Philosophy has had a long history with civilization and literature. We often use this term, but we don’t often know the exact definition of the word and all the different subcategories of it. The definition is as follows: Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, and mind. Notice the list of categories and note that there is much more to the list. There is a philosophy of science, of religion, and of politics. One noticeable trait about philosophy is its general attitude towards the topic. Unlike topics such as economics or science, philosophy is a sort of mood on the topic in question. For example, someone might believe in the importance of skepticism in nature, but they might not actually partake in the experiments themselves. They’re philosophers of science, but they aren’t actually scientists because they don’t actually practice it.
Today, I would like to discuss the philosophy of politics. Political philosophy takes a look at human nature, and what
kind of government should be enforced to secure the general well-being of the populace. Of course, this definition does not include anarchy or any kind of absolute dictatorship. In simplest terms, political philosophy looks at the whole system of communication humans have developed over the years, and makes a judgment on what to do with it through government or anarchy. It is important to note that political philosophy is a sub-field of political science; the only difference is the amount of attention given to the system, or person in question. Political science examines political behavior and systems on a very convoluted level and expresses opinions in complicated ways.
Now, there are many different kinds of political philosophies: Liberalism, Socialism, Libertarianism, and Communism to name a few. For this post, I would only like to speak about two of the most stated and fundamental platforms of these ideologies. It’s difficult to categorize in this field of knowledge; however, there are two main attitudes contributed to politics, attitudes towards the size of the government. You’ve probably heard of the debates in American politics, between Republicans and Democrats, or, more simply, right-wing politics vs. left-wing politics.
Left-wing political thinkers believe in social equality, meaning, the total or semi-abolition of the classes between people. This idea arose and is mostly debate for by the means of Prioritarianism, or the belief in the overall wellness of society that does not have well-off people and penniless people at the same time. Members of this thought group tend to believe in a strong government to redistribute wealth, and provide social services that are needed by the people. By having a strong set of laws and a well-kempt populace, society would benefit more and work more effectually in a social environment.
On the contrary, Right-wing politics differs from Left-wing politics on the topic of social inequality. In Right-wing theory, people are naturally motivated on different levels with different amounts of capital to satisfy them. Any attempt to redistribute the wealth would lead to the discouragement of people to do well and thus, limit their ability to benefit society more effectually. An example of this conflict would be the republican and the Democrat debating on taxation and governmental size. The republican holds to the philosophy that social equality, as it is described above, will lead to a mass of unmotivated people and poor economic effects. The Democrat holds to the philosophy that some people will be mistreated in this society, if they do not receive some sort of assistance from the state.
Almost all forms of politics can be traced back to this one central issue on human nature. If you want to understand politics, and I encourage you to do so, than I would recommend reading more on this debate and do some philosophizing with it. Posted below are two arguments, one for Left-wing politics, and one for Right-wing politics. With the articles, there is a well-worded, educational video on the topic. I hope you enjoy reading them and making your journey into the realm of politics!
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You say: Of course, this definition does not include anarchy or any kind of absolute dictatorship. Why not – aren’t these political philosophies? It seems to me that political philosophy is at the root of understanding people within groups, and thus, in many ways, sociology.
Sorry about my poor wording. I meant that certain political philosophies don’t involve a government, but the definition I gave was, “Political philosophy takes a look at human nature, and what kind of government should be enforced to secure the general well-being of the populace.” That definition did not contain any mention of anarchy or any system with no government.