INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THOUGHT

After reading this lesson you will be familiar with:

What is Political Theory?
The relevance of Political Theory?
Why is it important to study the history of political thought?
The word theory refers to a body of logically collected and analysed body of
knowledge. And Politics as we know is about many things including
relationships among individuals and groups and classes and the state, and
state institutions like the judiciary, bureaucracy etc. So one definition of
Political Theory given by David Weld sees political theory as a network of
concepts and generalisations about political life involving ideas, assumptions
and statements about the nature, purpose and key features of government,
state and society, and about the political capabilities of human beings'.
Andrew Hacker defines it as 'a combination of a disinterested search for the
principles of good state and good society on the one hand, and a
disinterested search for knowledge of political and social realty on the
other'.
What is Political Theory?
A rather comprehensive definition has been given by Gould and Kolb who
defined political theory as a 'sub-field of political science which includes: (i)
political philosophy - a moral theory of politics and a historical study of
political ideas, (ii) a scientific criterion, (iii) a linguistic analysis of political
ideas, (iv) the discovery and systematic development of generalisations
about political behaviour'. We can conclude that political theory is concerned
basically with the study of the phenomenon of the state both in philosophy
as well as empirical terms. An attempt is made to provide explanations,
descriptions and prescriptions regarding the state and political institutions.
Also of course there is an underlying theme of studying the moral
philosophical purpose. The thinker Weinstein had put it very succinctly when
he had suggested that political theory is basically an activity, which involves
posing questions, developing responses to those questions and creating
imaginative perspectives on the public life of human beings.
The questions that are asked are like;
  What is the nature and purpose of the state and why should we prefer
one form of state over another?
 How do we judge the ends, aims and methods of political
organization?
 What is and should be the relationship between the state and the
individual?
Throughout history political theory has been answering these questions. It
has been regarded as important because the fate of man is dependent on
the kind of system of rulers and the ruled that is achieved and whether it
leads to united action for the common good.
Political Theory and Political Thought
Political theory is sometimes synonymously regarded with political thought
but it is important to understand they don’t necessarily mean the same
thing. Political thought is a generalized term which comprises all thoughts,
theories and values of a person or a group of persons or a community on
state and questions related to the state. Any person expressing his views
whether he is a professor, journalist, writer, novelist, and poet etc and of
course if he is a politician that has a bearing on our lives and that is about
The state and governance and related questions then he is engaging in
political thought. His thoughts may or may not comprise a theory if it is not a
systematic logical hypothesis advanced to explain historical and political
phenomenon related to political rule of the state and governance etc.
Political thought thus is always of persons or groups while political theory is a
self-contained and self-standing explanation or speculation or theory
attempting to answer questions and explain history and the predict likely
events in the future. Of course this theory is always some individual thinker’s
creation. Barker had commented that while political thought is the immanent
philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular
thinker.
Political Theory and Political Philosophy
Philosophy is all thinking really on anything and everything in search of the
truth and wisdom. When this search is on political topics we call it political
philosophy. Hence it may not necessarily have a theory to propose and that
is the distinction between political philosophy and political thought. So while
political theory is a part of political philosophy mostly political philosophy is
much wider and need not necessarily be comprised of any theories.
Thus we can say political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions
about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law
and the enforcement of a legal code by authority etc: what they are, why (or
even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights
and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why,
what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if
any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown or not. We often refer
"political philosophy" to mean a general view, or specific ethic, belief or
attitude, about politics that does not necessarily belong to the whole
technical discipline of philosophy.
Political philosophy is often not concerned with contemporary issues but with
the more universal issues in the political life of man. But a political theorist is
looking at contemporary political life mostly and while he is interested in
explaining the nature and purpose of the state and general questions like
that he is also looking to describe and understand the realities of political
behavior, the actual relations between state and citizens, and the role of
power in the society.
While studying political science one gets the feeling political theory has to be
supplemented by political philosophy. Otherwise it appears barren and
irrelevant.
Political Theory and Political Science
Political Science is a comprehensive subject or field of study of which
political theory is only a sub-field. Political Science includes everything:
political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political ideology,
institutional or structural framework, comparative politics, public
administration, international law and organisation etc. Some thinkers have
stressed on the science aspect of political science and they suggest when
political science is studied as a science with scientific methods political
theory to the extent it is a part of political philosophy can not be regarded as
political science because whereas there is no room for abstract intuitive
conclusions or speculations in political science, political philosophy relies on
exactly those un-exact methods. Political theory is neither pure thought, nor
pure philosophy, nor pure science.
Some Basic Characteristic of Political Theory
1. A political theory is generally the creation on individual thinker based on
his moral and intellectual position and when propounding his theory he is
looking explain the events, phenomenon and the mysteries generally of
mankind's political life. The theory may or may not be accepted as true but it
always can be regarded as one more theory. Generally we find the political
theory of an individual thinker is put forward in a classic work by the thinker
like Plato did in his Republic or Rawl in A Theory of Justice.
2. A political theory attempts to provide explanations on questions relating to
mankind, the societies he formed and history and historical events generally.
It also suggests ways of resolving conflicts and sometimes even advocates
revolutions. There are also often predictions made about the future.
3. Political theory thus is also sometimes not only providing explanations and
predictions but also sometimes actively influencing and participating in
historical events particularly when they propose political action of a
particular kind and that line of action is widely adopted. The great positive
liberal thinker Harold Laski had commented that the task of political theorists
is not merely of description but also of prescription on what ought to be.
4. Political theory is also usually discipline based and thought he subject of
study remains the same the theorist might be a philosopher, historian,
economist, theologian or a sociologist etc.
5. Political theories are often also the basis for a whole ideology. The liberal
theories became the basis for liberalism and Marx's theory became the basis
for Marxian socialist ideology. A political theorist proposed by a thinker is
usually always reflecting the political ideology of the thinker too. That is also
the reason why when there are conflicts between ideologies it leads to
debates about the theories underlying those ideologies.
Issues in Political Theory
The issues that have held prominence in political theory have changed over
time. Classical and early political theory was mainly concerned with the
search for a morally perfect political order and focused on questions like the
nature and purpose of the state, the basis on which political authority should
be used and the problem of political disobedience.
The rise of the modern nation state and changes in the economic
structure and the industrial revolution gave rise to new priorities and the
focus shifted to individualism and liberty of the individual and his relationship
to society and the state. Issues that became more important included;
 Rights
 Duties
 Liberty
 Equality and
 property
Gradually it also became important to explain to the inter-relation between
one concept and the other such as liberty and equality or, justice and liberty
or, equality and property. After the Second World War a new kind of
empirical political theory emerged which studied the political behaviour of
man and believed in making theoretical conclusions on that basis. Also the
behavioural scholars created new issues for study often borrowed from other
disciplines. Some of these issues are political culture and legitimacy, political
system, elites, groups, parties etc. In the last two decades a number of
different issues have emerged like identity, gender, environmentalism,
ecology and community etc. Also there has been a resurgence of value-
based political theory with a new focus on the basic issues of freedom,
equality and justice. The traditional twin ways of looking at issues - liberal
and marxist - therefore is also changing.
Relevance of Political Theory
We humans as social beings live together and societies where we share the
resources, jobs and rewards. We are also individuals needing some basic
human rights. The process of organising state and society therefore becomes
important to maximize harmony and prosperity and to allow the
circumstances for individual self-realisation. So to facilitate the unity and
integrity of human societies or the collective needs of society political theory
becomes important it tries to study and find solutions to problems in this
process. The relevance lies in evolving various approaches regarding the
nature and purpose of the state, the basis of political authority and the best
form of government to practice, relations between the state and the
individual in the context of his basic rights. Apart from this political theory
also seeks to establish the moral criterion for judging the ethical worth of a
political state and to suggest alternative political arrangements and
practices. To sum up in brief the relevance of political theory lies in the
following:
(a) In providing an explanation and description of political phenomenon (b)
helping select the political goals and actions for a community and (c) helps in
providing the basis for making moral judgments.
Also it has to be remembered increasingly at least in contemporary times
states face challenges of poverty, corruption, over-population and ethnic and
racial tensions, environment pollution etc. This is not to mention
international problems like conflicts etc. Political Theory seeks to study the
present and future problems of political life of the society and to suggest
solutions for dealing with those problems. David Held has commented that
the task of the political theorist is very great in its complexity because in the
absence of systematic study, there is a danger that politics will be left to the
ignorant and self-seeking people who are in pursuit of power.
Thus if one has to systematically think about the nature and purpose of the
state and the problems of government while looking at the socio-political
reality and keeping in mind the ideals and political philosophy, then one has
to take the route of theoretically studying the problem. Thus political theory
is relevant. Also studying political theory at an individual level makes one
aware of one's rights and duties and helps one understand and appreciate
the socio-political realities and problems like poverty, violence, corruption
etc. Political theory is also important because it can go forward basing itself
on the theories and propose the means and directions for changing society
to establish an ideal society. Marxist theory for instance is an example of a
theory which not only proposes the direction but also goes so far as to
advocate a revolution for establishing an egalitarian state. If the political
theory is sound and it can be transmitted and communicated to people then
it can become a very powerful force or the advancement of society and
mankind.
The Important Schools of Political Theory
The most important schools of political thought that have lasted in
importance and have stood the test of time so to say are as follows:
1. Classical Political Theory
2. Liberal political Theory
3. Marxist Political Theory
4. Empirical Scientific Political Theory
5. Contemporary Political Theory
Classical Political Theory
The political theories that emerged starting from the 6th century B.C. and
evolved through the Greeks, Romans and early European Christian thinkers
and philosophers is referred to as Classical Political Theories. Among the
Greeks, Plato and Aristotle are the two thinkers who are studied and who
have great influence till today. Classical political theory was deeply
dominated by philosophy and the whole focus was on taking a holistic gaze
searching for the most general of truths. So there was no clear distinction
between philosophical, theological and political issues and political science
or thought was not separately recognised as a discipline as such. Political
theory was concerned with probing into issues, asking important questions
and serving as a sort of conscience keeper of politics. The underlying quest
was to arrive at the best possible form of government. The state and
government were also viewed as a tool for realising the moral goals of man
and society and for promoting the good. Thus the state was to serve as some
sort of promoter to foster high moral standards among the members of the
community. There had some debate about whether the individual good
should be the priority or the common good. The common good was required
as more complete than the private good of the individual. The classical
tradition also sought to search ways for an ideal state and a stable system.
The main questions that the classical tradition was asked was;
 What is the best form of government?
 Who should rule and why?
 How should conflict situations be resolved?
Liberal Political Theory
With the historical period referred to as Renaissance and Reformation
in Europe which was followed by the Industrial Revolution, the dominance of
the classical tradition came to an end. This new philosophical wave was led
by thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Thomas, Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Jeremy
Bentham, J.S. Mill, Herbert Spencer and a host of other writers. The main
thrust of the liberal tradition was the individual's rights and the state was
merely regarded as a contract between individuals to benefit from the
conflict resolution mechanism that a system of rule of law provides. The
main aim of the state in the liberal tradition is to help individuals realise their
fundamental inalienable rights. In fact the liberal thinkers went so far as to
propose that when the basic contractual relationship between the individual
and the state is violated, the individuals have not only the right but the
responsibility to revolt and establish a new government. Social control is best
secured by law. The new liberal theories also dismissed the idea of common
good and an organic community and instead advocated that the government
should govern as less as possible for individual rights to reign supreme and
free him from political, social and economic restraints as far as possible.
Marxist Political Theory
The fundamental changes that industrial revolution brought about caused
inequality and a large class of impoverished industrial workers emerged. The
basic liberal position that supported total economic freedom was challenged
by Karl Marx and Engles and their followers who in the later half of the
nineteenth century proposed what they called 'scientific socialism'.
Socialism predated the theory of Marx but he gave it a strong theoretical
foundation. Marx offered a new way of looking at the history up to that time
and suggested that the task of knowledge is not just to understand the world
but also to change the social life of mankind for the better. For that he
suggested a revolutionary path. He suggested that to win the basics of life
for their emancipation he working class has to takeover the means of
production and the means of production should be controlled by the state.
This takeover will need to happen via a revolution he suggested because the
upper classes will use the power of the state to crush any attempts for
liberation and emancipation of the lower classes. Marx saw societies that
liberal capitalism helped create as fundamentally unequal as a consequence
of property concentration with a few families of fortune. Hence he wanted to
create a society where "man shall not be exploited by man" and where each
individual will have the full opportunity to develop his or her personality and
potential. He also was the first major thinker to stress on the historical
exploitation of the female gender and the need for women's liberation. The
most important themes of Marxist political theory are class division, class
struggle, property relations, modes of production, state as an instrument of
class domination and revolution by the proletariat. Marxism also suggests
that rights, liberty, equality, justice and democracy in a capitalist liberal
democracy are really only enjoyed by the rich and properties classes
because the state is controlled by the upper classes who use the institutions
of the state as a tool for class exploitation. He believed real liberty and
equality can only be achieved in a classless and stateless society. Thus
whereas Liberal theory provided the theoretical basis for a capitalist free
market system, Marxist political theory provided the basis for the
establishment of a socialist state through revolutionary action.
Empirical-Scientific Political Theory
In America a new kind of political theory was developed particularly in the
post second world war period that suggested relying on the scientific method
(instead of philosophical) and base theories upon facts (rather than on
values). Political Scientists at the Chicago University (known as
the Chicago School) such as Charles Merrium, Harold Lasswell, Gosnell,
David Easton, Stuart Rice etc focused on studying politics in the context of
behaviour of individual human beings as members of a political community.
The task of political theory according to this new school of thought is to
formulate and systematize the concept of science of political behaviour in
which emphasis is placed on empirical research than on political philosophy.
The behavioural scientists suggested a political theorist should clarify and
critcise systems of concepts which have empirical relevance to political
behaviour.
Behavioural schools differed fundamentally from all the previous schools
because they suggested that the job of political theory is only to explain
political phenomenon and extrapolate from that and predict the future. It is
not to make philosophical and moral judgements. It is not at all to advocate
revolutionary action. Thus political theory is not to question or propose who
rules, should rule and why but rather who does rule and how? . Or in other
words it should not question the basis of the state but should be happy witht
he status quo, stability, equilibrium and harmony in the society. It should
focus attention on the study of political behaviour of man, group and
institutions irrespective of their good or bad character. Practical political
theory is not only concerned with the study of the state but also with the
political process.
Contemporary Political Theory
Since the 1970 the sole focus of the empiricists and behavioral scholars on
science, value-free politics and methods came under criticism and lost
popularity because it failed to address pressing political and social issues. So
there has been a revival of interest in political theory in USA, Europe and
other parts of the world. Thinkers like John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Habermas
etc made noteworthy contributions and took up basic issues like liberty,
equality, justice etc again. Theory again regained the status of a legitimate
form of knowledge and enquiry. Also on the question of what exactly is
science there emerged many views that challenged the old notions. Further
many scholars opined that social sciences throw up distinctive problems that
cannot be grasped by scientific models. This is because perceptions and
resulting actions of men vary and the same phenomenon can be viewed
differently by different minds who may interpret the social issues differently.
Hence it is difficult to do an objective scientific analysis of social issues and
events with scientific rigor.
The publication of John Rawls 1970 book A Theory of Justice was important
because he examined basic issues like rights, duties and obligations with
great brilliance and offered a justification of civil disobedience, and with an
original enquiry into intergenerational justice. Scholars like Peter Laslett,
John Pocock, Quentin Skinner and John Dunn were called the 'new historians'
of political thought. Juergen Habermass and the Frankfurt School gave
important theories and Ronald Dworkin focused on the philosophy of law.
David Held has opined that contemporary political theory has four distinct
tasks:
 Philosophical: to focus on the fundamental philosophical positions of
the normative and conceptual framework;
 Empirical: to empirically understand and explain the concepts;
 Historical: to examine the important concepts in the historical context;
 Strategic: to assess the feasibility of moving from where we are to
where we might like to be.
Why study History of Political Thought?
As has been mentioned above political thought concerns the state and its
policies and decisions and activities. the various terms political science,
political theory, political thought and political philosophy have not been used
consistently in the same sense by scholars at all times. They have even been
used as synonyms popularly. Political thought is the most general term of all
these, which can be easily used to refer to the whole discipline easily and if
we do that then political science and political philosophy become specific
sub-categories. Also political thought also accommodates ethics and moral
philosophy, theology, role of politics in human development and the dignity
of political activity.
On the question which is the best way of studying political thought, Gould
and Thursby have opined that there are two ways to study political thought.
The first is to list all the political thought considered to be classic such as
 Plato's Republic,
 Aristotle's Politics,
 Machiavelli's Prince,
 Hobbes' Leviathan,
 Locke's Two Treatises on Government,
 Hegel's Philosophy of Rights,
 Marx's The Communist Manifesto,
 Rawl's A Theory of Justice

Second is to make a note of the constant questions and approaches in them

like: What is the meaning of freedom and equality? , Why men should obey
the government at all? , What are the ideals and goals of a state and what is
the meaning of democracy? etc. The problem in this method one can' t not
easily decide what should be classified as a classic.
The second method is of general philosophical methodology and applying it
to political matters which means picking the central concepts problems,
methods, questions etc from the classics and adding to that list important
omissions if any. The items selected should then be arranged in an order
from general principles to specific ones on the basis of importance. That way
a coherent and comprehensive general account of political thought can be
built.
The study of any social science is impossible without an understanding of the
historical evolution of the subject. The political institutions and systems of
political behaviour which we observe today are a result of evolution of
centuries. A political theorist needs to study history to understand this
evolution. He does not need to study the dates and colorful historical details
of kings and princes and the battles they fought and the lives they led but
rather the growth and changes in the economic structures, in technological
capabilities and the impact that had and in political institutions and ways of
governing. Social classes, political power and economic processes do not
emerge overnight and cannot be understood by examining them in isolation
in their contemporary settings. One needs to study the history of political
thought to understand the evolving relationships between man, society and
political authority and indeed the popular perceptions of those relationships
through history. The study of the views and theories of past political thinkers
enables one to go beyond the dominant contemporary political orthodoxies
and draw intellectual resources from the past.
A reflection on the thoughts of past thinkers provides a guideline to actual
theorising. Political theories thus emerge not from nowhere but is
constructed by building, expanding and developing the vocabularies of the
past author's texts. This also enables easy comparison and judgement
between past and contemporary works. Ideology has been inseparable from
political thought and proceeding historically it has been possible to build
theories that are supportive of a particular ideology. Of course history can be
both used and misused but is has been always used to buttress theoretical
constructions. For instance the same history of Europe led Marx and Engel to
support their arguments that the political history of mankind is a history of
class struggle but the liberal thinkers saw it differently and some like Burke
and Tocqueville glorified the past and saw it as an age of harmony, civility
and ordered liberty.
Whatever the ideological pre-dispositions a study of the history political
thought allows for evaluating the social and economic circumstances in
which the political institutions arose and maintained themselves. Without a
sense of history political theory can not be constructed because it would
then not take into account the full range of human social behaviour. Taking
the historical route often throws up patterns and order for the theorist to
discern.
Another reason to study the historical development of political thought is to
examine if the political thoughts of a particular time influenced the actions of
men and if so how. Some thinkers like Plato and Marx have argued that
ideas and philosophical thoughts have little no effect on the conduct of men
in power. But there are other thinkers who have argued that the history of
political thought and the history of political action are quite related and the
thoughts of thinkers do significantly influence actual political action.
The reverse - that is whether political thoughts are influenced by political
events and historical circumstances is equally important and another reason
for studying from the historical point of view. It has been argued for instance
that the thoughts of Plato were influenced by a decline in the moral
standards of the city-states and that of John Locke by the Glorious revolution
and that of Marx by the economic inequality created by industrial capitalism.
Thinkers are also men of their times and are influenced by the events and
circumstances of their times. But the lasting value of their theories only is
only there if it points out at some general truth which can transcend
societies and classes and ethnic communities. For instance the political
thoughts of Plato, Aristotle, J.S. Mill or Marx throw up principles, which often
have universal value over time.
Social sciences like Political Sciences and Thought is meant to improve our
understanding of the world and history is a part of social sciences. Historical
view is essential to create theoretical constructions of human life and social
phenomenon that transcends time. We need to ask though while studying a
theory from the past (which inevitably drew on the historical circumstances
present at the time the theory was proposed) what meaning has political
thought in the contemporary world that we live in. In answering that
question we are able to test the lasting validity of the theory. But it has to be
realised ultimately the history of political thought is important because the
central theme is timeless. Neal Wood while commenting on the importance
of studying the classical texts of political thought has commented:
'...these texts reflect and comment upon that nature of the Western state
with all its blemishes and deficiencies as well as benefits. Some of the texts
call for radical recognition of state, others for its reform and in so doing
grapple with fundamental social and political problems which we share with
past. Whether we like it or not, these works have indelibly stamped our
modern culture and the world today'.
Questions:
1. What is political theory?
2. Discuss the relevance of political theory.
3. Why do we need to study political theory?
Suggested Reading:
1. Hampster-Monk, A History of Modern Political Thought