How is political theory connected with history?

Answer 1

The relationship/concerns between political theory and history are very close.

The two are complementary to each other. The intimacy between political theory

and history is brought tout in the following couplet of Seeley, an eminent English

Historian, who wrote - 'History without Political Science has not fruit, Political

Science without History has no root.' The affinity between history and political

science is so close that Freedom goes to the extent of saying that 'history is

past politics and politics is present history.'

History not merely records events but analyses causes and points out tendencies. It overlaps political theory. Political theory, however, goes further. It uses historical facts to

discover general laws and principles; it selects, analyses and systematizes the

facts of history in order to extract the permanent principles of political life.

Political theory, further, is teleological, that is to say, it deals with the state as it ought to

be; whereas, history deals with what it has been.' The political scientist goes

back to the past in order to explore the future. 'So conceived history', writes

Burns, an English philosopher, 'will be made something more than the luxury of

a scholar. It will be the inspiration of honest politician; it will be the real basis for

criticism of the present and modification of the future'.