Political Philosophy

Political Philosophy

Political obligation and the origin of the state • The concept of “State” or “relationships of power” finds its formal origins in ancient Greece. • Homeric hill forts developed into large City States (Polis) such as Sparta and Athens. • Athens was the most influential and has long been regarded as the cradle of democracy. • Athens operated a “direct” democracy where all free male citizens (50,000) were eligible to vote. Women, slaves and foreigners were excluded. • Out of this period also emerged the foundations of western philosophy. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all attempted to answer the question at the heart of political philosophy and ethics: “how should we live?” • NB most democratic countries operate a representative system e.g. UK where the electorate vote for an MP to represent them in parliament. The party with the most MPs usually forms the government. Contrast can also be made between 1st past the post systems (UK) and Proportional Representation (Ireland).

Plato (423BCE-347BCE) • Key Work: The Republic • Ideology: Autocracy – rule of the philosopher king, an enlightened dictator. Plato is famously scathing of alternative systems, particularly the Athenian democracy. The philosopherruler has authority to rule due to his genius and training. His perfect alignment with the truth (forms) renders him infallible. • Quotes: "There will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers."

Plato’s Critique of Democracy • Simile of the ship – “The crew are all quarrelling with each other about how to navigate the ship, each thinking he ought to be at the helm; they have never learned the art of navigation.” (critique authority in a democracy) • Simile of the large and powerful animal – “But he would not know which of the creature’s tastes or desires was admirable or shameful; he would simply use the term on the basis of its reactions, calling what pleased it good, what annoyed it bad.” (critique of the failure of the state to provide for the needs of the people in a democracy)

Aristotle (384BCE-322BCE) • Key Work: the Politics • Ideology: a virtuous monarchy is the highest form of government – he lists 6 types: 3 true (Monarchy, Aristocracy & Polity) & 3 perverted (Tyranny, Oligarchy & Democracy). True states aim at virtue; perverted ones aim at personal power and wealth. The Polis (state) is held to be the highest source of ethical authority, but participation in politics is restricted to male land owners. Only they have the time to develop the virtues and, thus, rightly have authority over those who are “naturally inferior”. The family unit is considered the bedrock of a stable society, as is compliance with the law and acceptance of the status quo – in this sense he provides a foundation for conservative principles. • Quotes: "Man is by nature a political animal." • “Man perfected by society is the best of all animals; he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice.”

Christian politics • Following the Edict of Milan (313CE), Christians were faced with the need to become politicised. Church and State were conjoined and Christians had to address questions concerning how should respond to the government and what they should do in the face of foreign aggression. • Many chose to withdraw from public life, believing that it could only serve to corrupt. • In his book “The City of God” Augustine argues that human beings cannot be fulfilled merely by living in the Polis. • Augustine claims that the government ought to be obeyed and that Citizens should fight in just wars, but that Christians should focus beyond this life to “God’s eternal kingdom”.

Scholastic perspectives • Scholastic philosophers such as Aquinas challenged the divine right of Kings. A ruler deemed unjust and failing in his duties could be rightfully overthrown. • Aquinas advocated the natural lawtheory, which states that humans can discover God’s will via use of reason. This supersedes the authority of Kings (e.g. of legitimate opposition to authority) • “. . . this is the first precept of the law, that good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be avoided. All other precepts of the natural law are based on this . . .”

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) • Key Work: The Prince • Ideology: in contrast to Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas and others, Machiavelli does not offer an ideology, rather he gives practicaladvice on how to obtain and preserve power. His seminal work is directed to new Princes, not hereditary ones, who will have to establish means to protect their position. It would be wrong, however, to assume that Machiavelli would sanction all manner of evil doing to achieve his ends. Cruel actions are instrumental to the preservation of power and must not be employed beyond what is necessary to achieve this objective. • Quotes: "He who establishes a tyranny and does not kill Brutus, and he who establishes a democratic regime and does not kill the sons of Brutus, will not last long." • “…it is much safer for a prince to be feared than loved”

Social Contract theory • Under SCT, people give up some/all rights to a government and/or other authority in order to preserve social order & allow enrichment. • Advocates of SCT include Plato, Mariana, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Rawls. • Agreement to the terms of the contract may be explicit (formal, individual approval), tacit (inferred from actions or statements) or hypothetical (based on our imagined reaction to the state of nature) • Plato: members implicitly agree to the terms of the social contract by their choice to stay within the society (tacit agreement) – Socrates goes to his death on this principle. • NB SCT can be viewed as a means of justifying obedience to the law and the authority behind it.

Bentham against Social Contract Theory • In his Fragment on Government (1776), Jeremy Bentham attacks Social Contract Theories on the basis that they rely on historical inaccuracy. • There has never been a state of nature as described by Hobbes et al and such fiction has been used to support the submission of the masses and the legitimacy of monarchic government. • As previously mentioned, the contract theorist’s reply to such an attack is that ideas referring to “the state of nature” are hypothetical. It is to be understood as a concept, not an historical event.

Utilitarian theories of government • David Hume first devised the idea of utilitarian systems of government. • He claimed that governments were necessary, but that their justification is founded on their ability to produce a greater happiness than would be found without them. • Bentham popularised Utilitarianism, claiming that it is the system best suited to dealing with man’s innate selfishness – we are fundamentally driven by a desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain. • Mill modifies Bentham’s model, adding a distinction between quality of and quantity of pleasure.

J S Mill’s Utilitarianism • Pinchin observes that Mill identifies 3 important questions in political philosophy: • What authority exists for the good of the people? • What process enables obedience? • How can abuses of the authority be checked? • In answer to all three, Mill believes that representative democracy provides the best response – this is favoured over direct democracy, which he saw as inefficient. Such a system would involve and empower the people: “Let a person have nothing to do for his country and he will not care for it.” He also believes that it offers sufficient checks on authority.

Utilitarianism & democracy • Utilitarianism is seen as the ideological thought that underpins democracy. The people inevitably vote for representatives who promise to implement that which would make them happy. The Government formed by a majority is thus elected on a utilitarian mandate. • Here also Mill’s paternalism is evident - highly educated, middle-class professionals are better suited to rule than the majority of the public who are ill-informed and easily manipulated. • Yet, it is difficult to see how such a group could be said to represent the majority! • Mill recognises this, but argues that participation in local government and institutions such as jury service will aid participation. • Incidentally, Mill also argued that Utilitarianism would be favoured by God - who wishes that man be fulfilled.

Modifying Bentham • In Utilitarianism (1863), Mill famously modifies Bentham’s model in order to combat the problem of “the tyranny of the majority” – under Bentham’s quantitive model, the abuse of the minority is seemingly acceptable as long as it pleased the majority – e.g. of the sadistic guards etc. • That the minority could be suppressed in such a way is obviously unacceptable to Mill’s Liberal credentials. Consequently, he offers a qualitative model of utility.

Mill’s alternative • Bentham had claimed that “pushpin is equal to poetry”. • Mill disagreed, arguing that pleasures of the intellect are higher than base, physical pleasures. Thus, Opera is considered higher than billiards. • Under this model, Utilitarianism appears less democratic and more elitist. • We can obviously question why intellectual pleasures ought to be considered superior to physical ones. • Such emphasis would also seem to runcontrary to Mill’s Liberal principles. "It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a pig satisfied."[Utilitarianism]

Utilitarianism and distributive justice • If politics is centred around the principle of utility, then this will presumably demand a more egalitarian focus. How can the greatest happiness principle be fulfilled when so few have so much and economic polarisation continues to grow unhindered? • Yet, to assume that utilitarianism would run contrary to such inequality would be to ignore the role that capitalism plays in generating wealth and driving up the standard of living for all. • Mill and Nozick both believed that economic freedom was an essential ingredient in bringing about higher standards of living.

Ideologies

Conservatism • Conservatives are distinguished by their resistance to change, support for the free market economy, their faith in tradition and established institutions, a paternalistic view of the state (positive freedom) that is born of a negative diagnosis of human nature, a commitment to the rule of law and advocacy of a legal positivism. (draw breath) Oh…and a love of attractive fillies and foxes!

Edmund Burke • Key work: Reflections on the Revolution in France • Ideology: Conservative. The outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 gave Burke his greatest target. Burke emphasized the dangers of mob rule, fearing that the Revolution's fervor was destroying French society. He appealed to the British virtues of continuity, tradition, rank and property and opposed the Revolution to the end of his life. He is justly regarded as one of the founders of the British Conservative tradition. Hybrid cartoon! – French revolution, with some contemporary political comment!

Burke Quotes • “Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident security.” • “Good order is the foundation of all things.” • “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

Epistemological scepticism • Burke’s conservatism is based on the belief that we cannot know all aspects of society. • No one individual (or indeed, collective) has sufficient wisdom to surpass that which has been accumulated to create society as it is. • Consequently, we can never justify wholesale change - rebellion is always to be discouraged. Change is acceptable, but only on a small scale that enables preservation of society. • There are obvious problems with a system that is not prepared to accept the need to overhaul a brutal and oppressive regime. Anything would seem to be preferable to living under a dictator such as Pol Pot.

Open and Closed Societies • Burke advocates the closed society. This is a society where everyone knows their place (authoritarian and hierarchical). As Pinchin puts it “Your obligations follow from your agreed status; they are not questioned.” • In contrast, an open society is open to change. All authority must be justified and there is freedom to challenge. Unlike in the closed society, fact and value are considered distinct. • Burke saw considerable danger in the open society. He feared the individualism that it breeds and believed that it would lead to chaos and moral vacuity.

Organic society • Burke viewed society as a living organism that slowly evolves. • Identity is defined by its history which provides a rich array of traditions, customs and laws. • To interfere with the institutions that have grown out of society is to damage something of innate value. • This theme has been restated by Michael Oakeshott (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) – “…our traditions and inherited institutions contain more wisdom than we do.”

Law • The rule of law is central to Burke’s conservative ideal. • Freedom is wholly dependent on the law. • Without law, anarchy reigns and freedom to participate in society is destroyed. • Burke saw anarchy as creating a political environment where might is right – those who have the greatest physical strength will suppress the weak. • Man must be subject to a central narrative that is defined by the law and historic institutions. • The law is inextricably linked to human history. To abolish it would be to abandon that which defines us. We would be cast adrift without a moral rudder(!)

Rights • Rights are defined in terms of our place in the system. • There can be no claim to “natural rights” other than those that have evolved in society. • Any definition of “rights” outside society is dismissed as “intellectual fiction”. • Rights are deemed relative to particular societies and will obviously differ within these societies. Consequently, the concept of “universal rights” was anathema to Burke. • NB it is worth mentioning MacIntyre as another thinker who emphasises the need for a central narrative if society is to function on a moral level.

Challenging the “age of reason” • Burke firmly resisted the Enlightenment idea that reason and theory should form the base of politics. • As Wolff observes “Burke emphasized the importance of habits and traditions, which, although they may not be able to withstand criticism at the bar of reason, should not be expected to pass what he thought to be a quite inappropriate test.” • This scepticism concerning human nature is born of a deep pessimism concerning human nature. • The idea of man as a rational being is rejected – we are driven by instinct and emotion. • As such, man is not qualified to challenge the institutions that have evolved out of accumulated experience. • Such institutions protect us from ourselves.

3 fundamental harmonies • Burke concedes that there may be disagreement and even conflict within his conservative system, but insists that these are only “surface conflicts”. A stable and continuous order will always contain 3 fundamental harmonies: • Integration of personalities • Harmony of different sections of society • Harmony of history and providence • NB Providence is understood in a religious sense, where individuals come to develop a shared perspective on existential questions.

1) Too dismissive of theoretical reason: Burke accuses philosophers of oversimplifying complex social relationships and of failing to recognise the necessary organic nature of society. Here, he may have a point, but he then extends his criticism to form a rejection of all theoretical reasoning. As Burke is himself offering a theory, this would seem somewhat hypocritical. Further, discontent rarely emerges out of theory (Marx makes this point), but out of specific problems in society. 2) Good = duration? This appears a difficult premise to defend. Surely a bad/evil society can exist for a substantial period of time. Duration does not make it any more palatable. Pinchin uses the example of the Inquisition as an established institution that did not become any better over time. Mr Loach’s lessons might be used as another example! Critique

3) Limited moral theory: For Burke, morality is simply formed out of tradition and custom. It would seem that morality involves more than this. Indeed, we may ask where an act of conscience or religiousdevotion may lie in relation to such an establishment based morality. Burke will reply that the Church is part of tradition & custom. This assumes a symmetry that is unlikely to be found. 4) Inappropriate response to conflict: Burke would always resist removal of an institution, preferring gradual change to conflict. Yet, surely some systems are simply intolerable? History reveals too many occasions when inaction has lead to great suffering Burke’s closed perspective cannot respond to unexpected circumstances as it is grounded in immutable values. He sees the only alternative as a moral relativism. In reality, the contrast between alternatives need not be so stark. Further problems

Political Philosophy