Power

Omelas: A Perfect, Joyous City

  • Festivals, families, children playing, horses prancing

  • Bright, sunny, filled with happiness (“prize of the world”)

Hidden Disturbing Secret

  • In a basement under the town hall lives a neglected child

  • Possibly born feebleminded or became that way

  • Afraid, isolated, no sense of time or society

  • Once screamed and cried, now only whines quietly

Citizens’ Awareness

  • Everyone knows the child is there

  • They accept it must remain, since all happiness depends on its misery

  • Parents sometimes show their children the suffering child at the same age → children often feel disgusted

  • Some visitors cannot accept it → they quietly leave the city and never return

  • They choose the unknown over living with the secret

The Point of the Story

  • Raises the question of tolerance: what injustices would you accept?

  • Clear when young, murkier when older

  • Connects to oppression, discrimination, prejudice

  • Personalizes it: what if a loved one was in the cell?

  • Democracy = long-term thinking to prevent rebellion

  • Oppression leads to violence if people aren’t given space/accommodation

  • Societies must accommodate diversity

  • People respond differently: some can’t handle injustice, others accept it

  • Good intentions can still go wrong

  • A “perfect world” depends on someone suffering in the cellar

  • Questions whether those in the cellar truly belong there

Higher Power & Politics

  • There is a higher power affecting us — politics is trying to figure out how that power impacts us

  • Must understand the cycle of higher vs. lower power

The Fields of Political Science

  1. International Relations → between countries

  2. Comparative Politics → institutions and processes within states

  3. Political Theory/Philosophy → values & ideals

    • Example: Universities (U.S. vs. Canada approaches)

  4. Political Economy → economic systems

    • Example: U.S. Dollar as global standard

    • Alternative systems: Europe, Russia, etc.

Theories

  • Modernization Theory → if countries modernize like “higher-level” states, they’ll succeed

  • Dependency Theory → counters modernization; global debt & interest perpetuate inequality

Inside vs. Outside the Cellar

  • Worldview differs for those excluded (in the cellar) vs. those privileged (outside)

  • Exclusion creates different sentiments

  • Dependency → left out on purpose

  • Modernization → “catch up and you’ll succeed”

Defining Politics: Conflict or Cooperation?

Andrew Heywood

  • Politics = making, preserving, and amending rules for living together

  • Example: writing to city council to request speed bumps

  • Rival opinions don’t always mean conflict → reconcile through collaboration

  • Be active in your community, change rules if needed

Harvey Mansfield

  • Politics = taking sides; it’s partisan

  • Must choose who represents your ideas best

Hands Morgan Thou

  • Politics = “Annamist dominani” (animals dominate)

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

  • Politics = organized power of one class oppressing another

  • Viewed through prism of groups (class struggle)

Harold Lasswell (1936)

  • Politics = “Who gets what, when, how”

  • Political community defined by authoritative allocation of values

  • Imposing not just rules but beliefs

Note: All definitions are valid, just different perspectives that overlap.

Multiple Choice

Who attributes Annamist dominani to politics, and can you quote anyone?

Sometimes questions won’t be in the books or in the slides.

Politics begins in any interaction between two or more people. Any discussion between two or more people is the beginning of politics because it essentially includes everything we talked about before, but involves when there are two or more people whose opinions or coincidences may coincide or clash. So, human interaction is the beginning of politics. Everything we say follows from it.

If human interaction is the beginning, then when humans come together, it’s them against all others, which leads to the formation of groups. From there, classes (such as economic ones) can form, and essentially the question becomes: how do we divide the pie? All of this is still relevant, but it’s important to deconstruct things to their root — and that root is human interaction.

Greek Thought in Politics

Politics = polis = city-state (Athens, Sparta)

  • Shared values, vision, and structure

  • Root of the word “politics” comes from Ancient Greek

Aristotle

  • Man is by nature a political animal

  • Only within a political community can humans live the good life

  • Politics is an ethical activity aimed at justice

  • Politics = the “master science” — noble to pursue, but not for everyone

Al-Farabi

  • Politics should create perfect human beings

  • Aim: reduce violence and instability

  • Society should nurture virtuous individuals → just society

Plato

  • Ruin comes when traders (greedy) or generals (military rule) dominate politics

  • Producers → best in economy, worst in politics

  • Warriors → best in battle, worst in politics

  • Politics can’t just be about money → everyone must “stay in their lane”

  • True politics = statesmanship (art of governing with preparation)

  • Example: You call the best-trained doctor, not the prettiest one → same applies in politics

Confucius (Kong Qui)

  • Ruler must prioritize virtue → then people → then territory → then wealth

  • Virtue = root, wealth = branches

  • If wealth is the priority, ruler fails and teaches dishonesty

  • Purely economic politics = failed politics

Collective Psychology Insight

  • All perspectives are valid and overlap in understanding politics

Essay

Plato passsage will be given and asked to descrbibe it to the Professor and what they’re saying

Politics as the Art of Government

  • State-centered view: politics is only about government institutions.

  • Criticism: too narrow — ignores how individuals, businesses, schools, and civil society shape political outcomes.

  • Must consider hidden influences (“the hidden hands”) outside formal government.

🔹 Politics as Public Affairs

  • Looks at “public life” (schools, buses, universities).

  • Criticism: ignores how private life affects public life.

    • Example: Troubled youth from broken homes → higher likelihood of crime.

    • If root causes are ignored, policies only address symptoms, not problems.

  • Politics must go beyond public institutions to address deeper social factors.

🔹 Three Types of Political Analysis

  1. Normative → asks value-based questions.

    • “What is the good life?”

    • “Should we value freedom, privacy, equality?”

    • Not resolvable by facts → requires consensus, debate, and discussion.

    • Freedom is central: without it, society risks fear, conformity, and lack of creativity (e.g., 1984).

  2. Empirical → focuses on observable phenomena.

    • Describes what IS, not what ought to be.

    • Example: surveying 400 bus drivers in Edmonton on safety.

    • Rooted in behavioralism → watching behavior to explain politics.

    • Problem: risks missing cultural meaning without “thick description.”

      • Clifford Geertz: actions (like a wink) can mean different things in different cultures.

  3. Semantic → concerned with meaning and language.

    • How political terms are defined and framed.

    • Words shape perception (e.g., labels given to issues or groups).

    • Must analyze context and underlying meaning, not just surface descriptions.

⚠ Note: These three approaches are interconnected, not mutually exclusive.

🔹 Normative Analysis — Deeper Focus

  • Early political science centered on value questions:

    • What should we want?

    • How should we live together?

    • Should freedom of expression be limited?

  • Argument: freedom allows creativity, innovation, and progress.

    • Suppressing freedom leads to fear, conformity, and stagnation.

    • “I have not failed, I’ve found 1,000 ways that don’t work.” — Edison

  • Problem: political parties push different normative judgments (narratives) that may conflict.

  • Important: judge actions, not just words.

🔹 Empirical Analysis — Deeper Focus

  • Goal: identify observable evidence.

  • Example: surveys, statistics, experiments.

  • Issue: methodology and interpretation affect validity.

  • “Thick description” is needed: political behavior must be understood in its cultural context.

✅ Summary Takeaways

  • Politics is not just about the state — it includes society, culture, and private life.

  • Political analysis requires multiple lenses:

    • Normative (values),

    • Empirical (facts/observations),

    • Semantic (meanings/definitions).

  • All three overlap and provide a fuller understanding of politics.