Politics

The term "politics," as a label for an area of study in a university, generally does not refer to political philosophy, but rather to political science--a mere study of different forms of government such fascism, monarchy, oligarchy, communism and democracy.  In such a course, one learns "who gets what, when and how."  A statement like, "The post of General Secretary lacked clear guidelines of succession," is the kind of analysis of a political system and of political behavior which one can expect in such a study.  At the high school level, this could be civics course in which students learn about the balance of powers in their state. Political philosophy can resemble political science as a study of different political systems but is more synthesis than analysis.

Politics, as philosophy, is rather a study of the critics and advocates of ancient Greek city states (Plato, Aristotle), the sovereign state (Machiavelli, Hobbes), constitutional government (Locke), and democracy (Rousseau, Tocqueville).  The concern here is with what a government's goal and purpose should be.  For what reason should a government exist?  More specifically, how well defined are our ideas about liberty, justice, rights, legal codes and enforcement, what constitutes legitimate authority and what obligations do citizens have to such an authority.

Suppose I were to come to your door and say, "There is a new form of government that you and all people need to understand and commit yourselves to." Undoubtedly you would have a good laugh and shut the door in my face. But if by some freak chance, you were curious enough to ask, "why," then and then only would you be doing political philosophy. And interestingly enough, every nation has gone through this. If you are convinced that the U.S. constitution spells out the best form of government, then you are under the influence, howsoever consciously or unconsciously, of a political philosophy.