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What is politics and political. What is politics: basic concepts. Notable political figures

Politics- this is a special way of regulating relations between large (masses, estates, nations), based on written laws and based on.

Politics is a very diverse social phenomenon that is difficult to "fit" in one definition. Therefore, our definition is provisional. Below we will consider various ideas about politics and try to determine the essence of the phenomenon under study.

Basic policy definition

In modern political science, there are many definitions of the concept of "politics". Moreover, in each definition, as a rule, attention is focused on one or another aspect of this complex phenomenon. For example, N. Machiavelli gave priority to the instrumental (pragmatic) approach in defining the policy. For him the essence of politics was the struggle for power. He defined politics as "the totality of the means that are necessary in order to come to power, stay in power and make good use of it."

M. Weber considered politics as certain actions aimed at gaining, retaining and using power. According to him, politics means the desire to participate in power, be it between states, be it within a state, between the groups of people that it contains. In this definition, along with action, the key word is "power".

The French sociologist R. Aron considered politics as a specific concept (program of action) and politics as an area public life in which different political concepts clash, giving rise to conflicts and consensuses.

Conflict-consensus the idea of politics suggests that real politics, on the one hand, is impossible without social conflict, and on the other hand, without finding public consent (consensus). Thus, K. S. Gadzhiev believes that “the phenomenon of the political is between two extreme interpretations, one of which considers politics entirely as the result of a clash of conflicting interests, and the second as a system for managing order and ensuring justice in the interests of all members of society.”

The very concept of "politics" is often defined as the struggle of subjects pursuing incompatible interests and goals, the result of which is the establishment of a certain legal order. The social reality is such that, under any system, social classes and strata occupy an unequal position in society and have unequal access to public resources. At the same time, the policy pursued may be more or less humane, more or less competent, but its ambivalent (conflict-consensus) essence does not change from this. In any system, people are fighting for power, and in order to preserve their society (the state), they are forced to find compromises.

Supporters cognitive approach, they see in politics the science of the goals of the state and best means their achievements, as well as the art of living together and the way to fight for power and keep it.

Politics, political methods are often understood as activities aimed at solving complex social problems in non-violent ways. In real politics, there are even the following concepts: “political solution to the problem”, “political settlement of the conflict”, etc.

Quite capacious in its content is, in our opinion, the definition of policy proposed by V.P. Pugachev: with the help of the government." In this definition, politics is characterized as an activity; the subjects of activity are indicated - social groups and individuals; object of activity - collective interests; the essence of politics is the development of decisions binding on the whole society; means of implementing policy - state power.

However, no, even the most universal definition is able to cover the entire diversity of such a phenomenon as politics. Based on this, D.P. Zerkin believes that in scientific analysis it is necessary to consider politics in three dimensions:

institutional- a set of political institutions within which ruling and managerial activities are carried out;
regulatory— a set of values and norms, goals and objectives political activity;
procedural - a system of actions to protect and implement common interests and goals for the exercise of power and government.

The well-known Western political scientist E. Heywood defines politics as “the creation, preservation and enrichment of the most general rules hostels". He identifies and analyzes four main ideas about politics: politics as an art government controlled; politics as a public process; politics as compromise and consensus; politics as power.

After analyzing and summarizing the above definitions of policy, we can identify the main components (forms of manifestation) of this phenomenon.

Politics is the process of regulating relations between large social communities, elites and leaders.

Therefore, she assumes publicity"public" activities. However, it cannot be argued that only public policy is the only "correct" policy, and everything else goes beyond the concept of "politics". In our opinion, this means moving away from real problems to the realm of ideal theoretical constructions. In reality, public policy is not always possible and not always beneficial to certain actors. Elites and leaders can solve political problems without initiating "large social communities" in them. In such situations, the following concepts are usually used: “latent politics”, “shadow politics”, “backstage politics”, “undercover struggle”, etc.

Politics can also be interpreted as the art of organizing and management society (state) with the help of state (political) power. It is only one of the types of management of social relations in society. In addition to political, there are other types of governance, such as administrative, legal, economic, socio-cultural, etc. But political governance, due to the fact that it has a monopoly on political power in society, dominates all other types of governance. Therefore, where all other types of management in solving emerging social problems and conflicts are ineffective, there is a need to apply political methods of management.

Another important attribute of a policy is its legal component. Politics, in fact, begins with the introduction of contractual relations and written laws into the management system of society. Legal norms (laws) give politics a certain logic of development, make it predictable, create a common legal field, and determine the limits of competence of subjects and participants in the political process.

Politics- this is a relationship about the capture, retention and use of state power.

Therefore, the next policy component is power. It is the attribute of power and the possibility of its application that distinguishes political management from all other types of management. The struggle for and power in society is one of the main activities for all political actors. Therefore, politics can be understood as the art of organizing and managing society with the help of state (political) power. Possession political power allows its owner (individual, group, institution) to impose his will on other people, to control others.

The struggle for power presupposes conflict, and the regulation of relations between large social communities presupposes consensus. Therefore, policy can be defined as relations between political subjects, which are characterized by permanent states conflict and consensus. At the same time, political stability can be viewed as the art of "balancing" between various political forces and trends (the art of compromise).

The most important component of politics are, between which there are, first of all, political relations, that is, relations about power. The subjects of political relations can be separate individuals representing certain political forces, social and political groups, organizations and movements, large and small political communities, public and political institutions, the state. But most often the subjects of politics are political elites and leaders who may be members of certain political groups, parties, movements, head state institutions. In Western sociology and political science, the subjects of politics are usually called actors.

For example, in English language Three keywords are relevant to the term "politics":

"politics" - the political sphere of society;
"polity" - political system;
"policy" - a political strategy pursued by various power structures.

Therefore, in modern foreign literature, politics is often defined as: the exercise of influence and power; form of domination; way to resolve conflicts; achievement of collective goals; social activity associated with the production and distribution of resources.

A number of foreign researchers believe that the meaning of politics most accurately reflects its definition, firstly, as a course on the basis of which decisions are made, measures for the implementation and formulation of tasks (for example, domestic politics, international politics, social policy, etc.); secondly, as a specific sphere where people and political formations are fighting for state power (in this sense they say: “Do politics”, “Stay away from politics”); thirdly, as the art of managing people in society (therefore they say: “Everything is politics”).

In Russian, the word "politics" is used in such meanings as:

political life of society;
strategy of activity in a certain area;
management of public affairs;
power struggle;
form of social consciousness.

The variety of approaches to the study of politics in modern political science allows us to consider politics as a multidimensional social phenomenon. Some researchers see the multidimensionality of politics in the fact that it acts as a unity of sin-related aspects: 1) as a sphere of public life; 2) as one of the types of activity of social subjects, their combined activities and individual behavior; 3) as a type of social relations (between individuals, social groups).

as the most general definition policy, reflecting its multifaceted social nature, we can suggest the following.

Politics- the sphere of social life and activity associated with power-subordination relations in society, with the conquest, retention, use of power.

At present, there are two main understandings of politics - as a subsystem of society and as a management activity.

Styles and Policy Types

Politics as a management activity is always associated with the adoption of political decisions. Actors participating in political life, as well as making political decisions, in political science are called political actors. These include the masses, social groups, communities (nations), collectives, individuals through the relevant organizations and directly.

The procedure for making political decisions is called politics style.

The basis for the selection of policy styles are:

1. approaches of a political subject to solving managerial problems, which can be:

reactive, characterized by the installation of response to the situation (the policy of "patching holes");
creative, characterized by anticipation of a possible change in the situation and creative activity aimed at changing the situation in the right direction ("development policy");

2. relations of a political subject making political decisions with other participants in the political process, which can be built on the basis of:

making management decisions by coordinating various interest groups;
imposing political decisions on other political actors.

The development of policy style is significantly influenced by:

political culture of "managers";
"massovization" of the political process, associated with the activation of various interest groups, which makes it difficult to achieve agreed decisions in certain sectors of politics;
the emergence of various forms of non-traditional political participation that are contrary to established political norms.

In most modern societies, a style of politics dominates, where the government's approach to solving managerial problems is more reactive, and political changes are achieved by imposing their decisions against the resistance of certain interest groups by the government.

In political science, there are also various policy types as a managerial activity:

directive, based on direct coercive violence. The main organizational resource of such a policy is the cohesion and will of "their own" who are harshly and hostilely opposed to "them." This is a politics of power, where opponents seek to inflict damage on each other, and the one who has the least damage “wins”;
functional, focusing on the "rules of the game", taking into account the diversity of existing social roles and institutions. This is a policy of compromise, when in the end everyone should receive exactly as much as he gives, and the general and particular "gain" lies in the avoidance of "damage";
communicative, also based on the "rules of the game", which, however, can be changed along the way on predetermined principles. It is a policy of cooperation that leads to a common "win".

The listed policy types are its “ideal types”. In real political life, there is a contradictory combination of them.

The emergence of such a phenomenon as “politics” is due to the fact that society is asymmetric in its structure. Existence various classes and social groups (professional, demographic, ethnic, etc.) with different or even directly opposite interests, aspirations, ideologies, inevitably leads to their clash and struggle with each other.

The great ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle formulated the proposition that "... man by nature is a political being ...", which means that he is involved in one way or another in political life. The only question is how consciously a person becomes the subject and object of politics, deliberately makes his political choice in certain situations.

Without politics, our life would turn into what the famous English thinker T.Hobbes called "the war of all against all", when the people are at war with the people, city against city, street against street, house against house and, finally, man against man. It is precisely this function of the self-preservation of society that politics performs.

« Politics"- one of the most common and ambiguous words both in Russian and in many other languages of the world. AT Everyday life politics is often called any purposeful activity, whether it is the activity of the head of state, party or firm, or even the attitude of a wife towards her husband, subordinated to a specific goal.

However, most people, using the term "politics", practically do not think about its true content. Ancient Greek politician Pericles claimed:

“Only a few can make politics, but everyone can judge it.”

At the same time, the insidiousness of habitual words lies in the fact that, having become well-known, they often lose their original meaning. great german philosopher Georg Hegel warned: if something becomes common knowledge, then we do not know exactly what it is about. Regarding political terms, the Russian historian V. Klyuchevsky wrote that they have their own history, and we will inevitably fall into anachronism if, meeting them in historical monuments of remote times, we understand them in the modern sense. This also applies to the understanding of the term "politics".

It is possible to comprehend the essence and content of the category "politics" at three levels.

At the ordinary level. In this case, the citizen creates the primary, background image of politics, which allows him to adapt to the politically organized community, to find ways of interacting with the government and the state that are compatible with his own goals. Ordinary consciousness draws a "natural" picture of politics on the basis of individual empirical experience and traditionally established ideas, customs, and stereotypes.
At the scientific and theoretical level. Here a form of abstract thinking is formed, with the help of which a person builds in his mind ideas about the external and internal relations of politics on the basis of generalization and systematization of not individual, but intergroup and universal experience. The specificity of this level lies in the rational-critical understanding of political reality and the creation of such a picture of the world of politics that would describe and explain this phenomenon as a whole.
At the level of technological reflection, which serves as a qualitative variety of scientific consciousness, which is formed to solve a specific political problem and represents science as a special "art", "craft", "mastery". This level significantly affects the methods of formation and development of this kind of knowledge, the ways of their organization and forms of implementation.

Today, despite the rapid development of scientific political science knowledge, the content of the category "politics" is still open, undergoing changes and additions as new theoretical models emerge. It demonstrates the futility of unambiguous definitions of the phenomenon of politics, the desire to catch its ever-elusive specifics within the boundaries of a once found logic. The term "politics" is almost always used in more than one sense.

The origin of the term "politics" is interpreted by different authors in different ways.

Some researchers argue that the name of the politician comes from the Greek "polis" and its derivatives "politeia" (constitution), "polites" (citizen) and "politicos" (statesman).

Others believe that this concept comes from "politike", which meant the science and art of managing public affairs. Still others believe that the very word politics comes from "politeia", denoting the legislative design of public state structure. Still others are convinced that the concept of "politics" comes from the Greek words "poli" (many) and "tikos" (interests).

The word "politics" became widespread after the treatise of the ancient Greek thinker Aristotle on the state and the art of government, which was called "Politics", became known.

AT Ancient Greece the word "politics" meant everything related to state activity. So, in particular, Plato and Aristotle considered government to be politics. Aristotle considered correct those forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, polity), in which the goal of politics is the common good. Plato defined politics as the art of living together, that is, the art of coexistence. This approach is called communication.

Using a directive approach, the classic political science, Italian thinker Nicollo Machiavelli believed that there is nothing more than "the totality of the means that are necessary in order to come to power, stay in power and use it usefully."

A German sociologist M. Weber emphasized that politics “means the desire to participate in power or to influence the distribution of power, whether between states, whether within a state between the groups of people that it includes ... Whoever engages in politics strives for power.”

Based on the functional approach, T. Parsons wrote:

"Politics is a set of ways of organizing certain elements of the total system in accordance with one of its fundamental functions, namely: effective action for the achievement of common goals."

And D. Easton understood politics as an authoritative distribution of values within society.

On the basis of the institutional approach, V. Lenin believed that politics is "the area of relations between the classes of society, their relationship to the state as an instrument of the ruling class, a concentrated expression of the economy."

If we turn to the interpretation of the concept of "politics" in scientific dictionaries, we see that in the Popular Political Dictionary, published in Moscow in 1924, politics is considered as the art of government and as a certain direction of actions of the state, parties, institutions.

S. Ozhegov in the Dictionary of the Russian Language defines politics as the activity of public authorities and public administration, reflecting the social system and economic structure of the country.

The Soviet Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary considers politics as an activity connected with relations between classes, nations and other social groups, the core of which is the problem of gaining, retaining and using state power.

The presented interpretations of politics do not exhaust the diversity of its definition, but together they allow us to reveal the essence of politics as a social phenomenon as follows: “Politics is a field of activity associated with relations between classes, nations, other social groups, with the goal of conquest, organization and use of state power management of social processes”.

Policy can classify for various reasons:

By areas of public life: economic; social; national; scientific and technical; ecological; cultural; military, etc.
By object of influence: internal and external.
By subject of policy: party politics; policy of public associations and movements; public policy, etc.
By activity priority(objectives): policy of neutrality; the policy of national reconciliation; open door policy; the politics of the "great leap"; policy of compromises, etc.

Thus, politics is: participation in the affairs of the state, determining the forms, tasks, content of its activities; activities in the sphere of relations between classes, nations, parties and states; a set of events or issues of state, public life; characterization of the course of action aimed at achieving certain goals in the relationship of people among themselves. In a broad sense, politics is identified with the entire social reality. In a narrow sense, politics refers to the relationship between large social groups of people regarding the realization of their political interests.

From a functional point of view, the role of politics in any society (from a small group to society as a whole) can be reduced to the following:

Expression of powerfully significant interests of all groups and strata of society. Politics gives people the opportunity to meet their needs and change social status.
Socialization of the individual, the formation of a person as an independent, socially active individual. Through politics, a person is able to acquire social qualities, it includes a person in the complex world of social relations, constructs an individual as an independent socially active being, a subject of politics.
Rationalization of emerging contradictions, ensuring a civilizational dialogue between citizens and the state. In the course of meeting the needs and interests of individuals, contradictions are exposed, conflicts arise. The role of politics is to smooth out contradictions.
Management and leadership of political and social processes. Political processes taking place in the interests of certain segments of the population or society as a whole involve the use of means of coercion and social violence.
Integration of various social strata of the population, maintaining the integrity of the social system, stability and order.
Ensuring continuity social development society as a whole and each person individually. In this case, the political course chosen by society should not only foresee the long-term consequences of the actions taken, but also be constantly tested by practical experience, common sense, moral standards.
Ensuring the innovative nature of the social development of society and man, expanding the scope of relations between peoples, man and nature.
Organizational.
Control and distribution.

It is clear that in this case we are talking only about the most important functions of politics. By the degree of development of these functions, one can judge the degree of development of the society itself, its maturity and the development of political life.

In the structure of policy, content, form and process (relationships) are distinguished. The content of the policy is expressed in its goals, values, motives and mechanisms for making political decisions, in the problems that it solves. The form of politics is its organizational structure (state, parties, etc.), as well as norms, laws that give it stability, stability and allow regulating the political behavior of people. The political process reflects the complex, multi-subject and conflict nature of political activity, the manifestation and implementation of relations between various social groups, organizations and individuals. Based on this, considering politics as a social phenomenon, we can distinguish the following structural elements:

political interest is an internal, conscious source of political behavior;
political relations - the relationship of social groups among themselves and the institutions of power;
political consciousness - the dependence of political life on the conscious attitude of people to their power-significant interests;
political organization - a set of institutions of political power;
political activity - social activity of subjects in the realization of their political statuses.

Politics has its subjects and objects.

Subject- it is the carrier of any subject-practical activity, the source of activity directed at the object.
An object- this is what opposes the subject in his subject-practical activity, in cognition. In other words, the subject acts, influences the object, seeks to use it in his own interests.

With regard to politics, we can say that the subject of politics is the one who leads an active political life, participates in the political process: an individual, a social group, public and religious associations, the state or its bodies, international organizations, etc.

The object of politics is what the efforts of the subject of politics are aimed at: power, interests and values, the population as an electorate, the state, an individual, etc.

Policy can be implemented at several levels:

mega level - international and world politics;
the macro level - the highest central political institutions, government bodies, public organizations and associations;
meso-level - governing bodies of the regional, republican, regional, district scale;
micro level - direct political interaction of people, small social groups.

Thus, politics has a comprehensive social character and is relevant to almost every member of society. Political science, as a science, studies politics in all its manifestations, and the study of political science contributes to the formation of a socially active personality.

Politics is an extremely complex area of human relations. One of its most important tasks is the management of society, taking into account the interests of various social actors. These interests are often mutually exclusive.

The category "politics" became widespread thanks to the work of the same name by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. He considered politics as a form of communication between families and clans for the sake of a happy, good life. Nowadays, this term often refers to various types of influence and leadership. So, they talk about the policy of the president, the party, the firm, the editorial board, educational institution, teacher, leader and members of any group.

Politics- is defined as a field of activity related to the distribution and exercise of power within the state and between states in order to achieve the security of society.

In the very broad sense politics is interpreted only as the activity of organizing life together people in society , as a necessary and useful management in this regard. And political relations - as a system of relations between people that arise and develop precisely because of the organization and functioning of state power.

The existence and status of a policy depends on a number of factors. These enduring necessary factors, or connections, are policy laws. Such connections include the following:

the dependence of the subject's policy on interest in another subject. Politics is built by those who experience a lack of security: in benefits, including in life and health, in social status, communication, etc.; whoever has large resources dictates the conditions of political (collective) existence; that is, the one who is less interested dictates;
the dependence of the stability of political relations on the readiness of subjects to sacrifice some private (personal) interests;
the dependence of the joint security of the community on the fairness of the distribution of social positions of the subjects of politics.

Security contains three main elements. Social security implies the preservation of the existence of the subject in a certain status. Economic security means having access to livelihoods. Spiritual security implies the possibility of free choice of ideas, faith, tastes, etc., which do not infringe on the interests of other people.

Politics as a social phenomenon

traditional when politics is determined through the state and the participation of the people in the exercise or opposition of power;
sociological, within which politics is interpreted in the broadest sense, as any kind of social activity associated with the independent leadership of people, the distribution of benefits and resources, conflict resolution, etc.

In the traditional approach politics appears as a special, different from other state-imperious sphere of public life and is realized in it. Hence such specific definitions of politics, interpreting it as:

the scope of the struggle for power and the method of exercising this power;
the science and art of public administration;
method of producing lawful social orders and prescriptions and etc.

In a sociological approach politics as a public activity is not necessarily connected with state power, and, consequently, does not form a special sphere of public life. It is present everywhere, and any phenomenon or action becomes political insofar as it "affects the organization and mobilization of resources, necessary for the implementation of the goals of a particular team, community, etc.” Therefore, they often say: “Wherever you throw it, politics is everywhere.” She is present even in the family, when a smart wife controls her husband in such a way that it seems to the latter that he is the master in the house, although in fact he is “under the heel” of his wife.

Interpretation of the concept of "politics":

The course on the basis of which decisions are made, measures for the implementation and formation of tasks.
The art of managing people, all kinds of activities for self-management.
The sphere of struggle for the conquest, retention and use of state power.
The art of government.

Society's need for politics. The Need for Politics

As its fundamental social foundation, politics has an objective society's need for self-regulation, for maintaining cohesion and unity.

by its structure asymmetrically. The existence of different classes and (professional, demographic, ethnic, etc.) having different or even directly opposite interests, aspirations, ideologies inevitably leads to their clash and struggle with each other. And so that this struggle, natural at all times and among all peoples, does not take the form of a war of “all against all”, requires a special organization of force which would assume the function of preventing it and would provide the necessary minimum of social regulation and order. It is precisely this function of the self-preservation of society that is performed by politics, and, above all, in the person of such its supreme subject as the state. It is no coincidence that politics is often defined as "the art of living together, the art of unity in the multitude".

The role of politics in society:

clarification of the meaning of the existence of this community and the system of its priorities;
coordination and balance of interests of all its members, determination of common collective aspirations and goals;
development of rules of behavior and life activity acceptable to all;
the distribution of functions and roles between all subjects of a given community, or at least the development of the rules by which this distribution occurs;
creation of a language generally accepted (commonly understood) by all - verbal (verbal) or symbolic, capable of ensuring effective interaction and mutual understanding of all community members.

On a vertical cut, as shown in the diagram, policy actors(i.e. those who "send" politics and participate in political-power relations) are:

Policy field

"Field of politics", i.e. the space to which it extends two types of measurement: territorial and functional. The first is delineated by the country's borders, the second by the scope of political decisions. At the same time, the "field of politics" includes almost all areas of social life: economics, ideology, culture, etc. Politics interacts with them according to the feedback principle, i.e. proceeds from the mutual influence of politics and the social environment.

Character relationship between politics and economics directly depends on the type of state system. If in totalitarian systems the economy acts as a concentrated expression of politics, i.e. it is controlled by it and completely subordinated to it to the detriment of economic expediency, then in modern Western countries these two "hypostases" act as complementary and complementary social systems. And the problem of the interaction between economics and politics is not a choice between two opposites: the monopolism (element) of the state and the monopolism (element) of the market. We are talking about the search for optimal models, finding reasonable proportions between the one and the other, i.e. between state regulation and freedom of private enterprise, self-regulation of the market. So-called economic anti-statism, i.e. the complete expulsion of the state from the economy, nothing more than a social utopia.

The "business" function of politics in relation to the economy is nothing but production and maintenance in society of a certain minimum of social stability and order, under which only effective economic activity is possible, including in the form of a private one. In conditions of chaos and anarchy, such activity, as a general rule, is impossible. Chaos cannot be reformed. As for the general social "business" function of the economy, including business, in relation to society and the state, it can be expressed in an extremely concise target setting: "to feed and clothe the people." But the people are not as a “dependent” and an object of social charity, but the people as an aggregate employee and an active subject of economic activity, which simultaneously accumulates in its person both the main producer and consumer of material and intangible goods.

Particular attention should also be paid to the fact that politics is inextricably linked with ideology and outside of ideology and without ideology cannot exist. Ideology, as a system of values of a given society that has a mobilization potential, performs two kinds of functions in relation to politics: on the one hand, orientation function; on the other hand, the function of its ideological legitimation, i.e. justifications for action.

First function is especially important at sharp turns in history, when the political system changes and the traditional structures and ideas are radically broken. Second- as a means of legitimizing state-power decisions, i.e. as a justification and justification for those that are unpopular among the people, are, as they say, "shock therapeutic" in nature on the principle of "there is simply no other way."

Specially folded relationship between politics and science. Politics, due to its diversity, subjectivity, dynamism and other features, is not equivalent to science, i.e. it is not reduced to the exact implementation of the solutions developed by science, the laws discovered by it. Science does not "rule" politics, but acts as its impartial, "beyond good and evil" adviser. Regarding politics main function of science purely pragmatic is, first of all, its information support, expertise, forecasting and modeling of situations, etc.

A serious study of politics also involves highlighting such a key issue as relationship between politics and morality.

At the level of mass ideas about politics, the most common point of view on this matter is the statement about their incompatibility: where politics begins, morality ends. If we turn to history and today's days, then such a point of view has the right to exist, but, nevertheless, it cannot be recognized as completely correct and scientific. There is no universal predetermined policy for immorality. Everything depends on the nature of the social structure in which the policy is implemented, as well as on the “cleanliness of the hands” of those who are at its helm. Where there is democracy, where any actions in the sphere of politics are controlled by its mechanisms, by the people, there morality and politics get along well with each other. But the compatibility of morality and politics is not in the strict observance of moral norms by politics, but in a reasonable, moral combination of good and evil. Politics is still a specific area of forced, sometimes even very "cool" decisions, when the imperatives of morality have to be coordinated with the rationality and expediency of actions, and one's own desires and predilections with the dictates of circumstances. A politician acts morally when the good from his actions significantly exceeds the evil. The French educator Voltaire in this regard said: "Often, in order to do great good, you have to do a little evil."

01.02.2017

Purpose of the study- identify all possible variations to the definition of politics, understand the essence of political knowledge, give the starting concept: politics, as well as the science that studies it - political science.

Why do we need to start our learning process with the concept of politics? Political science is the science of politics, which means we need to find out what the concept of politics is!?

In my opinion, the central, starting statement:

- Undoubtedly: politics is a social phenomenon, where there is a society, a political component of society appears. Aristotle defines a person as "political animal", in human nature lies the desire to communicate with fellow tribesmen, the desire to unite in order to achieve common benefits - family, city, state. An individual in a non-society does not participate in political life.

An unconditional feature of politics - politics is a social phenomenon!

The concept of "politics", different approaches:

Household level, politics- any activity of a person, organization aimed at achieving a goal.

Scientific approach- relies on argumentation and systematization, there are several types of research approaches to the definition of the concept of "politics":

sociological;
substantial;
scientifically constructed, associated with a specific interpretation of politics.

Sociological approaches (variants of the interpretation of the concept of "politics"):

Economic approach (especially, "Marxism")- the idea of economic determinism, according to which politics is subordinated to the economic component of social relations. All subjects of politics do not have their own free will in actions, their actions are dictated by processes economic development society. The socio-political development of the 20th century showed the inconsistency of this theory, economy, only important factor , one of the hypostases of the social life of a society affecting political reality. An example, Hitler, was not an instrument for the economic development of society, the economy was only a powerful and partial factor that brought utopian ideology to power. The economy, in this case, has become a "fertile field", which "nurtured" Mussolini, Hitler, Mosley and other representatives of the destructive direction in the development of political thought of the 20th century.

Stratification approach(sociological category - a system of criteria dividing society groups (strata, classes, etc.)) - the main idea of the stratification approach consists in the rivalry of certain groups (classes (“Marxism”), interested groups (A. Bentley, D. Truman)). Of course, after the “failure” of communist state projects almost all over the world. At the same time, the theory of “interested groups” at the moment has become one of the leading ones and has become part of the understanding of the modern democratic pluralistic state.

Legal approach- politics, as a derivative of "natural" human rights. According to the concept, at birth, we are all equal in our natural rights - the right to life and so on. State and politics are the result of a "social contract" aimed at protecting the "natural rights" of a person. The theory of "social contract", which is represented by prominent figures of world philosophical thought - Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant. States are a tool for protecting the rights of citizens, citizens give power to the state, in order to more effectively ensure the protection of "natural rights", a kind of contract between each citizen and the state.

Ethical (normative) approach — politics as an activity aimed at achieving the common good . This approach reflects the idea of policy orientation towards achieving the “common” good. However, as history shows, the public good can be interpreted in different ways, under the "guise" of the public good, an irrational, destructive motive can be "hidden" (the destruction of the enemies of the people, the destruction of the "Jewish" population and other options "public good"). Although of course. a generally humane approach, this is an excellent idealistic goal of the state system, which, against the backdrop of selfish actions of political subjects, is difficult to achieve.

Substantial approaches (variants of the interpretation of the concept of "politics"):

"Imperious" definition of politics — a set of actions aimed at power for the purpose of its acquisition, use and retention. It can be said that Niccolo Machiavelli, in his definition of politics, was inclined to identify it with modern "powerful" approaches to the definition of the concept of politics (N. Machiavelli, says that politics is "the totality of means that are necessary in order to come to power, stay in power and use it usefully").

Institutional definition of policy- Proponents of this approach believe that politics is participation in the affairs of the "institutions" of power , - states, parties and other things.

Anthropological definition of politics- even Aristotle, pointed out that a person in his essence is a "political animal" by nature existing in order to communicate within social structures: family, community, city, state. Those. anthropological factor of politics, the fundamental principle - politics is a way of a civilized existence of a person in society, anticipated by the human essence itself (the need for interaction in social structure) based on legal norms.

Conflict-consensus policy definition- this is a theory associated with the ideas of antagonism of the political process, the struggle of opposites but at the same time the single essence of the political process. On the one hand, politics is a conflict of interests, the struggle for obtaining advantages, benefits, on the other hand, politics is a process aimed at achieving justice, order and providing opportunities for the implementation of all participants in the political process. So, politics according to the theory of conflict and consensus is a process aimed at reaching consensus (an agreement between the parties to the conflict that resolves the conflict situation) in a conflict situation.

The theory of "friends" and "enemies"- a theory developed by the German political scientist K. Schmitt. K. Schmitt's idea is that our life activity is filled with various types of social relations - religious, economic, cultural, etc., in the process of human participation in such types of relations, a conflict of interests arises, a "seal" is formed, from which the division of participants in the social process begins to "grow" into fragments "friend", "enemy". And at the moment of fragmentation: friend-foe, a policy appears that serves to protect the interests of "friends" from "enemies".

Scientifically constructed, related to the specific interpretation of policies:

Activity definition of the concept of politics — politics is a process preparation, adoption and practical implementation of decisions binding on the whole society. Through the "prism" of the activity definition, politics appears as a process consisting of stages: the emergence of political goals, the preparation of means for the implementation of the goal, the organization of the process of realizing the means, the achievement of the goal, the fixation of the achieved goals, the preparation of new goals, etc.

Teleological definition of the concept of politics- in this case, the policy acts as an activity (close to activity concept) aimed at achieving collective goals . Representatives of this concept (in particular, T. Parsons) believe that politics is endowed with a "fundamental function" - the function of effective, collective achievement of common goals. Theological concept is based on two postulates, firstly, man has a collective nature (the leading idea of Aristotle), Secondly, conscious and purposeful nature of the actions of the subjects of the political process. In such a situation, the will of the individual turns into the will of collective entities and the whole society.

Defining a politician, according to a systems approach- politics, it is a complexly organized system with relative independence, integrity and limitations from other social systems of society, at the same time being in constant interaction with other systems of society

Total:

POLICY is:

the result of the development of the economy, subordinated to the implementation of economic tasks;
the result of competition between certain groups, interest groups;
the result of a social contract between citizens and the state, aimed at protecting the natural rights of citizens;
the result of activities aimed at achieving the common good;
the totality of all actions aimed at power;
as a result of participation in the institutions of power, primarily the state;
the result of the natural predisposition of each individual to social organization with the aim of achieving common goods on the basis of legal norms;
the result of the process of seeking and finding consensus during social conflicts;
the result of the division of society into individual groups on the basis of "friends", "enemies" and the subsequent process of general protection of interests until the moment the interest is satisfied or it is not achieved, followed by the dissociation of the group;
this is the process of preparation, adoption and practical implementation of decisions common to all subjects;
the result of activities to achieve the set collective goal.
a complex system that has independence and at the same time actively interacts with other social systems of society.

Politics is the activity of social groups and individuals in the articulation (realization and representation) of their conflicting collective interests, the development of decisions binding on the whole society, carried out with the help of state power (Introduction to political science. Pugachev V.P., Solovyov A.I. 2005 -477c) .

Politics- the activities of individuals and social groups associated with relations regarding the conquest, retention and use of power in order to realize their interests (The latest political dictionary_Pogorely D.E. et al_2010 -318s).

Definitions of politics, historical aspect:

« Politics is a set of means necessary to come to power, stay in power and use it usefully.» — N. Machiavelli.

« Politics is the area of relations between the classes of society, the concentrated expression of the economy» — IN AND. Lenin.

« Politics is the desire to participate in power or to influence the distribution of power, whether between the state, whether within the state between the groups of people that it contains.» — M. Weber.

“Politics is the power distribution of values within society” —D. Easton.

To be continued…

The control system, or control system, serves as an instrument for implementing the policy of the state. This is quite understandable, given that the concepts of "politics" and "political" are characterized by ambiguity. But to the question: "What is politics?" People tend to respond in different ways. There is talk, for example, of the monetary policy of the banks, the policy of the trade unions during a strike, the policy of the school authorities of the city, the policy of the management of an enterprise or school, even the policy of a clever wife who seeks to control her husband.

What is politics anyway?

What is the meaning of the term "politics"?

Politics in the proper sense of the word is, on the one hand, a sphere of people's activity, where interaction is carried out between various, often opposing or conflicting, socio-political forces regarding power and power relations between these forces. In this regard, politics is closely connected with the political world. Moreover, these terms are often used as synonyms.

On the other hand, politics is understood as a form of activity of the state and its institutions, society, political parties, organizations, movements, and even a single individual in managing various areas of public life: the economy, the social sphere, culture, education, science, healthcare, etc. .

Politics in one form or another affects all citizens of the state. Huge masses of people pursuing their social, economic, cultural and other interests take part in it. The degree of complexity and versatility of politics depends on the scale of economic, social, ethno-national, confessional and other forms of pluralism in society.

The policy is designed to solve everyday and strategic problems vital for society, to develop and implement programs to ensure the viability, effective functioning and further development of both society as a whole and its individual subsystems. In this regard, they talk about economic, industrial, agrarian, social, military, education, health care, and so on.

In other words, with the help of a targeted policy, social processes are managed. It is no coincidence that politics is sometimes called the art of government. In this sense, politics includes both conflicts, struggle and competition for power and influence, and joint actions of people in search of optimal ways for the functioning and development of society and the state. That is why people talk about political conflicts, political struggle, political course, political programs, and so on.

Of particular importance from this point of view is the resource of power. Without power, there can be no normal, effective politics. Those researchers are right who believe that any social problem acquires a political character if its solution is in one way or another connected with the authorities.

Politics is closely connected with decision-making. It embodies the interconnection and interdependence, the dialectic of internal and external conditions and factors in the development of society and the state. Therefore, it is natural that politics is divided into internal and external.

Domestic politics

Domestic policy is a set of areas of state activity in the economic, social, scientific, educational, demographic, law enforcement, military and other important areas of public life. To implement the goals of domestic policy, the state uses a wide range of means, such as the state budget, taxes, social security system, funding for science, education, healthcare, judicial and law enforcement agencies.

State policy in various fields public life is by no means limited to the national level of the central authorities. As mentioned above, government in the state is carried out at three levels: national, regional and local. Accordingly, the policy is also carried out at all these three levels.

Various directions of the internal policy of the state are distinguished. They talk about economic, industrial, agrarian, social, military, employment, labor relations, education, health care, law enforcement, and so on.

For example, it is the state that plays the main role in creating and maintaining infrastructure in the proper order in key areas of public life: the economy, transport, energy, the social sphere, science, education, etc. It serves as a guarantor of freedom entrepreneurial activity, protecting the rights of the owner and the rights of consumers, etc.

Particularly indispensable is the role of the state as a guarantor of maintaining a competitive environment, where antimonopoly or antitrust legislation is of decisive importance. The state plays an indispensable role in the monetary and financial sphere, ensuring the reliability national currency and the stability of the monetary system. A key place in the policy of the state is occupied by the preparation, adoption and distribution of the state budget.

One of the most important activities of the state is social policy, which is a set of measures taken and implemented by the state to ensure the well-being of the general population, prevent disproportions in the incomes of various groups of the population, reduce and mitigate the consequences of social inequality, create tolerable living conditions for the poor and the poor, the elderly and the disabled, etc.

In this direction, the policy of the state in the field of science, education, and health care is of particular importance. In general, social policy performs the function of stabilizing society, preventing and overcoming social and political instability, which is crucial for the viability and effective functioning of society and the state. Obviously, social policy covers a very wide range of issues relating to almost all spheres of public life and the vast majority of citizens of a given state.

In this area, the effectiveness of policy cannot and cannot be measured in terms of profitability and competitiveness.

In this regard, the existence of such spheres and institutions is of no small importance, the results of which cannot be measured in terms of material payback or non-payback, profitability and competitiveness of products, as is customary in the field of economics. Here, the criteria for ensuring social justice and the spiritual health of society are of fundamental importance.

These are, in particular, education and healthcare systems, social assistance to the disabled population, fundamental science, maintaining the country's defense capability, law enforcement, etc. Management of various kinds of conflicts that arise in society is of particular importance. Here the main goal is to prevent, neutralize, settle, resolve conflicts.

Interethnic relations are an independent object of state policy. They are of particular importance in multinational states. As you know, in the modern world, most countries are multinational. In conditions when the ethno-national factor has come to the fore and has become a catalyst for many contradictions and even armed conflicts, this problem is becoming increasingly important.

The policy of the state in this direction is designed to provide legal, social, cultural, political regulation of interethnic relations. It is important to take into account that the state has a special responsibility for protecting and ensuring the interests of the rights and freedoms not only of an individual person or citizen, but also of ethno-national, confessional, cultural and other minorities, regardless of their social status, race, nationality, religion.

An important component of domestic policy is a policy aimed at protecting and improving environment, or environmental policy. It aims at the rational use and renewal natural resources, preservation and development of the bio- and sociosphere, which ensures normal life activity and environmental safety of a person.

Military policy is a part of the general policy of the state, which serves to ensure the national security of the country from external and internal threats, the protection and realization of national interests, territorial integrity and sovereignty, etc. Here, the main goal of state policy is the development and implementation of measures to strengthen the country's defense capability, primarily by maintaining at the proper level, and, if necessary, building up the armed forces.

The rights and freedoms of man and citizen are highest value which is entrusted to the state, and the state, through its functions, is obliged to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, the safe existence of society. The importance of this function of the state is evidenced by the fact that it is enshrined in Art. 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In this area, the key role belongs to the system of law enforcement agencies: the police, the prosecutor's office, and the judiciary.

The law enforcement system is a set of state-legal means, methods and guarantees that ensure the protection of a person from illegal actions by other citizens or representatives of the state. Its task includes the implementation of measures to prevent the violation of social ties and relations, the protection of public order, the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, their teams and organizations, the reproduction and strengthening of the entire complex of institutions and relations of civil society. In this context, the effectiveness of state policy in the law enforcement sphere is determined by the degree of minimization of coercion and activation of means directly related to the promotion of positive legal behavior of citizens, their compliance with existing laws and regulations.

Of course, the internal policy of the state is by no means limited to these areas, but they can be called key ones, on the effective solution of which the state, well-being and prospects of society and the state depend. In general, it can be said that the internal policy of the state plays a decisive role in the creation and protection of social and economic infrastructure, the protection of all institutions of civil society and the provision of appropriate conditions for their viability and effective functioning.