What is Politics
Due to the great interest this English class has on the subject of politics; I was inspired to define it. In hearing the word politics, what usually springs to mind are images of government, politicians and their policies or more negatively the idea of corruption and dirty tricks. The actual definition seems to have been obscured and almost lost by such representations and cliches that tend not to pinpoint the true essence, which defines this thing, called politics. In order to make an attempt at a definition of politics a systematic approach is required. To begin with, a brief historical overview will be considered, to understand the origins of politics. Following this, different core concepts, which are imperative to a definition of politics, will be discussed, in the hope to discover a true and fair interpretation of the word politics. The word politics comes from the Greek word "polis", meaning the state or community as a whole. The concept of the "polis" was an ideal state and came from the writings of great political thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. In his novel "The Republic", Plato describes the ideal state and the means to achieve it. Hence, the word politics originally has connotations
in the ways in which to create the ideal society. An ideal society is in practice a rather difficult aim and even an impossible aim to achieve. Politics implies measures which could and should, in the views of their devisor, be implemented in the hope to create a better society, than that which is already present. The very fact that Plato and Aristotle saw imperfections in the societies in which they lived, prompted them to write their political philosophies. These philosophies provided the first written recognition of politics. Aristotle believed that man is a political animal, in another words; it lies deep within the instinct of man. It is almost primal, so according to Aristotle Politics is not a dreamt up concept, but rather an inherent feature of mankind. To begin with, the basest premise that underpins the notion of politics should be considered in order to arrive at a fair definition. Man is self-preserving by nature. He thinks and acts, whether that is as an individual or as a group who share interests, with foremost regard to his own interests. Self-perpetuation is the number one rule. He therefore possesses his own interests, ideas and preferences, which may differ to those of his contemporaries. act in their interests, a group or individual can gain support and ultimately authority over other groups and individuals. Politics is in short a power struggle and the ultimate power is found in the Government. Thus, politics could be defined as the workings of government as a guarantor to a peaceful society. The government is run by the politicians, it is the politicians who form the ideas to hopefully settle conflict in the society they govern. However it seems that if politics are the working of government those societies an
Some common words found in the essay are:
Aristotle Politics, Due English, Republic Plato, Plato Aristotle, word politics, politics defined, definition politics, attempt definition, core concepts, attempt definition politics, power struggle, resolve conflict, plato aristotle, politics exist, politics community,
Approximate Word count = 1177
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
