Poli231

Political Theory w Jacob Levy

Political Science 4 Subfields:

1. Politics of specific country

2. Comparative politics

3. International Politics

   (Defined by geographics, quantitative)

4. Political Theory

(Qualitative)

Political Theory

Methodological (What should be)

Normative analysis

Study of ideas in politics = Study of people’s belief systems

Significant political systems brought by; commitments, ideas, ideals, ideologies

Qualitative

3 Main sociopolitical relation changes in last 250 years

1. Development of modern state

2. Rise of nationalist democracy

3. Decolonization

Political Parties

Shared belief systems

How policy'/state should develop

Large societies never:

Ruled entirely by force

Entirely voluntary

Ideologies

Democracy

Democratic legitimation

Nationalism

What to do within democratic contestotory system, what people want to see within systems viewed as broadly legitmate; often attached to political parties

Politics as a vocation: Max Weber

• One of most influential social scientists in Western Tradition

• Uni prof/author of politics as a vocation

• Famous for “The Disenchantment of the World & the iron Cage of Modernity”

• Politics as a Vocation delivered just after Germany lost WW1 (Weber is German), Germany is unstable, treaty of Versailles still in the air

Politics as a vocation: Weberian State

• Organ/Agency able to claim/enforce a monopoly on legitimate use of force within a well defined territory (Distinctive kind of political organization; more common now)

• Approx. 1500: Gradual process of state consolidation turns many European states into Webarian states, but Germany is not until the 1800s

• Only armed forced of the state have the right to use violence, all exceptions only by blessing of state (Right to self-defence)

• Unlike medieval Europe, well defined territories & borders

• Influence of govnt. stronger at borders rather than centre with weak influence further from centre

• Since 1945-48, only “official” form of political organization (Must be a Weberian state to be in the UN)

• Weber believes we will continue to move between Weberian and non Weberian states

• Westphalia, Germany: International in addition to domestic legitimacy

Politics as a Vocation: Disenchantment of the World

• Living in a world where increasingly accessible scientific knowledge drains access to meaning (Faith)

• Weber knows science is great, but is sad at lack of “God magic”

Politics as a Vocation: Iron Cage of Moderninity

Increasingly rationalistic structures, incl modern bureaucratic state and modern industrial economy (bureaucratic and rationalized vs not more imminent than private vs public)

Politics as a Vocation: 3 Modes of Legitimation of rule in modern state:

1) Customs (used to it

2) Charisma (Live for vs. by; vocation)

3) Bureaucratic rational (because the rules say to, we obey)

Bureaucracy

A system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives

Politics as a Vocation: State

Kind of politics in modern times under force

Politics as a Vocation: King

• Took ability to have armies, resources, ect.

• Hired uni educated men to keep books (better done than nobles), done to forgive debt in exchange for labour

• Bureaucracy becomes powerful

Politics as a Vocation: State

Men dominating men, legitimate violence

Politics as a Vocation: Politics

Striving to share power

Antigone: Prologue

• Antigone is trying to convince her sister, Ismene to help her illegally bury their brother

• Their two brothers agreed to rule Thebes alternating years, but one year one brother refuses to give up the throne and, so the other invades the city with an army and they battle to the death

• Creon, their Uncle becomes ruler upon their death, and deems the brother who invaded the city Polyneices, to be a traitor

• As punishment, only one brother is given a burial and Polyneices is forbidden under law to have a burial and be honored. His body is left to rot outside city walls. (Significant in ancient Greece for priests have blessed city and burials appease Gods, and you do not go to the after life) If anyone breaks this, Creon proclaims they shall be stoned to death

• Ismene does not want to break the law, after their father and grandmother commit suicide after they commit incest with eachother

• Antigone persists with burying him alone, believing that if she is punished by death by this government, the only true laws that matter are those in heaven, which she wants to follow

Antigone: Scene 1

The Guard arrives at the palace and tells Creon that someone has buried Polyneices's corpse

Antigone: Scene 2

• Antigone is caught, and Creon sentences her to live burial

• Antigone does not resist, with the logic that she will only listen to the rule of Gods

• Ismene falsely confesses to taking part, because if Antigone dies she has no one left to love, so she may as well also die. Antigone is angry with her sacrifice that stems from a lie

• Antigone reveals that she is Creon’s son’s finance, and Creon simply deems that his son can find another wife. Antigone is also his niece (Yes, hella incest) and he does not make a special acception for her even though he has a personal relationship with her, he applies the rules as with any other citizen

Antigone: Scene 3

• Creon question’s his son (Haemon) if he will be supportive in his decision to execute Antigone

• Haemon agrees, given that he does not want to be told what to do by a woman (ick, sexist!) and that a leader should give all citizens the same treatment, even given personal connections

• Upon hearing more from the city being against the execution, Haemon no longer believes it is just, for the general population is against and believes it should not be solely up to Creon. But Creon gets upset at this and tells Haemon he is to watch Antigone’s (his finance’s) execution

• Haemon disagrees with Creon's decision and disowns him

Antigone: Scene 4

• Antigone’s inner monologue being led to her execution

• Antigone is pondering how she will be executed in the same room she was supposed to marry in

• Ponders how she has fame but will die alone with no mourners

• She believes that if she were truly wrong in her actions, the Gods would have led her away

Antigone: Scene 5

• Teirsas, a blind prophet of Thebes advises Creon to reverse sentence of Antigone, for he has angered the Gods

• Tells Creon it is not too late to reverse, and that he should let go of his pride

• Creon believes Teirsas has been bought

• Eventually after telling him his son would die he decides to release Antigone

Antigone: Exodus

• Messenger comes and tells Creon that his son commited suicide out of anger for his actions

• But that was not true. Antigone is the one who commited suicide, and Creon find his son hugging her as she’s hanging from a noose

• His son attempts to stab Creon but misses and impales himself while holding Antigone

• Creon finally regrets his actions

• Eudocryse, Creon’’s wife commits suicide

• Creon is devestated

Antigone: Stasimon 1

• The Chorus gathers to ruminate on human nature, using the analogy of movement through a stormy ocean in order to learn how to become more resourceful

• Men now have power over almost everything but death, the Chorus notes. But man's inventiveness only serves him when he lives within the bounds of law and justness; if he uses it for evil or disobedience he will be punished by the gods.

Antigone: Stasimon 2

• The Chorus sings about divine curses and destiny and warns that when gods intervene disaster can befall entire generations of families

• They again use the metaphor of an ocean with its swells churning up the bottoms of the sea and causing discord

• They note that this is what has happened to Oedipus's family, with its ever-increasing tragedies and sorrows—they are being punished unceasingly by the gods from generation to generation

• The Chorus warns that even though mortals may try to appease the gods, ultimately they are at the gods' mercy.

Antigone: Stasimon 3

• The Chorus invokes Eros, the god of love, to come to Haemon's aid since they fear the son has been driven mad by his father's decision to kill his bride

• Love is an emotion that can't be controlled, they say, and is the source of this particular conflict

• The Chorus also cautions that to interfere with love the way that Creon has may invoke the wrath of the goddess of love, Aphrodite

Antigone: Stasimon 4

• The Chorus brings up the fact that "the power of fate is full of mystery," and that there is no getting around it, even if you are rich or powerful

• They recall how similar fates to Antigone's befell other well-known mythological figures—all were imprisoned in cruel ways and died, even though they all had something powerful that distinguished them

Antigone: Stasimon 5

• The Chorus sings an ode praising the god Dionysus, the son of Zeus and the protector of Thebes

• The Chorus calls upon Dionysus to heal and protect their city, whose citizens dance all night in his honor

Politics as a Vocation: Duty to Obey: Bureaucratic state and force

• Weber discusses emergence of modern bureaucratic state & its ability to control centralize and monopolize force

Antigone: The Ethics of Political Office

• Creon refuses to give special treatment to family and friends, for he believes that will keep the city safe. But he will distinguish enemies

• Creon aims to get rid of the curse on Thenes

• Creon is done with rule being bullied by the popular opinion, so he wants to do what is morally right rather than what is popular

• Refuses to do anything for money/ avoids corruption

• Does not want to act on personal favours

• Creon is trying to govern in the right way

Politics as a Vocation: Duty to Obey: Expropriation

• Kings took away ability of other actors to govern directly/have armies/independent methods of resource extraction/taxation

• King did this through emergence of bureaucracy

• King hired educated men to keep books rather than nobles. These men were not rich, just being paid a salary, so over time they manipulated feudal mobilities in their favour, balanced out reasource extraction (taxation) & balanced out military power. Eventually this system becomes the most powerful means of collective organization of violence ever, with politics as a vocation leading to the slughtter of over 20 million people in ww1

Politics as a Vocation: Duty to Obey: Ethics of Conviction

• Not the right way to do political ethics

• However, Weber finds it moving when a mature person feels the consequences and responsibility for their actions wholly, and genuinely changes, not for own benefit or vanity but for the greater good

Politics as a Vocation: Duty to Obey: Pacifistic leadership (Turn the other cheek)

Mistakes:

• Fixation on guilt vs innocence rather than making peace, which Weber thinks is childish

• Chialistic approach; after one final victory then we can have world peace. But that will never happen so they will never stop killing

• Not paying proper attention to actions; pretend that what is happening in war has nothing to do with leader. But Weber believes the blood is absolutely on that leaders hands and people are going to suffer; moral vanity

Politics as a Vocation: Duty to Obey: Ethics of Responsibility

1. Responsibility for the people you govern

2. Responsibility for consequences (Not just for yourself; what is good for your country, people, sometimes not moral)

   Weber was adamant that either Germany or Europe entirely was about to go through terrible times (1919) and that they needed a leader who was willing to accept that fact rather than try to redeem it and be immoral/childish. Need someone who has politics as a vocation, understands that changing policy is a lengthy process, and if you rush it you break it

Plato, the Apology: Introduction

• Plato is attempting to emulate Socrates’ (his teacher) apology under accusations of impiety and corrupting the young at his trial in Athens

• Unclear how much is Plato and how much is Socrates

• Socrates claims to speak only the truth and seeks not to manipulate

Plato, the Apology: Statement

• Denies allegations