Polity and Society

Module 1

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NATURE
Aristotle:

“Man is by nature a political animal and he who by

nature and not by mere accident is without a state is
either above humanity or below it”.
In other words he says,“ He who is unable to live in a
society or who has no need because he sufficient for
himself, must be either a beast or a God”.

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 Introduction
 The term Politics was first used by Aristotle as “master
science". It is derived from the Greek word “polis",
meaning city.
 To the Greeks the city was the State and the subject
that dealt with the City – State and its problems was
designated Politics.
 Politics is the process by which groups of people make
decisions

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Political Science ( definitions )

 “Political science is an academic and research

discipline that deals with the theory and practice of
politics and the description and analysis of political
system and political behavior”.
 Political systems are developed simply because
human beings are “social” and as they cannot live
without entering into the relationships of influence,
consequently, “whenever these relationships become
stable and repetitive, political systems exist.

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 Robert Dahl thus defines a political system," as any
persistent pattern of human relationship that involves,
to a significant extent, power, rule or authority”

 Political behavior concentrates on the study of the

behavior of the individuals and groups within
political institutions.

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 Political science is the study of political behavior and
examines the acquisition and application of power.

 It is the scientific study of the State – its nature,

conditions, origin and developments – and
government, their functions and purposes and the
institutions they foster in order to make the task of
“good life” possible.

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Political Science

 Paul Janet, “Political science is the part of social

science which treats the foundations of the State and
the principles of the Government.”
 Garris , famous German author is of the opinion that
“Political Science deals with the origin, development,
purpose, and all political problems of the state.”
 Lord Acon, “ Political science is concerned with the
State and with conditions essential for its
development.”

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Aims and scope
a. Study of State and Government – Political science
is the science which is concerned with the State,
endeavors to understand and comprehend the State
and the Government.
We come to know that despite the
differences found between the State and the
Government, the scope of one another cannot be
separated from the other. It is to be noted that the
State is an agency under which the Government
functions.
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b. The study of associations and institutions – in the
organized way the fundamental problems of Political
science include, first, an investigation of the origin
and the nature of the State, second, an inquiry into
nature, history and forms of political institutions and
third, deduction there from so far as possible, of laws
of political growth and development.
There are many types of institutions
(religious, social, cultural, economic, educational,
political) in a country or in a society and, the State,
an institution that stands supreme – controls all of
them.
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 c. Study of National and International Problems and
the Political Study of Man – Though the term
Political science is related to the English word
“Politics” which itself has been derived from the
Greek word “Polis". It stands for city – State.
However the study of political science is not limited
to city – States only but it also deals with the
national and international problems.
It will be not wrong to say that
the scope of Political science also includes the study
of man, otherwise the study of Political science
would remain incomplete.
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d. Study of the Past, Present and the Future
Development of State – Gettell writes : “In its
historical aspects, Political Science deals with the
origin of the State and the development of political
theories in the past…In dealing with the present, it
attempts to describe and classify existing political
institutions and ideas. It also looks to the future, to
improving politics, organizations and activities in the
light of the changing conditions and ethical
standards.”

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Politics and legitimate power
Legitimate power comes from the authority and
position in the chain of command. It comes from the
ability to influence because of position. People at
higher position have power over the people below.
Legitimate power increases with
added responsibilities and it can be decreased if one
fails to meet all the responsibilities.

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  According to Robert Dahl, legitimacy is considered a
basic condition for rule: without at least a minimal
amount of legitimacy, a government will lead to
frequent deadlocks or collapse in the long run.

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SOURCES OF LEGITIMACY
 Charismatic authority : Legitimacy based on the
charisma of the leader, often partly based on the
perception that this leader has certain extra or
supernatural attributes. Example: a religious leader.

 Traditional authority : Legitimacy based on

tradition; e.g., people accept the government for the
simple fact that it has been around for so long and is
based on popular customs and usages. Example:
monarchy.

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 Rational/legal authority : Legitimacy based on the
perception that a government's powers are derived
from set procedures, principles, and laws which are
often complex and are written down as part of the
constitution. Example: democracy

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 Relationship between Politics, Society and Law

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Relationship between Politics, society and law
 the State which is the central theme of political science,
operates through law. Hence, jurisprudence, the science
of law is closely related to politics.
 Laws tend to be a reflex of a particular social pattern.
The legal system has to keep pace with the changing
pattern of a community.
 Law seeks to regulate social relations, when these
relations change the code of social regulations, known
as law, also, undergoes necessary modifications.

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 A social ideal primarily deduced from a prevalent
social relation is sought to be embodied in the legal
code of the society.
 Political science and jurisprudence, differ in their
approaches. Jurisprudence , deals with persons and
situations in general. It follows a normative approach,
while political science is also interested in descriptive
analysis as it is closely related to the living political
realities

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 Law serves as an exercise in logic rather than in life,
politics bridge the gulf between abstract legalism and
the concrete realities of life.

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 Indian School of Thought

- Ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be

traced back to the Rig Veda, Samhitas, Brahmanas,
and Buddhist Pali Canon.
- Chanakya (350-275 B.C) was a professor of political
science at Takshashila University, and later the
Prime Minister of Mauryan emperor Chandragupta
Maurya.
- Chanakya is regarded as one of the earliest political
thinkers and is also known as the Indian Machiavelli.
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- Chanakya wrote the Arthashastra, which was one of the
earliest treatise on political thought, economics and
social order.

- It discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare,

international relations, and war strategies in detail,
among other topics on political science.

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- The ancient Tamil literary work Thirukural written
2000 years back has extensively dealt with political
science.

- Thirukural includes the art of public administration,

warfare, political diplomacy, civil society, espionage,
qualifications for public office, public revenue and
financial administration and local administration

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THE GANDHIAN WAY
 As a leader of a massive movement Gandhi had to
deal with new ,emergent problem situations and in his
attempt to solve those problems he applied some
ideas, only truth and non violence were in his
opinion, eternal values.
 Gandhi believed that by taking an immoral path of
falsehood and violence it is not possible to reach the
temple of truth and justice.

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 Gandhi was an advocate of a Non violent revolution.
 The aim of this type of revolution was not to seize
and possess the summit of power but transference of
power from a close corporation to the people’s
representatives.
 He suggested dispersal of power over wide area.
Decentralization of power is the core Gandhian
polity.
 Self governing village Panchayats constituted the
most important units of Gandhi’s envisioned polity.

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 Gandhi rejected the superior inferior stratification in
society. For him all social groups were equal and
none was smaller or greater than the other

 In the Gandhian theory of State there is a blending of

politics with ethics.

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Satyagraha as a technique of change
 Gandhi laid emphasis on Satyagraha for resisting the
evil forces of injustice and tyranny.
 Satyagraha is the technique of resisting all that is evil,
unjust, impure and untrue and resolving all
maladjustments in human relation by love, voluntary
suffering and self purification by an appeal “to the
divine spark in the opponents soul”.

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 In the words of Gandhi “Satyagraha is a
vindication of truth by bearing witness to it
through self suffering in other words love”.

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 The technique of Satyagraha may take the following
forms:
1.Non cooperation Gandhi believed that a government
could perpetuate injustice only when the governed
cooperate with it.
Thus withdrawal of cooperation from unrighteous rule
would result in paralysis of the government

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2. Civil Disobedience It is the last stage and the most
drastic form of non-cooperation.
According to Gandhi civil disobedience is the breach
of immoral statutory enactments. People disobey the
unjust laws of the tyrannical government in a
civilized manner.

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 Non cooperation ultimately develops into civil
disobedience .
 People disobey the unjust laws of the tyrannical
government in a civilized manner.
 Civil disobedience is the combination of revolution
with an abiding sympathy. Disobedience to be civil
he said must be sincere, respectful and restrained. It
must have no ill will and hatred behind it.

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3. Fasting The most potent form of Satyagraha is
fasting. Fasting according to Gandhi presupposes that
the person who launches on a fast possess spiritual
fitness and a clear vision. Non violent pressure
exerted through self suffering by fasting touches and
strengthens the moral fiber of against whom it is
directed.
4. Strike - strike is the weapon of the labor for the
redressal of their grievances. The strike must be non
violent in spirit as well in method. The demands must
be clear and feasible.
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Gandhi’s theory of State
 Gandhi conceived the withering away of the State -
the final stage of man’s journey towards perfection.

 He paints a “State of enlightened anarchy” where

everyone is his own ruler. In the final State, therefore
there is no political power because there is no State.

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 Gandhi has been described as a philosophic
anarchist . He rejected the State in any form.
The state commands, and whatever is
commanded cannot carry with it the moral values
of the individual’s action.
 He wanted a society based on cooperation. when
the people cooperate voluntarily ,there is no
need of political power and the emerging result is
a stateless society.
 In the final State therefore there is no political
power because there is no state.

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Western school of thought

 Politics has been understood differently by different

thinkers and within different traditions.
 the term politics was used by Aristotle and Plato.
 Plato’s work “Republic” has a great effect on modern
political thought. Its basic tenor is idealist as Plato
speculated with logical consistency on the construction
of an ideal political community.

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 Aristotle’s work “politics” is amalgam of ethical
observations, insightful comments and empiricism.
 It contains classificatory scheme of government
structures, ideas about government change and ethical
concerns in politics.
 Jean Bodin’s work Republic in 1576 introduced the
concept of sovereignty which has become a core
concept of political science.
Jean Jaques Rousseau’s Social contract.
 Jean Jacques Rousseau in 1762 published his work
“Social Contract". He discussed the contractual nature
of civil society.
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  Rousseau’s theory is analysis of human nature.
 Man in his opinion is essentially good, simple and
sympathetic. The state of nature was a condition of
perfect liberty and equality for man – a stage of idyllic
happiness.
 To Rousseau, natural state is greatly preferable to civil
society and hence “nature must be the rule for man in
the society.”

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 The growing economic advancement gave rise to the
system of property. The sense of property emerged
and man began to think in terms of “mine and thine”.

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 Hostility and conflict appeared in the state of nature
and in consequence the sense of security was lost. The
need for self preservation impelled men to form a civil
society through contract.
 By contract each man puts his person and all his power
in common under the supreme direction of general will.

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 According to Rousseau, there was only one contract which
was social and political at the same time. The individual
surrendered himself completely and unconditionally to
contract of which he became the member. The contract so
entered was moral and collective. Rousseau called this contract
as the General Will. The salient feature of the General Will is
that it attached no importance to the private ends and willed
the General Good.
 The General Will is all powerful as it stands for the social
good ,which itself is the standard of all righteousness.

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ARISTOTLE’S IDEAL STATE

It is a government by men of high and enlightened

virtue, in which no one is admitted to citizenship who
is not qualified and in which all citizens rule and are
ruled in turn.

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FEATURES
 Ideal State is always a small city – State.
 In Aristotle’s Ideal State Law is supreme.
 The main function of Ideal State is ethical. It aims at
making man moral.
 Aristotle regards State as educational State.
 In Aristotle’s Ideal State property is to be owned
privately but is to be used in common.

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 Size of Aristotle’s state should neither be too small or
too large.
 The state should have ample access to sea for import.
 The Ideal State is self – sufficient and never
aggressive.
 The climate of the Ideal State should be moderate as
it is good for both mental and physical activity.
 Character of the citizens should be combination of
courage and intelligence.
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 Division of labor prevails in Ideal State as Aristotle
justifies slavery ,slavery is natural :
a. Men are by nature unequal with respect to their
capacities and virtue.
b. Nature says that superior should rule over inferior
c. As everything in the world has its own specific
function similarly slave is fit for manual labor.
d. Slavery is useful for the master as well as the slave.

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 Population of the state should be divided into
many classes :
i. Husbandry (agriculturists).
ii. Artisans.
iii. A war like class.
iv. Well to do leisured class.
v. Priests.
vi. Administrators.
Out of the six classes first two are non
citizens, they are the necessity of the State.
Last four are the citizens (part of the State)
 The Ideal State should have internal
arrangements for water supply, streets.
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 JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU

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 Jean Jacques Rousseau, the great French writer of the
eighteenth century, elaborated his theory in his book
“The Social Contract” in 1762 . In Rousseau’s State
of nature, all men were equal and living peacefully
and having joint ownership over all property. People
were living a very simple and natural life.

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THEORY OF GENERAL WILL
According to Rousseau there is only one contract
which is social as well as political. The individual
surrendered himself completely and
unconditionally to the will of the body of which he
became a member. The collective body so formed
was called by Rousseau as GENERAL WILL
Divided the individual will in two parts :
 Real Will.
 Actual Will.

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ATTRIBUTES OF GENERAL WILL

 Indivisible.
 Unrepresentable.
 Unlimited, absolute and supreme.
 Inallienable.
 Infallible.

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CRITICISM
A. All the powers attributed to General Will may make
it a dictatorship of one or a few.
B. Rousseau has no clear conception of General will.
C. In practice it is difficult to distinguish the General
will from the Will of All.
D. It separates the interest of the individual from that of
the State.

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E. The applicability of General Will in a large state is
not possible.
F. Rousseau does not tell us how to put the General
Will in practice.
G. The theory of General will emphasizes the notion of
general good rather than the good of the individual.

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