On The Nature of Politics
Discussing Politics
Strauss L. What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1973. Political action aims at either preservation or change. All political action has then in itself directedness towards knowledge of the good (whether utopian good or the truth of reality). Strauss distinguishes between CLASSICAL and MODERN philosophy.
Discussing the Readings
Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, 1919, in H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, eds, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, 1958, pp. 77-128. Confucian Thought, Excerpts from Analects, Mencius, and Xunzi (circa 500 BC, written circa 300 BC), in Patricia Buckley Ebrey, ed., Chinese Civilization, pp. 1726. Emperor Taizong, Advice on Effective Government (648 AD), pp. 112-115.
Max Weber: Politics as a Vocation - 1919
The decisive means of politics is violence.
– STATE: possesses a monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.
Politics is then the means striving to share power or striving to influence the distribution of power, either among states or among groups within a state. Presents politics as a vocation. Identifies current state of affairs as a “dictatorship on the exploitation of mass emotionality”. Ethics of ultimate ends & responsibility.
Confucian Thought
Confucius‟s Analects (551 – 479 B.C.):
– A Gentleman concerns himself with the Way, he is a lover of learning, understands integrity. – The nine concerns of the gentleman. – On Government: “Lead them by means of virtue and regulate them through rituals and they will have a sense of shame and moreover have standards.” – Does not believe that military is as important as “food” or “reason to have faith” as far as good government is concerned.
“Zigong inquired about governing. The Master said, „Make food supplies sufficient, provide an adequate army, and give the people reason to have faith.‟ Zigong asked, „If one had no choice but to dispense with one of these three, which should it be?‟ „Eliminate the army.‟ Zigong continued, „If one had no choice but to get rid of one of the two remaining, which should it be?‟ „Dispense with food,‟ Confucius said. „Since ancient times, death has always occurred, but people without faith cannot stand”.
– This quote characterizes Confucian thought on good government.
Xunzi (ca. 310 – ca. 215 B.C.):
– Human nature is bad. Good is a human product. Human nature is such that people are born with a love of profit.
• Distinguished thus from other Confucian thinkers.
– Education by teachers and ritual transforms the individual.
Emperor Taizong on Effective Government – 648 AD
Uses a prescriptive mode in attempting to convey main tenants of his theory - advising a potential ruler on how to rule (both how to rule righteously and how to garner political power). Ruler should discipline himself by practicing virtue and righteousness. Ruler should neutralize the power of subordinates so that none of them gets to be too strong or too weak. Suggestions on “Welcoming Advice”, “Avoiding Extravagance” and “Maintaining Military Forces” are similar to those proposed by Machiavelli in The Prince.
Niccolo Machiavelli – The Prince - 1513
It is more important to appear moral than to be moral. Concept of fortuna. “To maintain one‟s kingdom one needs both good laws and good arms, but since there cannot be good laws without good arms, the prince must give priority to the art of war.” Believes that human nature is inherently evil (influenced Hobbes). Himself was influenced by the scientific revolution and so he espouses the benefits of positivism and inductive historical reasoning.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Discourse on the Origin of Inequality - 1755
State of nature is perfect. It is the modern society that corrupts man. Modern man has lost his genuineness and sincerity. Greatest source of corruption is social inequality. Social inequalities magnify the natural inequalities. The establishment of society transforms the natural man: it gives him new desires and wants. Modern man cannot solve the problem by going back to the state of nature… THERE IS NO GOING BACK!
John Locke – Second Treatise on Government - 1690
Responds to Hobbes‟s Leviathan and Filmer‟s Patriarcha. Context of the English civil war, Parliament vs. the King. Property:
– The right to property is pre social. It exists in the state of nature.The right to property MUST be protected. – Labor theory of value: Something becomes one‟s own if labor is mixed with it. World is bountiful (America).
Introduction of money is important because it starts the process of leaving the state of nature (wealth can be accumulated, inequality develops).
Locke sees man‟s exit from the state of nature as a response to social inequality that develops from the accumulation of wealth (man enters social contract in order to protect his property). Hobbes, however, sees man entering a social contract in order to protect his life. Elements of a Legitimate Constitutional Government:
– CONSENT: It is legitimate only if consent is present
• Express consent. • Tacit consent.
– TRUST: Supreme power rests in the legislature which represents the people (Locke proposed institutional checks and the separation of powers). – REVOLUTION: People have the right to revolt.
Hannah Arendt – The Human Condition
Labor and work, although related to politics, lack the necessary plurality and therefore cannot form the condition of political life. Labor, once confined to private realm, has been allowed to enter the public realm at the expense of action.
– Labor exalted in theories proposed by Marx and Locke.
Therefore the political life of modern society suffers as a result of this integration of labor into the political sphere.
Mencious – Mencious (ca. 350 BC)
Aim was the reviving of virtuous practices of sage emperors and unification of the realm. Regarded human nature as inherently good (therefore would have disagreed with Xunzi). Man‟s nature turns bad when the situation itself turns bad. Men are born with equal capabilities, but some are more aware of their potential than others. Optimal means of securing one‟s position is by gaining people‟s affection through humane leadership. Nations grow and learn to be successful in times of adversity, not during extended periods of peace.
DEBATE QUESTIONS ON VARIOUS TOPICS INTRODUCED IN THE DISCUSSION OF THIS WEEK’S READING:
Should the primary motivation behind the construction of political theory be the pursuit of a utopian good or the definition of the actual state of reality? Thus, should theory come from practice or practice out of theory?
Does one have to define the state of nature in order to justify contractualism? Is the state of nature at all possible or are we by nature “political animals”?
Discuss the possibility of applying the various theories proposed by political thinkers discussed today to the current system of International Relations. Who would be a realist? Idealist? Does anyone propose a theory so tuned towards the working of a state that it can not be applied to IR?
Is inequality among individuals natural or is it a product of society? For the sake of argument one may use the “state of nature” as the starting point in search of inequality.