Contemporary Political Theory Essay 2

Contemporary Political Theory Essay 2

'Political theory is the work of abstract philosophers and tells us little about how to meet the challenges of a contemporary age.' Critically evaluate this statement.

This essay acknowledges that political theories tend to be the work of what might be called abstract philosophers, but contrary to the statement above, they tell us a great deal about how to analyse, discuss and even resolve the challenges of a contemporary age. This essay will attempt to answer this question in two sections. First it will consider three common problems regarding the relevance of political philosophy in a contemporary age, and secondly, it will argue how liberalism can provide us with answers as to how to deal with challenges of the 21st century.

The first section will consider empirical vs. formal approaches to political effectiveness, and argue that political philosophy is important because it allows us to recognise the thought patterns and actions in our current systems. It provides an opportunity for an analysis of the political model itself, and if found unsatisfactory, reject, or modify it, in order to produce a better alternative. It also considers an argument used against political philosophy, based on the fact that political action can evolve from common sense and political power alone. It will argue that political philosophy is necessary to counteract this belief, and that common sense itself cannot protect society from faulty extremes. This section will conclude with an argument that describes the necessity of a competition of ideas within political philosophy.

The second section will be based on liberal political philosophy in an attempt to show how political philosophy can provide answers to a contemporary age. It will firstly provide a short introduction of liberalism as a political philosophy. Secondly it will argue that we need liberal political theory today to justify the core values of our society, and uncover difficulties in our approach to moral ideas. Thirdly it will examine the concept of overlapping consensus and argue that this element of political liberalism can provide us with a solution to a growing anti-immigration movement in Europe, which is problematic for liberal philosophy.

According to a definition found on the homepage of the department of politics at Princeton University, political theory is defined as "the study of the concepts and principles that people use to describe, explain, and evaluate political events and institutions" (Political Theory 2012). Because most theorists and philosophers tend to use the term 'political philosophy' and 'political theory' interchangeably, this essay will refer to political philosophy (Smiths 2009).

Empirical vs. normative approaches to political effectiveness

There exist two different types of questions that humans have been able to answer with clarity. The first one regards questions that can be answered on the basis of observation and data, and have built the basis for natural science and common sense (Berlin 1978). Examples of this can be answers to questions like: How many people live in Norway, or what is the hottest temperature recorded in Spain. The second type are determined by whether the rules that have been accredited to a certain discipline have been used correctly (Berlin 1978). Examples of such questions can be related to mathematics, games or formal logic. Both these two types of methods for answering questions can be described as formal or empirical, and the development of society has largely been determined by a shift of humanity's basic questions into one of these categories. There is however, a third type of method, which falls outside both these categories, and it is within this group that we find the fundamental questions of political philosophy. There is no straightforward way to answer these questions, and no right or wrong answer. The basic questions philosophy has attempted to solve are as unsolved today as they were before, which becomes an objection to the expectations of philosophy as a safe guide to action (Strauss 2007). An example of one of these timeless questions is what is the most just type of society?

Attempts to shift philosophical questions into a formal or empirical category on the basis of universally accepted values have been unsuccessful, and it is out of this issue that we find a question over the necessity of political philosophy. Do questions regarding justice, equality or the existence of rights fit into the method or empirical, formal or neither? Do these questions have value in themselves, or are they simply an element in a diverse body of thought? (Berlin 1978). One tool in the pursuit of understanding is being aware of the existing models that influence our thought patterns and actions in current systems. Another one is to analyse the model itself, and if found unsatisfactory, reject, or modify it, in order to produce a better alternative. It is exactly at this stage that political philosophy can provide us with answers and the empirical sciences fall short. Therefore, when attempting to analyse the failure of European-style democracy to work in non-European cultures and the futility of wars over this, political philosophies like liberalism allow for an explanation of such failures, whilst empirical sciences does not.

Common sense

Political philosophy might have contributed to the ideas and values that a head of state is defending, but academic research does not get a president elected. Common sense and populism tend to play a greater role. When it comes down to world leaders' ability to rule, his/her capacity for ruling is more dependent on their ability to exercise power in a satisfactory and culturally-sensitive way, than their knowledge about political philosophy (Graham 1999). Knowledge that is indispensible for political action is not the same as philosophical knowledge, and practical wisdom and common sense are more important qualities for a person striving for success in political affairs (Strauss 2007).

The belief that common sense itself is enough, and that one can make wise political decision based on this alone, is wrong, and this essay will in this section argue why. The soul of Plato and Aristotle's political philosophy is the concept of utopianism. It rests on the idea that 'the perfect order (of society) is the object of the wish, or the prayer, or all decent people' (Strauss 2007, p.522). However, as Strauss argues 'They did not seriously believe that the perfect order of society would ever become a reality; for, being an object of wish or prayer, there is no necessary reason why it should' (Strauss 2007, p.522).
In response to this claim, political philosophy attempted to create a theory that were not solely based on wish and prayer, but rather construct an idea of an ideal society that would be achievable in real life. By doing this, they were willing to 'lower the traditional standard of conduct in order to guarantee the realization of these lower standards' (Strauss 2007, p.522).

This modern utopianism argued by enlightening the individual on ones self-interest, people would pursue the highest standard of living, which eventually would lead to social harmony (Strauss 2007). The problem with this concept is that some people might want more than the object of their enlightened self-interest, and self-interest in its true form often comes in conflict with one's true desires. Some people might want power, or domination or even superiority (Strauss 2007). By arguing that all people, just by enlightening them, want what is necessary for social harmony, one takes the forces of evil out of the equation. Political philosophy therefore becomes an important tool to counteract such believes, and becomes a necessary element in providing backup to the argument that common sense itself cannot protect society from faulty extremes. We do therefore need political philosophy to justify the protection of the political values that are important to liberal society.

The importance of a maximal intellectual pluralism

A common argument against the necessity of political philosophy is that it consists of a large number of theories, that often contradict each other and provides very different answers to main values and concepts of political philosophy. However, this essay will argue that the large number of political philosophies, further enriches the discipline and makes it more relevant to a contemporary world.

One can argue that two contradictory forces shape the current global political situation. The belief in free trade, civil rights and the restriction of governmental power on one side, and national identity, state power and the sacrifice of individual freedom for the common good on the other. One can therefore argue that our world is divided between two contradictory schools of thought, liberalism on one side and nationalism on the other. Nationalism would argue that we only have limited obligations to individuals outside our borders, whilst liberalism would argue (to a certain degree) that we are responsible for protecting individuals from other social group or the state (Smiths 2009). If there were universal agreement on the answers to such questions and the values that these imply, then there would be no need for political philosophy. However, we do not live in a society where there is a total agreement on fundamental political questions. It would be as destructive to society to deny a competition of ideas that answer these questions differently as it would be to rely solely on political philosophy in solving challenges of a contemporary age (Graham 1999). One can therefore argue that political philosophies provide a moral and reasonable basis for social actions and thought.


Liberal political philosophy

A theory that still is relevant to the contemporary world, and that is also capable of telling us how to meet some of the political challenges of the 21st century, is liberalism. It is however important to note that liberalism is only capable of providing us with solutions to problems that the ideology considers problematic. This essay will therefore approach issues that compromise or threaten values, and ideas that are important to liberal philosophy.

Smits defines liberalism like this: "Liberalism takes the moral value of each individual human being to be equal and irreducible, and its chief aim in all of its varieties, is to protect individuals against threats to them form other people, from social groups and from the state" (Smits 2009, p.11). The main values of this political philosophy is founded on the ideas of liberty and equality, and even though different strands of liberalism have developed, they are all generally built on the support of ideas such as freedom from fear, freedom of speech and freedom of religion (Donohue 2003). One can therefore argue that contemporary challenges that would be of concern to liberal philosophy would be the rise of nationalism, the crack down on free expression by authoritarian countries, and anti-immigration measures.


Justification of the core values of our society
Political philosophy is required as soon as conflicting political teachings challenge the values and moral standing of political systems. When taking values and concepts that liberal philosophy is based upon into consideration, one can argue that the attacks on civilian protesters in Syria, for example, are wrong because they compromise citizens' freedom from fear, freedom of speech or justice. We do need liberal political theory today to justify the core values of our society, and uncover difficulties in our approach to moral ideas. Political philosophy questions the very value of the pillar of our society like democracy, rights or justice, and provides us with a playground for intellectual engagement (Graham 1999).

Consensus

One argument one can make in order to justify the relevance of liberal theory (and therefore political philosophy in its wider terms) can be found in the Rawlasian concept of 'overlapping consesus', which is an important characteristic of political liberalism (Rawls 1987).

This idea is based upon a belief that individuals with background in a wide range of different ideologies, with very inconsistent conceptions of justice, can agree on certain principles of justice that create the foundation for the social institutions of a political community (Rawls 1987). Rawls argued that the paths of life are determined by a set of random events and could have developed in very different direction, rather than evolved from rational thought (Graham 1999). A political thought based upon this belief can unite individuals from a large range of backgrounds and therefore lead to the design of an efficient political institution, which are more likely to succeed (Rawls 1987). If one applied this theory in practice one could argue that such an outlook could provide a solution to a growing discontent with immigration in western societies, by integrating them into society in a more sustainable way. This theory therefore draws a link between theoretical sufficiency and political efficiency, in a way that justifies the importance of political philosophy (Graham 1999), or in other words, closes the gap between the empirical world of politics and the theoretical concepts of political philosophy.

Conclusion

This essay have considered the importance of political philosophy to the contemporary world, and attempted to answer whether it is needed in order to solve political challenges of the 21st century. It was divided into two main sections, one that addresses common criticisms of political philosophy in general and included three main issues. 1. The empirical vs. normative approaches to political effectiveness, 2. The idea that common sense is a safe guard to political action, and 3. The importance of a maximal intellectual pluralism. It disapproved both statement and argued that political philosophy is still necessary for a contemporary age.

Section two, examined the value of liberal philosophy and argued that it is an important tool for justifying the core value of our society, and that overlapping consensus, which is an important characteristics of political liberalism can be an important tool in solving contemporary challenges for liberal philosophy including anti-immigration measures.

Citations


Berlin, I 1978, 'Does Political Theory Still Exist? ', in H Hardy (ed.), Concepts and Categories: Philosophical Essays Hogarths Press, London, p. 30.

Donohue, KG 2003, Freedom from Want: American Liberalism & the Idea of the Consumer, The John Hopkins University Press, Maryland.

Graham, G 1999, 'Political Theory and Political Practise', Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 16, no. 2, p. 9.

Political Theory 2012, Princeton University viewed 4 June 2014,