill’s tolerance
of individual behavior.
Views of the Taliban
Governing authority in Afghanistan until
U.S. military action in 2001. Still elements
evident in parts of the country.
Taliban views:
Religious dress for men & especially women
Sex segregation (women banned from
professions & schools)
Opposed to modernity & western culture
Intolerant of all opposing viewpoints
Political ideologies seek to answer
these questions
A political ideology is a set of organized
and related ideas on how a political
system serves the public good. It’s a
simplified and sometimes distorted version
of a political theory.
Our ideology reflects our underlying values
and beliefs about government, the
community, & the individual. It drives our
policy preferences.