History of political
ideas
1st lecture. Introduction. Ideas of
Classical Antiquity
Lecturer: Marosán, Bence
“We stand today at a crossroads: One path
leads to despair and utter hopelessness.
The other leads to total extinction. Let us
hope we have the wisdom to make the
right choice.”
Woody Allen
Division of the semester
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1st lecture: Introduction and Classical Antiquity.
2nd lecture: Political ideas of the Middle Ages. Church and state
in medieval Europe. The investiture controversy.
3rd lecture: Political ideas of early Modern Age. Separation of
Church and State. The Separation of powers, and the importance
of institutions. Machiavelli, Hobbes, Montesquieu.
4th lecture: Political ideas of 19th century. Birth of modern
streams of political thinking. Liberalism, conservativism and leftwing movements, (Marx and Marxism).
5th lecture: Political movements, thinkers and ideas in the 20th
century. Neoliberalism, Social democracy, Neomarxism,
Neoconservativism.
Main features of a political theory
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A political theory treats the principles, guide-lines, norms and values
according to which (in the thinker’s opinion) the society has to
organize its institutions, functions, structures, hierarchy and its general
way of working.
The aim of a political theory is to find the best way of running a
society and a state.
The political thinker in question has to argue for his or her ideas, so
for his or her opinion according to which she/he finds some values to
be the best for a society.
She or he has to fix the most basic values according to which the
society or the state has to organize itself, and its particular way of
functioning. So: she or he has to say what she/he thinks to be the
most important in regard of a society: the preserving the traditional
values of a nation (conservativism), guaranteeing the invulnerability of
sphere of personal, individual freedom (liberalism), social justice and
the defense of the rights of the needy (left-wing movements, Social
democracy).
F. Fukuyama:
The end of history thesis
„We may wittnessing the end of history as such: that is the tend
point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization
of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human
government. ... Some conflicts may happan in places in the Third
World, but the global conflict is over and not sust in
Europe…The war of ideas is at an end also. Believers in MarxistLeninism may still exist in places like Managua, Pyongyang, and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, but overall liberal democracy has
triumphed. The future will be devoted not to great exhilarating
struggles over ideas but rather to resolving mundane economic
and technical problems. It will all be rather boring.”
F. Fukuyama
S. Huntington:
The clash of civilization thesis
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„There are two important theme of the future:
First, the crucial impact of population growth
on instability and balance of power.
The second, lashes of civilizations are the
greatest threats to world peace, and an
international order based on civilizations in the
safeguard against world war.
Main features of a political theory
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A political theory treats the principles, guide-lines, norms and values
according to which (in the thinker’s opinion) the society has to
organize its institutions, functions, structures, hierarchy and its general
way of working.
The aim of a political theory is to find the best way of running a
society and a state.
The political thinker in question has to argue for his or her ideas, so
for his or her opinion according to which she/he finds some values to
be the best for a society.
She or he has to fix the most basic values according to which the
society or the state has to organize itself, and its particular way of
functioning. So: she or he has to say what she/he thinks to be the
most important in regard of a society: the preserving the traditional
values of a nation (conservativism), guaranteeing the invulnerability of
sphere of personal, individual freedom (liberalism), social justice and
the defense of the rights of the needy (left-wing movements, Social
democracy).
Classical antiquity. The sophists
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In the Greek polis (state) there was an intensive political life, and there was a
comfortably complex and structured system of political institutions which
helped the emergence of political ideas and theories concerning these
institutions and the essence of society (polis) as such.
The ancient Greek society econimically was based upon slave-labour. The
layer of matured, aristocratic, free, wealthy Greek citizens had accordingly lot
of free-time, and they had as an obvious way of career the field of politics.
In the fifth century BC, which was also called the period of „Greek
Enlightenment”, many itinerant (or travelling) teachers, philosophers treated
the problem of society, social norms, ethics, and the question of politics in
Greece. They mainly taught techniques and practics of rhetorics and public
political speeches which helped their students to convince their audience, and
to make a career in the political life of the Greek polis of their age.
They were called: the Sophists („philosophers”, „wise”, „learnt”,
„professional” men). They usually came from the poorer layer, so they taught
the subjects and topics which were much in demand: the tricks and masterstrokes of political success.
Classical authors. Socrates.
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Socrates (470-399 BC) was a contemporaneous philosopher to the
sophists. He did not accept money for teaching, but was not entirely
unpropertied, unlike the latter: he received a ground-rent from the polis
of Athens.
He was one of the most influential philosophers ever lived. He taught
in speech, he didn’t wrote down anything, his students and followers
preserved his ideas and thoughts.
He had a very open, straightforward, critical and for a certain degree
confrontative and provocative manner. For this reason he made many
enemies and oponents of himself in the Athenian public life.
At the end of his life the Jury of Athens sentenced him to death, on
the basis of the following charges: „failing to acknowledge the gods
that the city acknowledges, introducing new deities and corrupts the
youth” – which accusation was in fact false. He was executed.
The trial of Socrates, (399BC)
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The assumed basis of the two charges:
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1. „[F]ailing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges, introducing new
deities”.
Socrates in fact spoke often about his „daimon” (guiding and guarding spirit), who
told him which is right and which is wrong.
Socrates taught that someone has to critically investigate the traditions and the
generally accepted norms before he or she accepts them.
2. Socrates „ corrupts the youth”. Kritika! (egyszerűbb) – daimon. A hagyomány
kritikai megértése.
Socrates encouraged his students and followers to apply his critical method
themselves too, before they accept anything.
We could interpret Socrates’ „daimon” as the voice of the conscience.
In fact Socrates demonstrated that these charges are insupportable,
notwithstanding he was condemned.
Plato reported the details of trials of Socrates in three of his dialogues:
Apology, Crito, Phaedo.
The ethical theory of Socrates
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He thought that the authentic personality could differentiate between right
and wrong – so he acts in a morally right way.
He supposed an internal relationship between virtue and knowledge. For this
reason the ethical conception of Socrates also called the „intellectualist
interpretation of ethics”.
He perceived the well-known contradiction: one could act in a wrong, or even
evil way consciously. His solution:
The real knowledge: is to know the most probable consequences of our
actions. The ethically or morally right behavior leads the individual to the
happiness. The wrong or evil actions, behavior does not lead to happiness –
so those, who act this way, do not really know their own real interests, they
only believe and pretend that they know it.
Socrates’ ethics is called „eudaimonism”, so which has the happiness as its
highest principle. Socrates thought that the morally right is in the end
identical with the happy life.
Socrates thought that the morally right is identical with the happiness, and
because everybody strives after happiness, if someone knows which is really
right, then he or she will certainly do that.
Crito. The contract theory
of politics at Socrates
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Crito is a dialogue written by Plato, which documented a conversation
between Socrates and his student Crito.
After the condemnation of Socrates, his followers bribed the guards of the
prison, and tried to flee their master, but he refused to flee on principle.
At the time of trial there was the festival of Apollo, during which no public
execution could take place. Socrates execution was postponed for a month,
but nevertheless he waited the act of execution in his open prison cell, with
bribed guards.
He told to his student, Crito, why did he think necessary to accept the death
to which the polis of Athens condemned him. In Socrates’ opinion there was
an implicit contract between the citizen and the state, according to which the
citizen gets benefits and defence from the polis, and in return for these
advantages he accepts the rules, norms and whatever commands and
provisions he gets from the state, be these latter advantegous or
disadvantegous.
In Socrates’ view that would undermine the authority and legimicay of every
and any political community and state, if its members only accept the benefits
of state, but none of its obligations, orders and commissions.
Plato
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Student of Socrates, (424/423-348/347BC).
Aristocrat of the Athenian polis, who was wealthy enough to do not have any
difficulty concerning the living. He despised the sophists who – in contrast –
had to demand money for teaching and lecturing, because they were poor,
and did not have a stable source of income beside teaching.
He created the Academy, an institution for lecturing and researching
philosophy, mathematics and other sciences.
„No one shall enter, unless he knows geometry” – that was the inscription at
the entrance of the Platonic Academy.
He had his idea about the perfect state, the perfect polis, which he wrote
down in his long book „The Republic” („Politeia”). He tried to convince
Dionysus, tyrant of Syracuse to realize his political ideas, but he wasn’t
successfull. He had a quarrel with Dionysus, who sold Plato as a slave.
The followers of Plato had to purchase him back for 300 silver talents, (report
by Diogenes Laertius, 3rd century AD, „Lives and Opinions of Eminent
Philosophers”).
Plato on knowledge and science
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The mother of philosophy is curiosity, and its essence is the
research of truth.
Behind the sensual phenomena of nature and society there is the
unchangeable and eternal world of ideas. The ideas (idéa,
morphé, eidos), the ideal conceptual essences of things, cannot
change but serve as basis for every actual and possible change.
The science could move with the method of conceptual thinking
from mere opinion to the secure knowledge.
If our present, actual, visible society corresponds more
adequately to the invisible, ideal society of justice, then we have
a securer, safer, happier and more persistent society.
Plato on justice.
„The Republic”
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The concept of „politeia” is equal with the concept of
constitution and political order. Generally it is translated as
„state”. The book begins with a discussion about the concept of
justice, with a debate between Socrates and Thrasymachus, a
sophist.
According to Thrasymachus justice is „obeying to the stronger”.
Socrates is unsatisfied with this definition and he began
systematically analyse the concept of justice. He is of the opinion
that one could demonstrate the concept of justice on an entirely
just state. One could describe the idea of justice on the basis of
the conception of an ideally just state.
One must therefore treat the theoretical problem that how
would the ideal state, an ideally just state work.
Plato’s theory of state and ethics
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According to Plato the structure of state and soul is analogous: both of
them have two structural elements. The three parts of soul: intellect,
striving and longing soul-parts. The three parts of state: leaders (in
ideal case: philosophers), guards and workers (handicraftsmen and
agricultural workers).
The virtue of intellect and leaders is wisdom; the virtue of striving
soul-part and guards is courage; and the virtue of longing-soul part and
workers is temperance. The harmony of these three virtues is justice.
The best political form is aristocracy which is based upon the
rulership of the most eminent people of a community. The second
best when the rulership in a polis is owned by people striving after
fame and glory – the timocracy. The following political form when
the dominance is owned and practiced by the people – democracy.
The worst form of dominance is tyranny – when one man’s caprice
rules the community.
Aristotle
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Student of Plato, (384-322BC).
Though Plato wrote almost exclusively dialogues,
Aristotle wrote in the genre of scientific prose or
treatise.
He founded his own school of science and research, the
„Peripatetic («walking») school”, in the Lyceum of
Athens, (an open public place in Athens). It was closed
in 529AD.
He was the founding father of a number of sciences,
such as grammatics, literary theory, logics, biological
classification, rhetorics, political theory, etc.
Possible political formations
according to Aristotle
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The basis of classification is the concrete historical constitutions
of Greek poleis (polis plural).
The supreme executive power could be possessed by: one man, a
few men, a number of people (by a multitude).
The mode of using the power could be legal and just, illegal and
unjust, and could be determined by individual or some collective
interests. According to this there could be three righteous and
legal, and three bad and unjust basic types of political
formations.
The good types of political formations: 1. monarchy (reign of a
righteous and law-abiding king), 2. aristocracy (reign of virtouos
and excellent citizens), 3. politeia (reign of a wide, law-abiding
community of people).
Bad types: Tyranny, oligarchy and democracy.