What is Politics. Debunked.

by Lee Harvey Roswell
http://www.crossconnectmag.com/post/85670687276

I

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of the seemingly indispensible and broad term ‘political’ used in the discussion of human affairs. The term ‘political’ can be interpreted in many ways by looking at it from different perspectives. The main focus and question that will be answered in this assignment will be to analyze the meaning of the term ‘political’ and discover the various aspects of the society that affect one’s ‘politics’ and how recognition of one’s politics in turn affect their actions in the society. It is difficult to understand what ‘political’ clearly signifies as it can be interpreted in many ways

II

There is no single definition of the term ‘political’. Instead, we use it to speak of quite different kind of things such as – institutions, actions, conflicts, a branch of science and so on. We apply it in various fields and discussions regarding everyday life and functioning of the society we live in.  The archaic Greek meaning around the word ‘political’ relates to what it has to do with the affairs of the polis or the city-state. The Greeks understood the term in the sense that  all behaviour of a citizen was his political stance and nothing was private. The Greeks also stressed that the purpose of politics is to enable men to live together in a community and also to lead a high moral life. In fact, the modern manifestation of the word ‘political’ mainly revolves around the of the nation-state. However, by looking at the term from the perspective of an individual who is part of the ‘polis’, a definition of ‘political’ which can be drawn could be the following :

Political is no more than the way we organize our social life and the power relations which it involves. It is what affects the thoughts and actions of an individual to co-exist in the social environment. At the same time, it also relates to the way the actions of individuals affect the social scenario itself.

Ancient Greek polis
https://tripio.deviantart.com/art/Ancient-greek-Polis-382623798

As far as the concept of politics is really concerned this is a most naive and dumb notion. Actually we are all politicians. In everything we say or do, we are taking a position that is actually a political position whether we like it or not. For politics concerns everything in life. What and whether you will be educated, what and whether you will get a job, how much money you need to pay your bills and run your life and that of your family, how much money you can or should earn and from it how much you need to and should surrender in taxes to the state etc are all political questions.

III

The politics of an individual can depend on various things such as – religion, financial well being, political scenario, influences of the media, education system, history, technology, social composition, social media, physical space and so on. Each and every one of us lives under some or the other form of jurisdiction , laws and set of rules which we may or may not abide by. However, it is not viable to state that such an environment of rules and regulations do not affect an individual’s behavior. An individual’s ideas are shaped according to how the society treats him/her and how he/she responds to such treatment by either going along with the system in place, refusing it or staying neutral (which is also a political position).

There are many examples that can be drawn from history about individuals who were affected by the social surroundings around them and how it affected their own ideas and made them take a certain ‘political’ stance. Perhaps the most well known, John Lennon. Born in England during the World War II era, he was an ever so controversial figure. Affected by the political structures around him, Lennon leaned towards radical or even anarchist leanings. Quoting lyrics from his song “Imagine” :

“ Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace.”

“ Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky.”

His paranoia of the power structure around him and his ‘political’ position of perhaps a one-world government is clear. Further, the second lyric can also be interpreted as a comment on religion, a controversial one at that. It perhaps also represents that Lennon was an atheist or perhaps it is a simple criticism of the organized religion. Thus, Lennon is a perfect example of how an individual is affected by the politics around him and how in turn it affects the individual’s own politics.

IV

It is clear that the politics of the society and various other factors influences the politics of an individual. To look further into the topic, it can also be said that the recognition of one’s politics which determines our actions also in turn influence the society. An individual may recognize their politics clearly and may choose to act or not act upon them. Recognition of our ideas and thoughts further lead to actions taken by the individual’s in the society may also lead to a change in the social, political and economic surroundings. These actions can be of many kinds such as, carrying out radical actions against the power structure, acting according to our ideas in day to day life, protest activities and so on.

If one is to state an example from the famous personalities throughout  time  who recognized their politics that gave shape to their actions in the society, one could come up with many examples. In this working paper  I would like to state the example of a man whose actions were shaped by his strong belief in his own politics, Adolf Hitler. Known as a figure of tyranny and cruelty (as stated by our history books), Hitler was a man who stuck to his own politics regardless of strong opposition.  Influenced by his surroundings at various stages of his life from poverty to prosperity he recognized and developed a strong opposition against the Jews. In his strong belief of an unified Germany and his strong political position against the Jews, Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party. His actions shook the power structure existing in Germany and ‘cleansed’ the nation according to his belief.

“ How fortunate for the leaders, that men do not think. ”

“ The victor is will never be asked if he told the truth.”

The above two quotes by Hitler suggest his strong belief and politics of the masses being unaware of the truth and how it is the victor who shapes history and ideas which influence further generations. Thus, recognition of his politics shaped his actions in a radical way and left an important imprint on history. Therefore, it is clear how an individual’s actions are shaped by their beliefs and politics and how such actions affect the society.

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-ashcan-school.htm

After looking at the question ‘What is Political’ from two different perspectives of how various factors influence the individual’s politics and how the individual’s actions are shaped after recognizing his/her politics. Answer to such an ambiguous question perhaps from these two perspectives is not enough to draw a well established conclusion. However, the analysis carried out in this assignment leads to interesting ideas related to the question of ‘political’. In today’s world, people outright declare they are not interested in politics. To them politics is some disreputable art of manipulating one’s way into positions of state power for personal and party gains. And they don’t look forward to being called a “politician” ever in their working lives.

However, they don’t recognize the true meaning of the term and that politics cannot be avoided. Politics as a word has in fact become a term of abuse. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle saw politics as everything that is concerned with 'the general issues affecting the whole community'. Man is a political animal, whether they accept it or not it is the most important activity of organized life in a society. Living in a society means following certain rules & ideas and due to the existence of such regulations an individual in turn develops his own politics.

References :

The Review of Politics, Journal article (What does “Political” mean?)   – Dr.Eugene F.Miller

The Journal of Ethnographic Theory, The question of the political   – Naveeda Khan

SOL, DU study material, What is politics   – Amaresh Ganguly

“ Mein Kampf ” (used as a reference in section IV) – Adolf Hitler

The Hollowverse (online journal), The Religious & Political views of John Lennon (used in section  III)

Journal of Theoretical Politics, What is Political?  – Mark E.Warren