Policy(Greek politikē - the art of government)

The activities of public authorities and public administration, reflecting the social system and economic structure of the country.

Issues and events of public, state life.

In a certain way, the directed activity of the state or social groups in various fields Key words: economy, social and national relations, demography, security, etc.

Policy- general guidance for action and decision-making, which facilitates the achievement of goals. Politics directs action to achieve a goal or accomplish a task. By setting directions to follow, it explains how goals are to be achieved. Politics leaves freedom of action.

Policy(Greek politikē - state or public affairs from the Greek πόλις - state) defines relations with other subjects of political interests (states, corporations, in all areas of relationships). The basis of policy is reflected in the constitution or master planning of large organizations with complex hierarchies and a multidisciplinary branched structure. The policy of external and internal relations are interconnected and reflect the foundations of self-organization and management.

Polis (Greek πόλις) - self-organization of the urban community (including adjacent properties), which constituted itself as a political formation, community - a special form of self-organization of society, typical of Ancient Greece. It developed and spread through Italy and directly through the Roman Empire. With the growth of states and empires, the policy of relations with vast territories required the variability of politics and the improvement of the management system.

Politics as a concept and methodology (method and procedure of application) formed in policies, where the administrative elite and various classes, crafts, arts and schools were concentrated, in which the future elite was formed. Therefore, the political formation defined political relations as long-term rights and obligations of the parties, later defined as strategic and implemented through the functions of strategists.

In the modern era, politics has become more similar not to management, but to manipulations with a complex hierarchy of elites and pseudo-elites, which is subject to multifactorial reflection on multi-level and multi-profile signals (stimuli) in real conditions of natural changeable factors and actions, including inadequate actions of society's subjects. .

In a narrow sense, politics is a certain part, program or direction of such activity, a set of means (tools) and methods (techniques) for the realization of certain interests in order to achieve certain (by the subject of the political process) goals in a certain social environment. Politics is also called the decision-making process, as well as behavior in public institutions. In self-organizing civil societies, politics can be observed in the interaction between certain groups of people, such as in corporate, academic, religious institutions.

The scientific study of politics is carried out within the framework of political science.

Alternative definitions

Politics - the struggle of many interests (the art of management, taking into account the interests of all sectors of society). The definition is connected with the etymology of the Greek. πολιτικός, where πολι (poly) means a bunch of, and τικός (thikos) - interest; (literally - "many interests") [ source not specified 252 days] . Thus, civil servants in cities ancient greece were called politicos, and citizens who had little interest and participated in political life of their city, were called ιδιοτικός ( idiotikos) ;

Politics is the art of the permissible. History points to the manipulation and aggressiveness of the policies of many rulers. Politics is management, a tool, and it must be distinguished from the goals and falsification (imitation character) of politics;

Politics is an all-encompassing phenomenon of social life, penetrating all its forms and including all forms of social activity of people, all types of activities for their organization and leadership within the production processes;

Politics is the management of the allocation of resources;

Politics is a sphere of social life associated with obtaining, retaining and using power;

Politics is 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 contains;

Politics is participation in state affairs, the direction of the state, the definition of forms, tasks, content of the state;

Policy is the organization's activity (its behavioral model) to achieve its goals (interests), for example: - technical policy;

Politics is any program of action, all types of activities for the independent management of something or someone. Accordingly, in this sense, we can talk, for example, about the monetary policy of the bank, about the school policy of city municipalities, about the family policy of the wife in relation to her husband and children, etc.;

Policy - a set of measures and actions aimed at achieving a predetermined result;

Politics is a form of public consciousness that expresses the corporate interests of the community, and manifests itself in civil society (the state) in the form of trends, movements, trade unions and other public organizations and associations with specific interests. The most perfect and organized of them are the parties and the church.

Politics is the art of bringing people together.

Politics is a struggle for the right to establish your own rules of the game.

Politics is the art of evil in the name of good (philosophical and ethical definition in a broad sense).

Politics is the enforced decree of a third party.

Politics is someone's executable strategy to offer rights and freedoms. (a policy such and such may offer rights that are different from the rights offered by another policy).

Politics - measures and actions taken by a leader in order to implement the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow things should be arranged in an environment subject to him. For example, the policy of the company "A", some functions in the equipment produced by it can be changed in order to increase profits

Main approaches

Thinkers of the past defined politics in different ways: as “royal art” to manage all other arts (oratory, military, judicial, etc.) and the ability to “protect all citizens and, if possible, make them the best out of the worst” (Plato); as knowledge of right and wise government (Machiavelli); as the leadership of the state apparatus or influence on this leadership (Max Weber), as a struggle of class interests (Karl Marx). Modern political scientists define politics as an activity about public interests, expressed in the behavior of social groups, as well as a set of behavioral models and institutions that regulate social relations and create both power control itself and competition for the possession of power.

In modern political science There are two key approaches to understanding politics - consensual and confrontational.

Consensus Understanding

The consensus understanding of politics comes from the possibility of political interaction as cooperation and involves the gradual elimination of conflicts, which will turn politics into public acts aimed at mutual understanding and joint action in order to achieve a goal that expresses the highest public good.

confrontational understanding

The confrontational understanding of politics (Karl Schmitt) proceeds from the fact that political interaction arises as a result of achieving a certain intensity of opposites in relations between people. Politics is created by publicly fighting groups of people who mutually define each other in terms of "friend/foe".

the level of competence of officials and their rational use for timely and complete problem solving set by the highest political leadership of the state;

accuracy of scientific analysis using modern methods of modeling projects of major political decisions, which eliminates or at least reduces the risk of making inadequate decisions by the political leadership of the state.

Political processes and society

Political processes are based on a set of ideas and methods for their implementation. The policy is of a pronounced temporary nature, that is, it can change due to the change of leaders (managers).

Political parties are an organization of like-minded people with a common vision of the process and ideology of governance. Political ideology is based on the description of the concept of phenomena and mechanisms, processes and management structure. The politicization of governance often demonstrates the opposition of ideologies and manipulations in favor of the goals of shadow rule and lobbying for the interests of third parties outside of governance itself. Political parties may view the implementation of public administration differently. Therefore, the policy of states is determined by the balance and/or opposition of various ideologies.

Depending on the type (profile, level) of organizations, there are: state policy, military policy, party policy, technical policy (for production organizations), etc.

Depending on the direction of the organization's activities, there are: domestic and foreign policy, social policy, etc.

the art of government and society;

a set of social ideas and the purposeful activity caused by them, connected with the formation of relations between states, peoples, nations, social groups

sphere of activity of the state, parties, social movements.

the desire to participate in power or to influence the distribution of power (Max Weber).

Political systems and ideologies

See also: Politic system

To date, 20 political and ideological systems are known:

[edit] Notable political thinkers

Related definitions

Political relations- forms of interconnection of political subjects - consent, partnership, discussions, conflicts, domination and subordination between participants in political life.

Political power- the ability and ability to impose one's will on another.

Political organizations- a set of state and non-state institutions that express the interests of the individual, group, society.

Political culture- the type of attitude to political phenomena, which is found in behavior.

Political consciousness- political psychology and political ideology, motives for political participation (ideas, feelings, experiences, values, assessments).

Policy Subjects- individuals, social groups, layers, organizations, masses, society participating in the process of implementing state power.

Politics and its special role in the life of society

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, party, company, editorial office, educational institution, teacher, leader and members of a group.

Policy- 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.

The entire history of mankind can be divided into pre-political and political periods. For several tens of thousands of years, society in its organization did without politics. K. Marx associated the pre-political organization of society with the absence of classes. In a pre-class society there was no private property, people lived in small ethnic formations connected by consanguineous ties - family, clan, tribal. In the twentieth century, the studies of such scientists as K. Levi-Strauss, L. Levy-Bruhl expanded their understanding of the pre-political period of history. In this society, people lived according to rigid traditions, which formed the basis of the organization. Their organization was based on cultural technologies in which life situations were realized. Since these situations were related to nature and few communities, they were quite simple. In this society, there were no people in our usual sense. People were carriers of functions, had names that were given to them when they "come of age" - inclusion in the community of "adults" as a result of the rite of passage. These people did not think independently, they did not have individual will and the right to choose. They were literally "cogs" of the social machine - an organization that programmed them with social rituals, taboos, supplied them with mythological dogmas, formed a pre-scientific, pre-logical consciousness in which everything was explained and everything was dictated to each person - the performer social role. Such a social organization was characterized by indivisibility, fusion (syncretism) of social institutions. They were not yet needed in society and were contained in the bud. Transition to political organization represents a significant leap in the change of social form. The advent of politics contributed to the development of human culture. An appropriate structure is created in society, which makes a person more free, aware of himself and his being, and also more organized. So, politics is an activity in the sphere of relations between large social groups (classes, nations, states) regarding the establishment and functioning of political power in the interests of realizing their socially significant requests and needs. The understanding of politics as a sphere of interaction between various social groups and communities of people is called communication. Aristotle stood at the origins of it. According to him, politics is a civilized form of community that served the achievement of the "common good" and "happy life". At that time, politics meant the whole social life. A variety of scientific definitions of policy can be systematized and subdivided into several groups, each of which is internally differentiated.

Sociological. It characterizes politics through other social phenomena: economics, law, morality, culture, religion.

• -- economic. Politics is a superstructure over the economic basis, a concentrated expression of the economy.
• -- ethical. Politics is a superstructure over the economic basis, a concentrated expression of the economy.
• - stratification. Politics is the rivalry of certain social groups: classes or nations (Marxism) or interest groups (A. Bentley, D. Truman), providing a balance, a balance of public interests in a modern democratic state.
• -- legal. Politics is a specialized activity for the protection of the fundamental rights inherent in every person from birth: to life, freedom, security, property (theories of the "Social Contract" of Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant).

Substantial. Reveals the fundamental principle, the "fabric" of which politics consists.

• - domineering. Politics is actions aimed at power, its acquisition, distribution, retention and use (M. Weber).
• -- institutional. Politics is the activity of the state, as well as parties and other associations and associations.
• - Anthropological. Politics is a form of communication between people, a way of collective human existence (Aristotle).
• - conflict-consensus. Politics is the activity of peaceful and violent conflict resolution (M. Duverger, S.F. Huntington).
• - "Friends-enemies" relationship. Politics is any social activity in which people interact as friends and enemies.

Procedural - reveals the dynamic, procedural nature of politics.

• - activity. Politics is the process of preparation, adoption and practical implementation of decisions binding on the whole society.
• - teleological. Politics is an activity for the effective achievement of collective goals.
• -- systemic. Politics is a relatively independent system, a complex social organism, an integrity delimited from environment(other areas of society) and being in continuous interaction with it.

Naturalistic interprets politics as a combination of natural factors.

• -- geographic. Interprets politics as a combination of natural factors.
• -- biological. Politics is a tool for managing human animal instincts.
• -- psychological. Politics is the activity of people, determined by their desire for power and wealth.

Theological - politics as a manifestation of the divine will.

The above interpretations of politics do not exhaust the whole variety of its definitions, although they reflect the most important of them. The abundance of scientific characteristics is explained, first of all, by the complexity of politics, the richness of its content, the variety of properties and social functions.

Summarizing various definitions, it is possible to define politics as the activity of social groups and individuals in the articulation (realization and presentation) of their conflicting collective interests, the development of decisions binding on the whole society, carried out with the help of state power.

) were historically formed as urban communities with self-government, which constituted themselves as a political formation, a community - this form of self-organization of society was typical of Ancient Greece. Developed and spread through Italy and directly through the Roman Empire. With the growth of states and empires, the policy of relations with vast territories required the variability of politics and the improvement of the management system. Politics as a management methodology was formed in the policies, where the administrative elite and various classes (crafts, arts, schools) were concentrated, in which the future elite was formed.

The term itself was introduced in the 4th century BC. e . Aristotle, who proposed the following definition for it: politics is the art of managing a state (polis). However, politics stood out as a separate area of ​​social life long before this event - although later than, for example, economic relations or morality. There are several different views on the nature and origin of politics:

• Theological. According to this view, politics, like life in general, has a divine origin.
• Anthropological. This approach links policy to human nature: it is assumed that the appropriate type of communication and interaction with other people is dictated by the essence of a person (and, on the other hand, it itself affects this essence, causing a number of self-limitations and other characteristic features distinguishing man from animal).
• biological. Such an interpretation, on the contrary, implies that the nature of politics should be understood on the basis of principles common to humans and animals - such, for example, as aggressiveness, the instinct of self-preservation, the struggle for survival, etc. The ethologist K. Lorenz, in particular, linked with the phenomenon of aggressiveness of war, revolution and other conflicts that take place in the life of society.
• Psychological. According to this view, the primary source of political interaction between people are needs, interests, emotions and other manifestations of the human psyche. In a traditional vein, politics was interpreted, for example, by Z. Freud, who associated the nature of politics with the unconscious.
• Social. The corresponding approach assumes that politics is a product of society and was formed in the course of the evolution of the latter - as its complexity grew and social stratification developed. As a starting point for these social changes, the Neolithic revolution can be considered, which influenced both the forms of management and the way of life of people in general. In this case, the policy appearance logic looks something like this:
  • The growth of the productivity of human activity leads to the emergence of private property. The latter, in turn, contributes to the development of the economy, its specialization, as well as the formation of new social associations, deepens the autonomy and independence of the individual, providing it with the opportunity to achieve a certain position in society by economic means, and also enhances the stratification of society along property lines, giving rise to conflicts.
  • Social differentiation, including along ethnic and religious lines, is becoming more pronounced.
  • Demographic growth and the expansion of economic activity actualize the problem of the independence of one or another community from others, as well as the task of maintaining the integrity of the territories under the control of the specified community.

Accordingly, politics arises in connection with the loss of the opportunity to resolve the above problems and conflict situations by traditional methods - through customs, moral attitudes, etc. Along with law, politics acts as one of the new regulators designed to solve these problems; in addition, the state is being formed for the same purpose as a new form of structuring and organizing people's lives. Because of this, the concept of politics is directly associated with the concepts of state and power. In the concept of the political scientist M. Duverger, three forms of power are distinguished - anonymous, individualized and institutionalized; the first two are defined as pre-state, and the third - as the state itself, having a public character and causing the emergence of politics.

The Essence of Politics[ | ]

In the course of the development of scientific and philosophical thought, various definitions of politics were proposed: the general “royal art”, which consists in owning a set of specific ones (oratory, military, judicial, etc.), the ability to “protect all citizens and, if possible, make them the best out of the worst” (Plato), knowledge of correct and wise government (Machiavelli), leadership of the state apparatus or influence on this leadership (Max Weber), struggle of class interests (Karl Marx). At present, it is common to interpret politics as an activity that is expressed in the behavior of social groups, as well as a set of behavior models and managers. public relations and creating power control as such, coupled with competition for the possession of the power of power. There is also the notion that in general view politics can be defined as a social activity aimed at maintaining or changing the existing order of distribution of power and property in a state-organized society (domestic policy) and the world community (foreign policy, global or world politics).

Politics is a multifaceted social phenomenon that can be viewed as a tool for the conscious self-regulation of society. There are a number of definitions of politics, offered by various theoretical directions, which emphasize one of the main aspects of political activity: institutional, legal, economic, psychological, social, anthropological, etc.

Main approaches[ | ]

In a historical retrospective, the basic trends in determining the essence of politics, as well as in the field of its genesis, can be generalized within the framework of a combination of various theoretical approaches. These may include the following:

• Substantial. The definitions of politics are linked directly to the concept of power, defining politics either as management with the help of power, or as the desire to acquire and maintain it. Associated with this trend is the understanding of politics presented in the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, Max Weber and Karl Marx.
• Institutional. Definitions in which attention is focused on a particular organization or some community of people that performs power functions. As a rule, the state is designated as a key institution (such views were held, in particular, by Vladimir Lenin), but there are other variations that focus on other public institutions.
• Sociological. Within the framework of this approach, society is considered as a set of structurally organized groups that realize their needs and interests through power, and politics, respectively, as certain forms of activity of such social groups to realize the above-mentioned needs.
• Teleological. Such an understanding of the essence of politics is associated with the concepts of organization, goal setting and goal achievement, due to which the scope of the term "policy" is significantly expanded.

In addition, in modern political science there are two opposite approaches to understanding politics: consensual and confrontational. The first involves the resolution of problems by non-violent and non-conflict methods, through cooperation and search Compromises, and politics in it is understood as an activity to achieve agreement between citizens, while within the framework of the second approach, politics is considered a sphere of conflict of interest, an area of ​​confrontation that implies the dominance of stronger entities or organizations over weaker ones. However, it should be noted that one should not exaggerate the significance and importance of any of these approaches: politics is the product of a struggle between two oppositely directed tendencies (conflicts of interest on the one hand and the search for balance on the other), which actually equalizes the consensus and confrontational approaches.

Alternative definitions[ | ]

• Politics - the struggle of many interests (the art of management, taking into account the interests of all sectors of society). The definition is connected with the etymology of the Greek. πολιτικός, where πολι (poly) means a bunch of, and τικός (thikos) - interest; (literally - "many interests") [ ] . So, civil servants in the cities of ancient Greece were called politicos, and citizens who had little interest in and participated in the political life of their city were called ιδιοτικός ( idiotikos) ;
• Politics is the art of the permissible. History points to the manipulation and aggressiveness of the policies of many rulers. Politics is management, a tool, and it must be distinguished from the goals and falsification (imitation character) of politics;
• Politics is an all-encompassing phenomenon of social life, penetrating all its forms and including all forms of social activity of people, all types of activities for their organization and leadership within the production processes;
• Politics is the management of the allocation of resources;
• Politics is a sphere of social life associated with obtaining, retaining and using power;
• Politics is 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 contains;
• Politics is participation in the affairs of the state, the direction of the state, the definition of forms, tasks, content of the state's activities;
• Politics is the activity of an organization (its behavioral model), including the activities of the state to achieve its goals (interests), for example: - technical policy;
• Politics is any program of action, all types of activities for the independent management of something or someone. Accordingly, in this sense, we can talk, for example, about the monetary policy of the bank, about the school policy of city municipalities, about the family policy of the wife in relation to her husband and children, etc.;
• Policy - a set of measures and actions aimed at achieving a predetermined result;
• Politics is a form of public consciousness that expresses the corporate interests of the community and manifests itself in civil society (the state) in the form of trends, movements, trade unions and other public organizations and associations with specific interests. The most perfect and organized of them are the parties and the church;
• Politics is the art of bringing people together;
• Politics is a struggle for the right to set your own rules of the game;
• Politics - the art of evil in the name of good (philosophical and ethical definition in a broad sense);
• Politics is the enforced decree of a third party;
• Politics is someone's executable strategy to offer rights and freedoms. (Policy such and such may offer rights different from those offered by another policy);
• Politics - measures and actions taken by a leader in order to implement the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow things should be arranged in an environment subject to him. For example, the policy of the company "A" may change some functions in the equipment produced by it, in order to increase profits.

Functions [ | ]

In accordance with its purpose, the policy performs a number of fundamental functions:

• Implementation of the interests of social groups that are significant from the point of view of power.
• Regulation and streamlining of the processes and relations that exist in society, as well as the conditions in which labor and production are carried out.
• Ensuring both the continuity of the development of society and the adoption of new models of its evolution (that is, innovation).
• Rationalization of relations between people and mitigation of contradictions in society, the search for reasonable solutions to emerging problems.
• Setting goals for the development of society, determining the management tasks associated with them and ways to achieve them.
• Distribution and redistribution of material goods and resources in society through political mechanisms, such as the formation of the state budget.
• Maintaining political communication between various social groups through the media, mediating activities in creating platforms for contacts between the authorities and civil society organizations, representatives of the conflicting parties.
• Guarantee of political rights and freedoms of citizens, observance of the principles of social equality and justice.

Structure [ | ]

In politics, subjects or actors are distinguished - free and independent participants in the political process (for example, certain communities of people, institutions, organizations, etc.), as well as objects - social phenomena with which subjects interact purposefully in one way or another. As a result of such interaction, political relations arise, which, in turn, are determined by the political interests of the subjects. All of the listed structural elements are influenced by political consciousness (a set of values, ideals, emotions, etc.) and political culture. The summation of these components forms the phenomena of a higher level of abstraction: the political system, political regime and political processes.

Kinds [ | ]

The classification of policy types is carried out on several grounds:

• By target area of ​​society:

and so on.

• By direction or scale: internal and external.
• Content and nature:

• progressive,
• reactionary,

• scientifically based,
• voluntaristic.

By subjects: the policy of the world community, states, organizations, etc.

Political processes and society[ | ]

The acceleration or, on the contrary, the delay in the development of society.

Political processes are based on a set of ideas and methods for their implementation. The policy is of a pronounced temporary nature, that is, it can change due to the change of leaders (managers).

Political systems and ideologies[ | ]

To date, 20 political and ideological systems are known:

Notable political figures[ | ]

(gr. πόλις ) were historically formed as urban communities with self-government, which constituted themselves as a political formation, a community - this form of self-organization of society was typical of Ancient Greece. It developed and spread through Italy and directly through the Roman Empire. With the growth of states and empires, the policy of relations with vast territories required the variability of politics and the improvement of the management system. Politics, as a management methodology, was formed in policies where the administrative elite and various classes (crafts, arts, schools) were concentrated, in which the future elite was formed.

The term itself was introduced in the 4th century BC. e . Aristotle, who proposed the following definition for it: politics is the art of managing a state (polis). However, politics stood out as a separate area of ​​social life long before this event - although later than, for example, economic relations or morality. There are several different views on the nature and origin of politics:

1. Theological. According to this view, politics, like life in general, has a divine origin.
2. Anthropological. This approach links politics with human nature: it is assumed that the appropriate kind of communication and interaction with other people is dictated by the essence of man (and, on the other hand, it itself affects this essence, causing a number of self-limitations and other characteristic features that distinguish a person from an animal).
3. biological. Such an interpretation, on the contrary, implies that the nature of politics should be understood on the basis of principles common to man and animal - such, for example, as aggressiveness, the instinct of self-preservation, the struggle for survival, etc. The ethologist K. Lorenz, in particular, linked with the phenomenon of aggressiveness of war, revolution and other conflicts that take place in the life of society.
4. Psychological. According to this view, the primary source of political interaction between people are needs, interests, emotions and other manifestations of the human psyche. In the traditional way for himself, politics was interpreted, for example, by Z. Freud, who associated the nature of politics with the unconscious.
5. Social. The corresponding approach assumes that politics is a product of society and was formed in the course of the evolution of the latter - as its complexity grew and social stratification developed. As a starting point for these social changes, the Neolithic revolution can be considered, which influenced both the forms of management and the way of life of people in general. In this case, the policy appearance logic looks something like this:
   1. The growth of the productivity of human activity causes the emergence of private property. The latter, in turn, contributes to the development of the economy, its specialization, as well as the formation of new social associations, deepens the autonomy and independence of the individual, providing it with the opportunity to achieve a certain position in society by economic means, and also enhances the stratification of society along property lines, giving rise to conflicts.
   2. Social differentiation, including along ethnic and religious lines, is becoming more pronounced.
   3. Demographic growth and the expansion of economic activity actualize the problem of the independence of one or another community from others, as well as the task of maintaining the integrity of the territories under the control of the specified community.

Accordingly, politics arises in connection with the loss of the opportunity to resolve the above problems and conflict situations by traditional methods - through customs, moral attitudes, etc. Along with law, politics acts as one of the new regulators designed to solve these problems; in addition, the state is being formed for the same purpose as a new form of structuring and organizing people's lives. Because of this, the concept of politics is directly associated with the concepts of state and power. In the concept of the political scientist M. Duverger, three forms of power are distinguished - anonymous, individualized and institutionalized; the first two are defined as pre-state, and the third - as the state itself, having a public character and causing the emergence of politics.

The Essence of Politics

In the course of the development of scientific and philosophical thought, various definitions of politics were proposed: the general “royal art”, which consists in owning a set of specific ones (oratory, military, judicial, etc.), the ability to “protect all citizens and, if possible, make them the best out of the worst” (Plato), knowledge of correct and wise government (Machiavelli), leadership of the state apparatus or influence on this leadership (Max Weber), struggle of class interests (Karl Marx). Currently, it is common to interpret politics as an activity that is expressed in the behavior of social groups, as well as a set of behaviors and that govern social relations and create power control as such, coupled with competition for the possession of the power of power. There is also an idea that in the most general form, politics can be defined as a social activity aimed at maintaining or changing the existing order of distribution of power and property in a state-organized society (domestic politics) and the world community (foreign politics, global or world politics) .

Politics is a multifaceted social phenomenon that can be viewed as a tool for the conscious self-regulation of society. There are a number of definitions of politics, offered by various theoretical directions, which emphasize one of the main aspects of political activity: institutional, legal, economic, psychological, social, anthropological, etc.

Main approaches

In a historical retrospective, the basic trends in determining the essence of politics, as well as in the field of its genesis, can be generalized within the framework of a combination of various theoretical approaches. These may include the following:

1. Substantial. The definitions of politics are linked directly to the concept of power, defining politics either as management with the help of power, or as the desire to acquire and maintain it. This direction is associated with the understanding of politics presented in the works of N. Machiavelli, M. Weber and K. Marx.
2. Institutional. Definitions in which attention is focused on a particular organization or some community of people that performs power functions. As a rule, the state is designated as a key institution (V. Lenin, in particular, held such views), but there are other variations that focus on other public institutions.
3. Sociological. Within the framework of this approach, society is considered as a set of structurally organized groups that realize their needs and interests through power, and politics, respectively, as certain forms of activity of such social groups to realize the above-mentioned needs.
4. Teleological. Such an understanding of the essence of politics is associated with the concepts of organization, goal setting and goal achievement, due to which the scope of the term "policy" is significantly expanded.

In addition, in modern political science there are two opposite approaches to understanding politics: consensual and confrontational. The first one assumes the resolution of problems by non-violent and non-conflict methods, through cooperation and the search for compromises, and politics in it is understood as an activity to achieve agreement between citizens, while within the framework of the second approach, politics is considered a sphere of conflict of interests, an area of ​​confrontation, involving the dominance of stronger subjects. or organizations over weaker ones. However, it should be noted that one should not exaggerate the significance and importance of any of these approaches: politics is the product of a struggle between two oppositely directed tendencies (conflicts of interest on the one hand and the search for balance on the other), which actually equalizes the consensus and confrontational approaches.

Alternative definitions

• Politics - the struggle of many interests (the art of management, taking into account the interests of all sectors of society). The definition is connected with the etymology of the Greek. πολιτικός, where πολι (poly) means a bunch of, and τικός (thikos) - interest; (literally - "many interests") [ ] . So, civil servants in the cities of ancient Greece were called politicos, and citizens who had little interest in and participated in the political life of their city were called ιδιοτικός ( idiotikos) ;
• Politics is the art of the permissible. History points to the manipulation and aggressiveness of the policies of many rulers. Politics is management, a tool, and it must be distinguished from the goals and falsification (imitation character) of politics;
• Politics is an all-encompassing phenomenon of social life, penetrating all its forms and including all forms of social activity of people, all types of activities for their organization and leadership within the production processes;
• Politics is the management of the allocation of resources;
• Politics is a sphere of social life associated with obtaining, retaining and using power;
• Politics is 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 contains;
• Politics is participation in the affairs of the state, the direction of the state, the definition of forms, tasks, content of the state's activities;
• Politics is the activity of an organization (its behavioral model), including the activities of the state to achieve its goals (interests), for example: - technical policy;
• Politics is any program of action, all types of activities for the independent management of something or someone. Accordingly, in this sense, we can talk, for example, about the currency policy of the bank, about the school policy of city municipalities, about the family policy of the wife in relation to her husband and children, etc.;
• Policy - a set of measures and actions aimed at achieving a predetermined result;
• Politics is a form of public consciousness that expresses the corporate interests of the community and manifests itself in civil society (the state) in the form of trends, movements, trade unions and other public organizations and associations with specific interests. The most perfect and organized of them are the parties and the church;
• Politics is the art of bringing people together;
• Politics is a struggle for the right to set your own rules of the game;
• Politics - the art of evil in the name of good (philosophical and ethical definition in a broad sense);
• Politics is the enforced decree of a third party;
• Politics is someone's executable strategy to offer rights and freedoms. (Policy such and such may offer rights different from those offered by another policy);
• Politics - measures and actions taken by a leader in order to implement the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow things should be arranged in an environment subject to him. For example, the policy of the company "A" may change some functions in the equipment produced by it, in order to increase profits.

Policy Features

In accordance with its purpose, the policy performs a number of fundamental functions:

1. Implementation of the interests of social groups that are significant from the point of view of power.
2. Regulation and streamlining of the processes and relations that exist in society, as well as the conditions in which labor and production are carried out.
3. Ensuring both the continuity of the development of society and the adoption of new models of its evolution (that is, innovation).
4. Rationalization of relations between people and mitigation of contradictions in society, the search for reasonable solutions to emerging problems.

Policy structure

In politics, subjects or actors are distinguished - free and independent participants in the political process (for example, certain communities of people, institutions, organizations, etc.), as well as objects - social phenomena with which subjects interact purposefully in one way or another. As a result of such interaction, political relations arise, which, in turn, are determined by the political interests of the subjects. All of the listed structural elements are influenced by political consciousness (a set of values, ideals, emotions, etc.) and political culture. The summation of these components forms the phenomena of a higher level of abstraction: the political system, political regime and political processes.

Policies

The classification of policy types is carried out on several grounds:

1. According to the target area of ​​society: economic, social, scientific and technical, military, etc.
2. By direction or scale: internal and external.
3. By content and character: progressive, reactionary, scientifically based and voluntaristic.
4. By subjects: politics of the world community, states, organizations, etc.

Political processes and society

The acceleration or, on the contrary, the delay in the development of society.

Political processes are based on a set of ideas and methods for their implementation. The policy is of a pronounced temporary nature, that is, it can change due to the change of leaders (managers).

• A political party is an organization of like-minded people with a common vision of the process and ideology of governance. Political ideology is based on the description of the concept of phenomena and mechanisms, processes and management structure. The politicization of governance often demonstrates the opposition of ideologies and manipulations in favor of the goals of shadow rule and lobbying for the interests of third parties outside of governance itself. Political parties may view the implementation of public administration in different ways. Therefore, the policy of states is determined by the balance and/or opposition of various ideologies.

Depending on the type (profile, level) of organizations, there are distinguished: state policy (in particular, monetary policy), military policy, party policy, technical policy (for production organizations), etc.

Depending on the direction of the organization's activities, there are: domestic and foreign policy, social policy, etc.

As noted by the international organization Oxfam, “in many countries, wealth inequality leads to imbalances in the political representation of individual groups society. Political and economic rules and decisions favor the rich at the expense of everyone else.”

Political systems and ideologies

To date, 20 political and ideological systems are known:

What is politics? In its most simplified form, it is a special form of activity aimed at managing society, gaining and retaining power, as well as providing guarantees for the security of citizens. In this regard, politics, in the narrow sense of the word, ends where revolutionary processes begin - the creation of other "rules of the game", which, in turn, give rise to new standards of political activity.

Ideology and parties

In addition, when saying what politics is, it is necessary to take into account ideological views, party strategies and public interests as structural components of politics. Ideological views are often formed on the basis of established cultural, mental and historical traditions. By their nature, they express the mental interests of various social groups living on the territory of one state, but united by a common understanding of political processes. For example, the structural dichotomy of the German CDU and the SPD. Christian Democrats are Catholics, they are liberals and right. The Social Democrats are Protestants and leftists. Accordingly, various party strategies are formed based on the interests and views of social and professional groups supporting, respectively, the CDU and the SPD.

People and institutions

Describing what politics is, it is necessary to immediately emphasize that any political activity is carried out within the framework of the institutions of power, legitimate mechanisms that allow incorporating social interests into political ones. This does not mean that one person cannot concentrate all power in his hands (unfortunately, this is often the case), but in this case the ruler himself becomes a classic example - the famous expression of Louis XIV: "The state is I".

Politics manifests itself in various forms, has various dimensions. Political activity- this is just one of the forms of its manifestation, but it does not reveal the whole essence of the "political". Take, for example, corporate structures. What is a policy in an organization or in a business? Often we come across the expression "company policy", "our policy", "trade union policy", etc. In fact, in this case, we are not talking about public administration. We are faced with the choice of a certain set of values ​​and "rules of the game". In fact, we are offered to limit our freedom to common, corporate interests and act no longer in our own, but in common interests, which are tacitly recognized as priority in relation to the interests of an individual.

conclusions

Thus, when defining politics, we must proceed from three main premises: the ratio of personal and corporate; ideological choice and value set; the goals of politics and the state, as well as their providers - parties and political institutions. As a result, it turns out that politics is an activity (philosophy of activity) focused on strengthening and developing dominant corporate ties based on certain principles and strategies for the development of the organization. And it doesn't matter what the social nature of the organization itself is. Only its dominant position in relation to the individual is important.