What is significance of political theory?

Answer 1

NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE

distinction between political theory and political thought, political philosophy

and political science.

As stated above, political theory is the study of the phenomena of the state both from

philosophical as well as empirical points of view. In this context, certain similar terms are also

used such as political thought, political philosophy, political science. Although all of them are

concerned with explaining the political phenomena, yet political theory is distinct from them.

The distinction of political theory from other terms is as follows.

political theory and political thought

It is generally believed that political thought is the general thought comprising of theories and

values of all those persons or a section of the community who think and write on the day-do-day

activities, policies and decisions of the state, and which has a

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bearing on our present living. These persons can be philosophers, writers, journalists, poets,

political commentators etc. Political thought has no 'fixed' form and can be in the form of

treatise, speeches, political commentaries etc. What is important about political thought is that it

is 'time bound' since the policies and programmes of the governments change from time to time.

Thus we have Greek thought or Roman thought of ancient period or the political thought of the

medieval ages.7 Political theory, on the other hand, is the systematic speculation of a particular

writer who talks specifically about the phenomena of the state. This speculation is based on

certain hypothesis which may or may not be valid and may be open to criticism. Theory provides

a model of explanation of political reality as is understood by the writer. As such there can be

different political theories of the same period. Also, political theory is based on certain

discipline-be it philosophy, history, economics or sociology. And lastly, since the task of theory

is not only to explain the political reality but also to change it (or to resist change), political

theory can be conservative, critical or revolutionary. According to Barker, while political thought

is the immanent philosophy of a whole age, political theory is the speculation of a particular

thinker. While political thought is implicit and immersed in the stream of vital action, political

theory is explicit and may be detached from the political reality of a particular period.8

Political theory and political philosophy

Philosophy is called 'science of wisdom'-wisdom about this world, man or God. This wisdom

is all-inclusive and tries to explain everything. When this wisdom is applied to the study of

political phenomena or the state, it is called political philosophy. Political philosophy belongs to

the category of normative political theory. It is concerned with not only explaining what 'is' but

also what 'ought' to be. Political philosophy is not concerned with contemporary issues but with

certain universal issues in the political life of man such as nature and purpose of the political

organisation, basis of political authority, nature of rights, liberty, equality, justice etc. The

distinction between political philosophy and political theory is explained by the fact that whereas

a political philosopher is a political theorist, but a political theorist may not necessarily be a

political philosopher.9 For example, David Easton is an eminent

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political theorist but is not considered a political philosopher. Though theory deals with the same

issues as political philosophy, it can explain them both from philosophical as well as empirical

points of view. In other words, while political philosophy is abstract or speculative, political

theory can be both normative and empirical. A political theorist is as much interested in

explaining the nature and purpose of the state as in describing the realities of political behaviour,

the actual relations between state and citizens, and the role of power in the society. As has been

pointed out by Arnold Bretch, philosophical explanations are theories too, but they are nonscientific.

10 Political theory is concerned both with political institutions and the ideas and

aspirations that form the basis of those institutions. However, we must not forget that though we

can analytically distinguish between philosophy and theory, yet if political theory is separated

from political philosophy, its meaning will appear distorted and it will prove barren and

irrelevant. Theory must be supplemented by philosophy.

political theory and political science

As a discipline, political science is much more comprehensive and includes different forms of

speculation in politics such as political thought, political theory, political philosophy, political

ideology, institutional or structural framework, comparative politics, public administration,

international law and organizations etc. With the rise of political science as a separate discipline,

political theory was made one of its subfields. However, when used specifically with emphasis

on 'science' as distinct from 'theory', political science refers to the study of politics by the use of

scientific methods in contrast to political philosophy which is free to follow intuition. 'Political

theory when opposed to political philosophy is political science'. Political science is concerned

with describing and explaining the realities of political behaviour, generalizations about man and

political institutions on empirical evidence, and the role of power in the society. Political theory,

on the other hand, is not only concerned about the behavioural study of the political phenomena

from empirical point of view but also prescribing the goals which states, governments, societies

and citizens ought to pursue. Political theory also aims to generalize about the right conduct in

the political life and about the legitimate use of power.11

Thus political theory is neither pure thought, nor philosophy,

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nor science. While it draws heavily from all of them, yet it is distinct from them. Contemporary

political theory is trying to attempt a synthesis between political philosophy and political science.

characteristics of political theory

Political theory is an intellectual and moral creation of man. Generally it is the speculation of a

single individual who is attempting to offer us a theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e.

the phenomena of the state. Every theory by its very nature is an explanation, built upon certain

hypothesis which may be valid (or not) and which are always open to criticism. So what we find

in political theory is a number of attempts made by thinkers from Plato onwards to unravel the

mysteries of man's political life. They have given so many modes of explanations which may or

may not convince us but to which we cannot pass any final judgement. Political theory is largely

an attempt to seek the truth as the thinker sees it and it is usually expressed through a treatise

such as Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Hobb'es' Leviathan, or Rawls' A Theory of

Justice.

Secondly, political theory contains an explanation of man, society and history. It probes the

nature of man and society: how a society is made up and how it works; what are the important

elements; what are the sources of conflict in the society and how they can be resolved.

Thirdly, political theory is discipline based. It means that though the phenomena which the

theorist seeks to explain remains the same i.e. the state, the writer may be a philosopher,

historian, economist, theologian or a sociologist. Thus we are confronted by a variety of political

theories, each distinguished by a discipline on which it is based.

Fourthly, political theory not only comprehends and explains the social and political reality but is

also actively engaged in hastening the process of history. The task of political theory is not only

to understand and explain but also to device ways and means to change the society. As Laski put

it, the task is not merely one of description of what it is but also a prescription of what ought to

be.12 Thus political theory recommends agencies of action as well as means of reform,

revolution or conservation. It contains programmes that embody both ends and means. Political

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theory plays a double role: to understand society and to suggest how to remove the

imperfections.

And lastly, political theory also includes political ideology. Ideology in simple language means

'a system of beliefs, values and ideals by which people allow themselves to be governed'. We

find a number of ideologies in the modern world such as liberalism, Marxism, socialism etc. All

political theories from Plato to date reflect a distinct ideology of the writer. Political theory in the

form of political ideology includes a system of political values, institutions and practices which a

society has adopted as its ideal. For example, all political theories adopted by Western Europe

and America have been dominated by liberalism and the theories accepted by China and

erstwhile USSR were influenced by a particular brand of Marxism. Each brand of theory or

ideology in this sense claims for itself the attributes of universality and compels others to accept

it, leading to what is generally known as 'ideological conflicts'.

In short, political theory is associated with the explanation and evaluation of the political

phenomena and this phenomena can be examined as a statement of ideas and ideals, as an agent

of socio-economic change, and as an ideology.

issues in political theory

The nature of political theory can also be understood from the kind of issues it has been

grappling with during the long span of more than 2300 years. Different political issues have been

dominant in different epochs. Classical political theory was primarily concerned with the search

for a perfect political order. As such it analysed the basic issues of political theory such as the

nature and purpose of the state, basis of political authority, the problem of political obligation

and political disobedience. It was more concerned with what the state ought to be i.e. the ideal

state. The rise of modern nation-state and the industrial revolution gave birth to a new kind of

society, economy and polity. Modern political theory starts from individualism and made liberty

of the individual as the basic issue. Hence it was concerned with issues like rights, liberty,

equality, property and justice for the individual, how to create a state based upon individual

consent, and a right to change the government. At one time, it also became important to explain

the

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interrelation between one concept and the other such as liberty and equality, justice and liberty,

equality and property. The empirical political theory, particularly after the second world war,

shifted the emphasis from concepts to the political behaviour of man. It invented a number new

issues largely borrowed from other Social Sciences. Some of the important issue of empirical

political theory were authority, legitimacy, elite, party, group, political system, political culture

etc.

During the last twenty years, quite a number of different issues have come to dominate the scene

of political theory. With the resurgence of value-based political theory, there is once again an

emphasis on the issues of freedom, equality and justice. Apart from them, some new issues have

come to dominate the scene such as feminism, environmentalism, ecology, community, issue

concerning development, subalteranism etc. These are the issues which have been engaging the

attention of political theorists today. We shall touch upon these issues in the relevant chapters in

this book. Moreover traditional picture of studying the issues from a single perspective i.e. either

from liberal or Marxist point of view, is also changing. Though the method was not wrong but

today it is found inadequate. To give an example, both liberalism and Marxism have viewed

justice or freedom in the male dominated sphere of government and economy and ignored the

freedom of the traditional female spheres of home and family. An adequate theory of sexual

equality will involve considerations that simply are not addressed in the traditional right or left

debates. Similarly, communitarians have also exposed the weakness of single perspective

approach. Recent political theory is trying to redefine the issues of liberty, equality and justice in

the context of ultimate values of common good.15

significance

The significance of political theory can be derived from the purpose it serves or supposed to

serve and the task performed by it. Political theory is a form of all embracing system of values

which a society adopts as its ideal with a view to understand the political reality and, if

necessary, to change it. It involves speculation at higher level about the nature of good life, the

political institutions appropriate for its realization, to what end the state is directed and how it

should be constituted to achieve those ends. The

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significance of political theory lies in providing the moral criteria that ought to be used to judge

the ethical worth of a political state and to propose alternative political arrangements and

practices likely to meet the moral standards. The importance of political theory lies in providing

i) a description of the political phenomena, ii) a non-scientific (based upon philosophy or

religion) or a scientific (based upon empirical studies) explanation, iii) proposals for the selection

of political goals and political action, and iv) moral judgement. Examples of such a political

theory can be found in Plato's Republic, or Rawls' A Theory of Justice or Nozic's Anarchy,

State and Utopia.

As mentioned earlier, the fundamental question facing human beings has been 'how to live

together'. Politics is an activity engaged with the management of the collective affairs of society.

The significance of theory lies in evolving various doctrines and approaches regarding the nature

and purpose of the state, the bases of political authority, vision of an ideal state, best form of

government, relations between the state and the individual and basic issues such as rights,

liberty, equality, property, justice etc. Again what has become important in our times is to

explain the inter-relation between one concept and another such as the relationship between

liberty and equality, equality and property, justice and property. This is as important as peace,

order, harmony-stability and unity in the society. In fact peace and harmony in the society very

much depends upon how we interpret and implement the values of liberty, equality and justice

etc.

Contemporary states face a number of problems such as poverty, over-population, corruption,

racial and ethnic tensions, environment pollution etc., conflicts among individuals, groups as

well as nations. The task of political theory is to study and analyse more profoundly than others,

the immediate and potential problems of political life of the society and to supply the practical

politician with an alternative course of action, the consequences of which have been fully

thought of. According to David Held, the task of political theorist is really demanding because in

the absence of systematic study, there is a danger that politics will be left to the ignorant and

self-seeking people who only want to pursue it as 'power.13

In short, the significance of political theory lies in the fact that it provides systematic thinking

about the nature and purpose of

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state and government. It helps us to establish a correlation between ideals and the socio-political

phenomena. It makes the individual aware of his rights and duties in the society. It helps us to

understand the nature or' the socio-economic system and its problems like poverty, violence,

corruption, ethnicity etc. Since the task of political theory is not only to understand and explain

the social reality but also to change it, political theory helps us to evolve ways and means to

change society either through reform or revolution. When political theory performs its function

well, it is one of the most important weapons of struggle for the advancement of humanity. To

imbube people with correct theories may make them

Answer 2

Generally political theory is the speculation of single individual who is attempting to offer us a theoretical explanation of the political reality i.e., the phenomena of the state .it is infact ,an attempt by the political theorist to seek the truth as a theorist see it .

Answer 3

Theory, as with all other sciences, forms the basis of not only the scale, scope, and techniques of political science, but how to meaningfully interpret its results. Without political theory, political science would have little direction and little direct application to reality. Political theory reminds us that philosophy, to some degree, underpins all of our research, and, as such, to carefully consider the philosophical assumptions, implications, and consequences of political science.