Political Change and Progress Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, figures, and definitions related to political change, progress, reform, revolution, tradition, and conservatism based on the lecture notes.

Political Theory

The human practice of reflecting on political life to both render current practices and institutions meaningful and to prescribe and enact change.

Jonathan Wolff's Questions of Political Theory

Considers 'Who gets what? Says who?' as fundamental questions.

Repeated Problems in Political Theory

Include power between ruler and ruled, authority, social conflict, ends of politics, nature of political knowledge, and justice.

Problem of Political Change

About how we understand, manage, prescribe, and justify political changes, often observing power as it exists and making judgments about power as it should be.

Modern Political Thought (Change)

Often concerned with the scope and pace of political and social change.

Role of Political Theory in Real Political Change

Modern theorists responded to actual political conditions, diagnosing flaws, and making justified recommendations to influence change.

Key Themes in Theories of Political Change

Progress, Tradition, and Utopia.

Progress (Political Theory)

Predicated on moving forward and making advancements, assuming change is good and emphasizing science, reason, logic, and individual autonomy over religious faith.

Modernity & Reason

Focus of modern political thought on understanding Western modernity, emphasizing self-reflection, reason, and human judgment as the basis for shaping destinies.

Forward March of History

The idea that humanity progresses by understanding and evaluating the past, driven by the ability to reason, though not all Modern theorists agreed with this linear view.

Divine Right to Rule

The idea that a ruler is appointed by a deity, possesses absolute hereditary power, and acts with the will of god, making challenges to authority difficult.

Historical Context of Modern Era (1400s-1800s)

Marked by increasing critiques of government and religion, the invention of the printing press, the Protestant Reformation, and significant political and social upheavals.

Natural Rights

In modern political thought (1500s-1800s AD), the concept that individuals have inherent rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of property (Locke), which formed the basis for governments deriving power from the consent of the governed.

Reform

A method of political change that makes changes to existing structures through adaptation, gradual improvements, and 'change within continuity,' without scrapping the whole system.

Utilitarianism

A guiding principle for governance that seeks to maximize happiness/pleasure and minimize pain/discomfort for the greatest number of people, often meaning ends justify means.

Revolution

A method of political change involving political disruption, throwing out existing power structures, often entailing violence and mass participation, to re-establish a lost moral order.

Tradition

Anything transmitted or handed down from the past to the present, including customs, practices, institutions, ideologies, or systems, often implying continuity, opposition to change, or a desire to reclaim a 'golden age'.

Status Quo

The way things currently exist; supporters of traditionalism often prefer to maintain the status quo, viewing change as threatening and uncertain.

Edmund Burke

A British politician and political theorist (late 1700s) associated with conservatism, who argued against radical change in 'Reflections on the Revolution in France,' emphasizing the preservation of traditions and customs.

Burke's Social Contract

Viewed society as a social contract 'between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born,' with traditions reflecting 'the collected reason of the ages'.

Conservatism

An ideology that developed in the 19th century in opposition to some Enlightenment elements, aiming to preserve tradition and time-tested beliefs, preferring reform over revolution if change is necessary.