If you are involved in the CRs on campus, you most likely appreciate politics somehow, someway. You probably also think political science majors have some high ambitions to be in politics. While this definitely can be true, it's not necessarily the case. Political science and politics are two very different things, and are related only in topic, not in substance. Dictionary.com defines political science as: nouna social science dealing with political institutions and with the principles and conduct of government. It defines politics as: noun the science or art of political government. Sounds similar, yes, but here is where I will define it for clarification.
Political science is the study of politics, and politics is the practice of power, making political science the study of power. Modern poli sci has developed into a more or less objective examination of a specific social experience, much like sociology or psychology. It uses tests, experiments, data analysis, theories and laws, statistics, models, and countless of other resources to determine and track trends in politics and government. It could be as local as a public policy analysis of preserving the population of fish in Canada, or the permit qualifications of taxi drivers in Madison. It could be the large-scale study of the effectiveness laws remain in correlation to their passage time in Congress, or the examination of how often politicians keep their promises. All of those require collected data and analysis, and then a process of the scientific method, modified for social sciences. From all that is studied conclusions are drawn, usually in order to help make decisions or simply to examine political phenomenons.
But politics is a certain kind of art. Vulgar to some and exhilarating to others. Sun Tzu's famous military treatise is called "Art of War" for a reason. War has rules, but they're more like guidelines. It takes strategy and skill to become a master general, to outmaneuver and beat your opponents, to win over allies and utilize their strengths, protecting weaknesses. War requires a certain amount of flexibility, knowing when to be ferocious and when to have restraint.
And you know what they say: politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed.
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| An Honorary American, this World War Champion knew how politics worked |
Politics is deal makers and deal breakers, hand shaking and head shaking, ideas and ideology. It is war and peace, but mostly war, with peace used as a tool of war. Politics is a paradox of peaceful conflict we Americans don't appreciate, or we look down upon with scorn. I mean that we either don't care about politics or we are disgusted with it. In our democratic system of republicanism, instead of spilling blood in order to achieve a victory in government, we spill votes. That's a novel concept! Government victory without physical war? That's incredible, and we don't recognize that. The disgust of politics usually comes from what people see as lies, corruption, and the inability to get along. This is understandable.
Politics is a complex form of human interaction. It's not enough to be right; you have to convince others you're right. You have to rub some elbows or twist some arms in order to get what you want. This can come in the form of hosting dinner parties, doing some personal favors, or some other form of what is collectively known as "schmoozing." It can be humiliating to some to have to schmooze, but if we see it more as building relationships rather than sucking up to people, then we see it as what is always necessary for any human interaction: connecting to others. On the other hand, this doesn't always work, and the true tactics and strategy come into play. A politician may have to bargain with a whole slate of fellow politicians in order to achieve a goal, whether that be vote swapping or other quid pro quos. It could be outright force against an opponent via procedural rules or threat of losing prestige and power.
The disgust of it all is in how debasing it seems, to have to resort to schmoozing or fighting. The thing is, folks, it's only a reflection of regular human interaction (albeit, in a more complicated form). Everyday we attempt to convince others of our ideas. When we can't do that, we try other ways of achieving our goals. Take, for example, four brothers charged with cleaning the bathroom. One assigned to the best post of the mirror and sink. Another to the lesser item of cleaning the shower. Still less the third must clean the toilet. Finally, the worst post assigned to the fourth brother is the floor, including that around the toilet. What person wouldn't attempt to achieve the better post, either by bargaining with his brothers or appealing to a higher power (mother)? Politics is bred into our very interactions. Government politics is simply the manifestation of our inclinations on a public and large scale.
But some would still say that politics just doesn't seem right. Something still makes them squirm with revulsion. Why? Why would they take offense to this human trait? The answer, my friends, is for a different post, one that requires a bit different approach to humanity as a whole.
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