What Is Politics?
Politics is the way humans make agreements so they can live together in groups, such as tribes or cities. They make laws to manage their society properly, build things for the benefit of everyone in the group (such as roads or hospitals), and fight wars to protect themselves or their territory from others. People who spend a lot of time making these agreements are called politicians. The study of politics is called political science, government or political studies.
The quickest way to explain politics is the idea that it’s a power struggle between people or groups to control resources, money or other valuable things. This can be seen in decisions that are made by governments, companies or organisations and it can also be seen in a wide range of activities, from local community projects to global campaigns such as the recent Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel.
Governments are the most obvious example of politics at work, with officials elected by citizens to run national and sometimes local services. In the United States, for example, elections take place for Senators and Representatives to the House of Representatives, as well as Governors and Presidents. These officials have a wide range of powers to create, amend or stop laws, and can use their influence to help or hinder businesses. Politics can be chaotic and painful as rival interests clash. Occasionally, a reasonable accommodation can be reached that pleases everybody – but often the solution favours one set of interests over another.
Many people are disillusioned with the current state of political affairs. They may feel that the government is corrupt, inefficient or inept, and that it doesn’t serve the public interest. They may also think that the government is too focused on generating profits for big business, or that it fails to address the needs of poor communities.
Some argue that the answer to these problems is more democracy, which involves a greater participation by citizens. This includes voting at regular intervals, using modern communication technology to select and sanction politicians, and taking part in protests. The idea is that the more people who participate in politics, the better the decision-making will be.
But critics of democracy argue that it can lead to dictatorships, where the state is controlled by a small number of powerful people and doesn’t allow its citizens any say in how their country is run. They also point out that democracies can suffer from inertia, where a government stays in power for too long because it is not challenged by its opposition. This is why some countries have a mix of democracies and autocracies, with both types of system having their advantages and disadvantages. It is important to understand politics, because the decisions that are made by politicians can affect your everyday life. They might sound like good ideas at the time, but they can have disastrous consequences later on. For example, a decision to build on land might seem like a great idea at the time, but later it might prove to be contaminated and cause health problems for a lot of people.
Politics is the way humans make agreements so they can live together in groups, such as tribes or cities. They make laws to manage their society properly, build things for the benefit of everyone in the group (such as roads or hospitals), and fight wars to protect themselves or their territory from others. People who spend a lot of time making these agreements are called politicians. The study of politics is called political science, government or political studies. The quickest way to explain politics is the idea that it’s a power struggle between people or groups to control resources, money or other valuable things. This can be seen in decisions that are made by governments, companies or organisations and it can also be seen in a wide range of activities, from local community projects to global campaigns such as the recent Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel. Governments are the most obvious example of politics at work, with officials elected by citizens to run national and sometimes local services. In the United States, for example, elections take place for Senators and Representatives to the House of Representatives, as well as Governors and Presidents. These officials have a wide range of powers to create, amend or stop laws, and can use their influence to help or hinder businesses. Politics can be chaotic and painful as rival interests clash. Occasionally, a reasonable accommodation can be reached that pleases everybody – but often the solution favours one set of interests over another. Many people are disillusioned with the current state of political affairs. They may feel that the government is corrupt, inefficient or inept, and that it doesn’t serve the public interest. They may also think that the government is too focused on generating profits for big business, or that it fails to address the needs of poor communities. Some argue that the answer to these problems is more democracy, which involves a greater participation by citizens. This includes voting at regular intervals, using modern communication technology to select and sanction politicians, and taking part in protests. The idea is that the more people who participate in politics, the better the decision-making will be. But critics of democracy argue that it can lead to dictatorships, where the state is controlled by a small number of powerful people and doesn’t allow its citizens any say in how their country is run. They also point out that democracies can suffer from inertia, where a government stays in power for too long because it is not challenged by its opposition. This is why some countries have a mix of democracies and autocracies, with both types of system having their advantages and disadvantages. It is important to understand politics, because the decisions that are made by politicians can affect your everyday life. They might sound like good ideas at the time, but they can have disastrous consequences later on. For example, a decision to build on land might seem like a great idea at the time, but later it might prove to be contaminated and cause health problems for a lot of people.