"enjoy wine and women, the earthly world is momentary and would end into nothing, Khayyam, to the world your presence does not matter, as if you don't exist at all, thus enjoy your limited time," or the poem "nobody knows the secret laws of the universe, behind the curtain you and I are discussing the issue, but once the curtain falls, neither you nor I can escape unharmed," or...
Anarchism is often equated with anarchy. This is an understandable mistake. Anarchy implies chaos, disorder, and confusion resulting from the absence of government. Few, if any, anarchists advocate such a state of affairs. Indeed, they contend that the opposite will result from the elimination of government.
It is unfair to claim that democracy does not exist; it exists but in relative fashion. Democracy is measured in comparison with societies' respective norms, values, and cultures. I do not deny the fact that the exercise of democracy has been improved from generation to generation. The same democracy, for example, which we enjoy today, did not...
This theory believes that the representative acts as a messenger or a delegate for his or her constituents... Rejecting representative government altogether, this theory holds that only the people themselves are capable of representing their own views, at least on important issues. Thus, this theory claims that pure or direct democracy is the most desirable form of...
There are basically three kinds of political party systems. A Single Party System exists when one party, over an extended period of time, controls the vast majority of legislative seats and its choice for the chief executive is assured of that office. There may be any number of other parties in the country, but none of them is able...
Historically, most members of the House of Lords have been hereditary peers. This mean that years ago a king or queen nominated a member of the aristocracy to be a member of the House, and, since then, the right to sit in the House has passed through the family from generation to generation.
Pluralism known to be another major form of democracy; it is a variant of the republican form in which interest groups are the primary link between the people and the policymakers. Pluralism recognizes that the individual must join with other people to achieve his or her political goals.
In a pure democracy, the people act as their own legislature. There are no representatives between the people and the legislative process; the people make the laws for themselves. This form of democracy has been used by several societies. Ancient Athens practiced pure democracy; even today one can find it in some Swiss cantons and in...
Never in the history of research and education could the East surpass the West; as if the East is destined to follow the West. It has been taken that the best universities and the best publications belong to the West. Interestingly, the rankings are done by the West and for the West itself.
Precisely because there are physical and intellectual differences among people, equal political and legal treatment becomes necessary. Otherwise, those who do not have great strength or intellect could be tyrannized by those who do. The meaning of happiness, society, and human rights, and even of the individual itself, is constantly changing as...
Unlike the former thinkers like Locke, Hobbes, and Rousseau, who never faced the problem of applying their theories, later thinkers such as Burke, Madison, and Jefferson, by contrast, had to implement their ideas in the real world; a circumstances that made them more conservative.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) is regarded as the founder of contemporary liberalism. He believed that the well being of the society would be maximized by any policy that would bring "the greatest happiness to the greatest number."... According to Bentham, government should...
Apart from being philosophers, all three thinkers had a distinguished practical role in politics. Each of Burke, Madison, and Jefferson may be considered a democrat because each believed in some kind of popular control over the rulers. Jefferson was a majoritarian, Burke and Madison rejected majority rule and favored an elite governing class.
Capitalism is an economy based on free individual commercial activity. In capitalism, a nation's wealth is determined by its productivity. It advocates principles of laissez-faire, which demand that government should pursue neither economic policy nor get itself involved practically in the economy.
As a result of the long presence of authoritarian regimes, liberal democracy would emerge. It was mainly developed by thinkers such as Adam Smith, David, Ricardo, Thomas Hobbes, Edmund Burke, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. In liberal democracy capitalism is the economic base. Liberal democracy favors an economy...
The problem with these sorts of ideological regimes is that they are backed by ideology rather than rationality. Ideology expires, because, human society upgrades itself. Although all ideological regimes in the beginning would be received by the will, in the long course it would be the force that keeps such regimes; the force would not last.
All agree that legitimate political power comes from the people, and government, therefore, is legal only when the governed consent. People originally had no government and had lived in the state of nature, but were rational beings, capable of organizing a government that... They had to bring order...
Wherever tradition and religion play vital role in the daily lives of the people there would be no space for philosophy, as if these concepts of tradition, religion, and philosophy are hostile towards each other. By philosophy in this context we mean any critical and analytical study of the origins and developments of social and religious institutions.
We, every where, are taught systematically that our country is the best one --- the Americans think that they are the best nation, the British too claim about their superiority over others, so do the French and the Germans. This nationalistic emotion, of course, is not a western mentality; it does exist in every nation.
Many of us might think that fame can be achieved through self-reliance, education, encouragement, competence, invention, promotion, fortune, experience, hardship, etc. In thinking so, however, we are not wrong. Yet, most of us might have not noticed another great factor. We may call this factor as "Link up Secrets."
The spread of education in vernacular tongues to the lower-income groups gave them the feeling of participation in a common cultural heritage. Through education, people learned of their common background and tradition and began to identify themselves with the historical continuity of the nation.
The theory of divine right was abandoned in England during the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89. The American and French revolutions of the late eighteenth century further weakened the theory's appeal, and by the early twentieth century, it had been virtually abandoned in the west.
It is the idea that ruler and ruled agreed on their respective roles and obligations to one another. The theory can be traced back through millennia. But, interpretations of the contract varied from time to time, perhaps not surprisingly, the rulers generally benefited from the theory more than the subjects did.
The positive expression of the force theory developed in Germany during the 19th century. Internal political divisions and external pressures had prevented the consolidation of Italy and Germany into modern political units until the late 19th century. The positive theory of the forceful origin of the state was maintained principally by George...
The son of a government official, Avicenna studied medicine and philosophy in Bukhara. At the age of 18 he was rewarded for his medical abilities with the post of court physician to the Samanid ruler of Bukhara. He remained in this position until the fall of the Samanid Empire in 999. After that he traveled and lectured on...
Of course, this question is not a tough one rather has been already answered by many books on political philosophy and theory. Anyway, there are a number of theories about the origin of the state. Some agree and some do not agree, whatever, a few theories are important, carrying strong justifications.
Influenced in his metaphysical views by both Aristotle and the Neo-Platonist Roman philosopher Plotinus, Alfarabius posited a Supreme Being who had created the world through the exercise of rational intelligence. He believed this same rational faculty to be the sole part of the human being that is immortal...
He lived in an age in which the translations of the Greek ideas and the influence of foreign culture was on its peak, penetrating the Islamic atmosphere. Kandi had been under the sway of Plato and Aristotle. Many authors of the time had referred to Kandi as an editor to check and approve of the translated drafts from Greek to Arabic.
Laozi or Lao-tzu is said to be perhaps the first philosopher in China. Some believe that he lived between (570?-490? BC), and some others believe he lived between (531? – 604? BC). But there is no definite information about him. Even some believe that this person had not existed in the real world.
In Chinese, Confucius is called as Kongfuzi or Kung Fu-tzu (551?-479? bc), Known to be a Chinese philosopher, one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. He is also regarded as the first political philosopher in the world, if we take into account a relative systematic study of political philosophy, as he lived before Socrates...
Since in social sciences socio-political concepts can be challenged and criticized, many do not accept or do not follow one school of thought. For instance, the concept of liberalism which has been defined in our note is according to the western standard, cannot be accepted by an eastern society like India or China.
Well, the final concept on the political spectrum illustrated above is the concept of "reactionary." Of all the political actors discussed so far in our notes (radicals, liberals, moderates, conservatives) only the Reactionaries propose retrogressive change. They prefer to return to a policy or institution that has been used by their society in the past.
For the Conservatives, Baradat continues, though the world might not be as pleasant as they might wish, they are dubious about efforts to change it for fear that incompetent meddling might, indeed, make things worse. However, being content with things as they are, does not suggest that Conservatives are necessarily happy with the existing system.
Now, we have reached the third concept on the political spectrum. But, let us not forget that unlike the other positions on the political spectrum illustrated above, there is no philosophical foundation for the Moderates rather moderation is a matter more of intensity of preference than of philosophical conviction.
Dogmatism is a strong and confident assertion of opinion, which is made without looking at the evidence or without analyzing the problem; without considering that different opinions may be right or justified, we follow our own way blindly. With little knowledge on our side we think of ourselves as the perfect people.
The above figure is known as the Political Spectrum. These terms Radical, liberal, Moderate, Conservative, and Reactionary which are shown in the above figure are among the words often used in political discourse. Let's have a short understanding about each of them respectively. In this note...
The social and political institutions such as Socialism, Capitalism, Islam, and many other religions do have these above characteristics. Thus, in the context of political philosophy, these all are called ideology, provided that we stay out of our fanaticism. And, remember, in this note...
In the social sciences, the term relates to empirical methods, originating in both philosophical positivism and the history of statistics, which contrast qualitative research methods. In this way of research we use empirical methods, e.g. in a paper authors conclude that at an average how many tourists visit the Eiffel Tower in summer, etc.
Surprisingly, this caricature projects the Baloch as a terrorist organization like that of Alqaeda and Taliban. Certainly, this Indian journalist or caricaturist (Ajit Ninan) does not have any idea about the Baloch. Whether they are a group like Alqaeda or they are a group like Taliban, nothing matters; rather...
In 1986 Roy Macridis conducted a study of 122 nations. He found that out of 122 regimes, only 27 countries are democratic, and all others are non democratic regimes. Thus the numbers of non democratic regimes are much more than democratic regimes so they are important and must be studied.
In the west separation from religion... secularism... this issue solved in Machiwale’s period. Western civilizations believe that values are universal. Liberal and neoliberal come with Rawls. They believe in inclusive values... Extensive values are Sinner and Kafirs... We cannot have values in global system.
To what extents does the state remain a significant producer of economic goods? There are lots of debates about demise of the states as a controlling element within the global economy. States are not what they are simply because of what globalization has done to them. The case for globalization and...
The presence of the democratic culture of negotiation and conciliation means their interactions with other democracies; they share the same values and thus are more willing to negotiate than fight. Disagreements among the citizens of a democracy are resolved through negotiation rather than conflict...
States failed in no-traditional sources- first report was by Maqbol Al Haq a Pakistani economist in south Asia most of the state are garrison states. Most of south Asia states have failed in non-traditional sources. They failed to fulfill their duties and are less economically developed, there is less human security.
Internal and external divides- state has absolute power within its territory. It has the legitimate power. However globalization is given a threat to this internal and external sovereignty. By globalization we means government structures be more transparent. Even countries like USA, Germany, Japan...
In the last century we have seen the continuous growth of the corporation, an insatiable concentration of power over vast numbers of people into one profit obsessed and unaccountable organization. This has culminated in a new form of state, the uncontrollable transnational corporation (TNC), which has...
In the garrison state there must be work and the duty to work for all. Since all work becomes public work all who do not accept employment flout military discipline. For those who do not fit within the structure of the state there is but one alternative- to obey or die. Therefore compulsion is to be expected as a potent instrument ...
N. Chomsky, a professor of Howard University, holds definition of rogue state is given by powerful states- USA and UK. They believe that rogue states are those who do not comply with international rules and laws. Rogue state is a criminal state. Actually he is very critical of the USA he says that at least the USA has...
UN secretary general Kofi Annan has warned that ignoring failed states creates problems that sometimes come back to bite us... French president Chirac has also spoken of the treat that failed states carry for the world’s equilibrium... It is generally said that failed states are increasingly trapped in a downward cycle of poverty and violence...
The first interpretation is that historically, transnational forces and the separate state have developed in tandem. In the past, the two have not been antagonistic and have indeed, depended upon each other. This emerges clearly in the works of historical sociologists pointed to the conjoint evolution of capitalism...
Societies are affected more and more extensively and more and more deeply by events of other societies. These events can be divided into three types: social, economic, and political. We can take example of the World Wide Web, global franchises, and global risks such as AIDS etc. it is also defined as the integration of world economy.
China can support the separatist movements against India. Chinese are very active in the economic sphere; they are working on huge projects in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Burma. He continued that Chinese nuclear arsenals are located in Tibet, while Indians have not taken any specific initiative. Madhok remarked that India, security wise, is in mess.
On the issue of 'can one bring about peace', he cited few examples, as "you cannot establish peace in Palestine unless the question of Palestinian territory captured by Israel in 1967 is resolved to their satisfaction." Similarly, "one cannot establish peace in Sri Lanka unless the question of Tamilian people and their...
The seminar was attended by some of India’s eminent personalities including, former Chief Justice of India, former Chief Secretary of India, former Minister of Law, Director Generals of Police, retired Generals, leading lawyers, Vice Chancellors, and renowned journalists and writers. Moreover, over 2000 participants including, university professors, doctors...
On the issue of Pakistan, I asked the General, "taking into account the current crisis of terrorism, if Pakistan failed to tackle the insurgency problem or terrorism, would this push Pakistan towards its disintegration?" He replied no, reasoning “although Pakistan is in the crisis, it enjoys a strong civilian society.
There is no precise definition for the term ‘social movement.’ Like many other terms such as democracy and equality, people like social activists political leaders, and scholars who have written on ‘movements’ often use the term ‘movement’ differently. Some people use the term ‘movement’ interchangeably with organization or union.
Theory of political participation says that all need not to participate and this is good for the stability of a democracy. Most people do not live up to the classical democratic prescription to be interested in, informed about, and active in politics. However, a sizeable percentage of people must participate and choose their public officials...
In fact, children can be influenced by the attitudes of family members towards politics. There is a similarity in family and society in that political leaders listen to the demands of workers only when workers start demonstration. In a similar way, a family at first might not listen to the views of its children, and...
Actually, during 1950 to 1962 (cold war) two blocks i.e. USA and USSR stood in opposition, however there was also a third part i.e. the third world. Therefore, we had democracy, communism, and dictatorship. Based on this, they drew parochial, subject, and participate political cultures.
As a matter of fact, the behaviouralists image of science has so far been associated with a technical proficiency in research for reliable knowledge, and the pursuit of basic understanding with its necessary divorce from practical concerns, and the exclusion of value sophistication as some thing beyond the competence of science.
They believe that ethical evaluation is different from empirical explanation. Values and facts are two separate things and should be kept analytically distinct. They should not be mixed up with each other. By doing that one can develop pure science first, and then applied science comes next.
Max Weber was a German sociologist who is an important figure in terms of development of political sociology. Like Marx, Weber moved from one subject to another. He attempted to understand society as a whole, so an interdisciplinary approach made by Weber. He wrote about many things, but in this note our focus will be summarized on the...
About ‘materialistic conception of history’ it should be added that materialism in fact was not invented by Marx, because materialism was already there in the philosophy of Europe. What Marx wanted to do was that to distance himself from materialism. He developed a critic of materialism on one hand, and developed a critic of idealism on the other hand.
It is said that political sociology had made political science more up to date. It also had produced large body of data and collection of information. We can name four major area of this discipline as follows: sociology of elites, election studies and voting behavior, theorization of violence, and theories of change and stability.
There was renaissance, literally means, re-birth --- re-birth of knowledge. This period was from 14th century to 16th century, and Machiavelli was the first modern thinker. Then, we had reformation known as the period of ‘Enlightenment’ 18th century. In post Enlightenment, we had Liberalism, Nationalism, Democracy...
This is a typical central Asian phenomenon. Example can be taken of Turkamanistan, Ozbakistan, Tajikistan, etc. These states are neither totalitarian, nor full fledge democracies; however, they are heading towards democracy. Brooker talks of peculiarities of these regimes. According to him...
