Political Science Basics: Comments and Statements

Political Science Basics: Comments and Statements

1. Important Comments on Political Concepts

Democracy and Rights

• “Rights are those conditions of social life without which no man can seek, in general, to be himself at his best.” — Laski.

• “Democracy is the Government of the people, by the people, and for the people." — Abraham Lincoln.ln

Unitary Government

• “Unitary government is the habitual exercise of supreme legislative authority by one central power." — Dicey.

• “Unitary government is one in which all authority and power are lodged in a single centre whose will and agents are legally omnipotent over the whole area." — Dr. Herman Finer.

Parliamentary Government

• "Parliamentary Government is that system in which the Cabinet is immediately and legally responsible to Parliament." — Dr. Garner.

Constitution

• "All rules which directly or indirectly affect the distribution of the sovereign power in the state make up the Constitution of the State." — Dicey.

• "Constitution is the way in which citizens who are parts of the State are arranged in relation to one another." — Aristotle.

• "Constitution is a set of established rules embodying and enacting the practice of Government." — Bryce

• "Constitution is a system of fundamental political institutions." — Herman Finer

• "Constitution is the form of Government." — Leacock

Rights and Equality

• "Man is born and everywhere he is in chains." — Rousse

• Theory of General Will is given by Rousseau

• T.H. Green's concept of Idealism is known as Moderate Idealism

• First of all, attempted to differentiate the state from the government (in the 19th century) John Locke

• First of all seems to have employed the term "State" in political science — Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)

• "Democracy postulates the equality of men, and political equality can be assured only when all citizens are granted the right to vote. Laws and policies of the Government concern all people, and what touches all, should be decided by all." — John Stuart Mill

• "All inhabitants ought to have the right at the election of representatives, except such as are in so mean a situation as to be deemed to have no will of their own." — Montesquieu

• "All the powers of government, legislative, executive, and judiciary, result in the legislative body. The concentration of these in the same hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three despots would surely be as oppressive as one." — Jefferson.

2. Important Statements in Political Science

Philosophy and Nature of Man

• Father of the Science of politics in the west — Aristotle

• "Man is by nature a political animal, and he who by nature and not by mere accident is without state, is either above humanity or below it." — Aristotle.e

Purpose of State

• "State came into existence for the sake of mere li, but now it continues to exist for the sake of a good life." — Aristotle

• "Human consciousness postulates liberty; liberty involves rights; rights demand the state." — Prof. Barker.

Idealism and Governance

• Father of the Idealistic Theory — Immanuel Kant

• "State is a march of God upon earth." — Hegel

• "Though the king is a human being, yet no one should hate him because he is God in the shape of man." — Manusmriti

• "People were fed up with the anarchy and so God created the state for their protection." — Manusmriti

3. Important Definitions of Political Science

Classical Definitions

• According to Paul Janet, "Political Science is the part of social science which treats of the foundations of the State and the principles of Government."

• Bluntschli believes that “Political Science is a science, which is concerned with the State and endeavours to understand and comprehend the State in its essential nature, various forms, manifestations and developments."

Modern Perspectives

• Garris, a famous German author, opines, “Political Science deals with the origin, development, purpose, and all political problems of the State."

• Gettell says, "It is, thus, a study in the past, present and future, of political organisations and political theories."

• According to Leacock, "Political Science is concerned with the State and with conditions essential for its development."

• Dr. Garner believes that "Political Science deals with Government."

Comparative and Empirical Definitions

• Seeley says, "Political Science investigates the phenomena of Government as Political Economy deals with Wealth, Biology with life, Algebra with numbers, and Geometry with space and magnitude."

• Catlin defines Political Science as the study of the "act of human and social control" or "the study of contrrelationshipship of wills."

• Harold Laswell, a leading Political Scientist of the U.S.A., defines "Political Science, as an empirical discipline (as the study of the shaping and sharing of power), and a political act, as one performed in power perspectives."

4. Some Important Books (Polity)

Final Thoughts

The study of political science provides insights into how power, governance, and rights shape human society. Thinkers like Aristotle, the Father of Political Science, emphasized that man is naturally a political animal, needing organized systems for a good life.

Rousseau’s General Will and Hegel’s Idealism added philosophical depth to the purpose of the state, linking it to liberty and moral order. Concepts like democracy, equality, and rights, explained by Lincoln, Laski, and Mill, remain the backbone of modern governance. Dicey and Garner highlighted forms of government like unitary and parliamentary systems, shaping how power is exercised.

Modern scholars such as Harold Laswell introduced an empirical approach, viewing politics as the study of power and institutions. Together, these ideas form the intellectual foundation for freedom, justice, and effective governance in the modern world.