First I will start with a working definition: Politics in its broadest sense is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. As such then, politics is inextricably linked to the phenomena of two things: 1-CONFLICT and 2-COOPERATION. On the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants, competing needs guarantees disagreement about the rules under which people live. Emphasis should be pinned on the fact that politics and political science are two different things under the same umbrella.
Secondly allow me state the:
FIVE MYTHS about Politics and Political Science. Political science is governed by five myths
1-That it studies Political Science. (You can study politics but that does not mean you are a political scientist)
2-That it is scientific (Politics and political science is not scientific but Historical and it thrives on the proper applicability of historiography)
3-That it is possible to study politics separated off from economics, sociology, psychology and history. (Politics is a mechanism of managing humanities and what they are involved in)
4-That the state in our Democratic capitalist society is politically neutral, and that it is available as a set of institutions and mechanism to ‘whatever’ group wins the election. (the assumption that if Besigye was the incumbent he would let Museven out of his house to the streets).
5-That political science, and politics as a discipline advances the cause of democracy. (The assumption that European community is democratic therefore they have the moral authority to supervise Africa on the same issue even with Guantanamo Bay, ICC inconsistencies, electoral colleges, Twin-tower Terrorism conspiracies, Iraq Afghanistan, etc crises.
Now Aristotle once said that: MAN IS BY NATURE A POLITICAL ANIMAL. what he wanted to tell us was not that every man is a politician but that every man is either a ‘subject’ or the ‘object’ of the politics in his locale. This literally means that even if we don’t EFFECT politics (directly involved politicians =instrumentalists), we are in one way or another AFFECTED by the politics in the place (objects of other people’s decisions and actions). Whether you like Besigye or not (like personally I don’t) you are affected by his decisions and behavior. Whether you voted for this government or not you are both the subject and object of its policies and practices.
Politics is exciting for one reason: PEOPLE DISAGREE. They disagree about how they should live. Who should get what? How should power and resources be distributed? Should society be based on cooperation or conflict? And so on….for instance if I asked you…should Besigye let go of this election and give up his complaints and leave Uganda be at peace, or not…?? We would end up having a Bundibugyo and Tororo case here.
In my next episode I will demonstrate the problem in Uganda today….but first I want you to think deep on what I have written today. I got 90% of what I wrote today from my political education notes in my philosophical classes.
God bless you
I. T. WHITE
@Think & Become (Inspirational Link)
+256-793-822833
iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24) 