Unit 1 Lecture Notes.docx

Unit 1 Lecture Notes Although we may not be aware of it, politics affects almost every part of our daily lives. We often do not consider the political aspect of our daily lives unless we are faced with a situation that brings us directly into the political process, such as voting in elections, filli...

Unit 1 Lecture Notes Although we may not be aware of it, politics affects almost every part of our daily lives. We often do not consider the political aspect of our daily lives unless we are faced with a situation that brings us directly into the political process, such as voting in elections, filling out tax forms, or taking part in political protests. Yet politics surrounds us and influences our activities within society in a very direct manner. Think about all the rules you follow in an average day. You obey traffic signs, pay bills when due, and walk on the right-hand side of the sidewalk. Some of these rules make immediate sense: we obey traffic laws not just to avoid a ticket, but also for our own safety. Other rules, such as where we walk, are more conventional. They are just as common for us, but they may not be universal. Walking on the right-hand side of the sidewalk in Tokyo, would leave you bumping into other pedestrians, because it is common to pass other pedestrians on the left-hand side in Japan. Regardless of their seriousness, rules – legal or conventional – exist for a reason. First, rules usually come from government since that’s where laws are made. Second, we need government for the same reasons we need rules: to order our society and to provide us with security. This second idea has been around for some time. In the seventeenth century, Thomas Hobbes argued that without society and the political authority that accompanied it, humans would suffer in what he termed a “state of nature.” The state of nature is marked by an “everyone for themselves” attitude where life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Shaping human society – or the process of socialization – Hobbes suggested, is essential for the security of life itself. Politics, then, is an inevitable part of human society. It is a natural tendency among human beings to come together and create larger organized groups. And an integral part of that tendency is to seek a way to allocate the benefits and responsibilities that accompany the creation of a social unit. It is also essential for the preservation of life itself. But is it possible to have objectivity in the study of politics and what role do values play in our work? This question typifies what is referred to as the “positivist debate” in political methodology. This debate involves the issues of whether we who study politics can discover facts that can be agreed upon by all. While we may all agree that chicken pox is cause by the herpes virus, can we all agree that people of a particular income level will support a certain political party? The latter question goes to the role of values in the study of politics. Behaviouralism is the belief that values can be removed from political analysis. Behavioralists argue that the study of politics can be objective, in that the personal values of individual researchers can be removed from analysis. For others, the role of values cannot – and should not – be removed. These theorists, known as the post-behaviouralists – suggest returning to the analytical roots of studying politics. Though we might not be able to give a definitive answer to this question, we still must approach the study of politics using theories. Theories have three related purposes. First, they explain the common causes shared by a group of related events. Second, they apply these explanations to future events and try to predict what might result. Lastly, theories are used to help policy makers and citizens choose the most effective policies for achieving any given goal. When evaluating different theories, it is important to keep in mind that a theory deliberately abstracts from reality, leaving much detail aside. Theories identity which parts of a complex event deserve our attention, and which are of secondary importance. Therefore, when an event seems to contradict a theory, it does not necessarily follow that the theory has no utility. Instead, we must evaluate the theory based on whether – overall – it provides more (or less) understanding than competing theories. Politics is concerned with decisions about how one set of values is chosen over another. But politics is also about process. The basic task of any government is protecting the independence, stability, and economic well-being of its citizens. There are alternative frameworks of analysis employed within the discipline of which we must be aware. At present the discipline of political studies is characterized by an appreciation of the complexity of political life.