What is politics? Theorizing political.

                                           What is politics? Theorizing political.

Introduction

  Politics is an all-pervading activity which naturally and essentially characterizes every society. No society is or can be without politics. Each society has its own system of politics which covers the whole life of meaning in society. There is hardly a field of activity which is beyond the reach of politics. No one is or can be away or above politics. Politics directly or indirectly affects all areas of life in society.

  Man is a social animal, also means he is a political being because social relations and interactions naturally lead to political relations and interactions i.e. politics. Each person always lives in a state, enjoys its citizenship and participates directly or indirectly activity or passively in the process of politics. According to Robert Dahl, “politics is an unavoidable fact of human existence”.

What is political?

 The term ‘political’ is the adjective of politics which means pertaining to power. Political refers to something related to a polity, that is ‘public’, which distinguished from private or something applicable to a limited number of the person. In short political is all political activities and interactions of the people of a country which are involved in the process of exercise of power in society.

Theorising politics

  Theorising is an activity or exercise pursued to understand, and give meaning to, any occurrence or phenomenon that takes place in the real world. This is to make the complex world more intelligible, less mysterious, and simple to the human senses. Before beginning with the process of theorizing on any particular phenomenon, a researcher needs to discern previous diverse views existing about it. The researcher, therefore, does not just look at 'what is happening', but also ‘perceives’, ‘notices’, ‘attends to’, and tries to ‘identify’ the phenomenon. He thus seeks to clarify the meaning of words explaining the phenomenon by looking at different ways in which the phenomenon has been interpreted. A theorist thus strives to make the understanding of the phenomenon more clear and rich and seeks to dispel the vagueness and unintelligibility from it. The exercise of theorizing necessarily involves a procedure or method of inquiry through which the enquirer looks into the problem area (subject matter) and tries to establish links or relation between ideas/concepts underlying it; he then explains the relationship pattern of those concepts. The explanation helps throw some light on the rationale behind that phenomenon, event or practice, and hence resolve the confusion about it. For instance a political theory looks in to the answers as to why does a society follows a particular practice like Sati pratha, what might have been the reasons and influences for instituting such practice, whether the rationale behind it is scientific, rational, religious, idiosyncratic, or based on some group’s ideology(Male-dominated group in society). A theorist seeks to explain the concepts, already present and build around this practice, by observing it and analyzing its justification, and also evaluating the values inherent in the practice. A Theory thus explains the internal structure (the relationship between the concepts underlying a fact) of a phenomenon and makes sense of ideas, practices, and events. The theory is a rational enterprise, which relies on reason instead of instincts or emotions. A theory also aspires to reach the truth, social reality, and objectivity, and have some degree of generality and abstraction. It seems to have a universal applicability. A theory in the modern context is free of any speculation. In fact, theorizing is a continuous activity until the complete or near to complete understanding of a phenomenon is reached.  It will go on until the occurrence becomes transparent, and the element of mystery is completely removed from a phenomenon.

       Defining ‘Political’ is a difficult task as there are many meanings attached to it. Since ancient times political thinkers have endeavored to understand its meaning. Ancient Greek political philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, understood the notion of politics as collective decision making within the community. For them, the term 'political' was attached to the notion of common good and was an essential essence of human life to make human realize their true potential. The political therefore was understood in a 'positive' sense. The meaning of political, however, got changed with the change in time and context. In the modern age, it came to be associated with the power of few rather than collective decision making. The scope of politics now became narrower and it was perceived in a 'negative' sense. Many political theorists associate politically with the study power and functions of the state. Liberal political thinkers take the meaning of political as a reconciliation of interests, while thinkers belonging to the Marxist tradition believe that politics is conflictual in nature. In such a maze of views, the definition of politics remains vague and this creates a problem in discerning its exact meaning, nature, and scope.