Last modified on March 16, 2024, at 13:47

Politics

Politics is the art of gaining power, particularly in government. It entails seeking favorable portrayal by the media in public, and seeking support by individuals privately. Actual success or failure in governing an administrative entity, such as a city or nation, is only loosely related to political success or failure.

In a democracy, people who share broad political goals often gather into parties to mobilize fundraising and create a unified manifesto, called a party platform. In a multi-party state, such as the United States, politics can be adversarial but in a productive way via debating for example.

In a single-party state, such as communist China or Nazi Germany, politics amounts to a process of rubber-stamping the decisions of a small ruling group. The Democrat Party also resembles communist countries in how they pick their leaders.

Political polarization

In the United States, political polarization often revolves around Republican Party vs. Democratic Party politics.[1]

See also: Political polarization

In a two party political system, political polarization is "the division of a country’s entire population into two diametrically opposed political camps."[2] In two party systems of political governance, political division is primarily driven by binary political ideologies and partisan political identities.[3]

However, some political scientists maintain that political division is mainly driven by other political dichotomies other than two party politics or right-wing vs. leftism such as religious vs. irreligious/nonreligious, nationalism vs. globalism, traditionalism against modernism, or rural against urban.[4]

Political science

See also: Political science

Political science is the study of politics and related concepts. It is a social science.

Quotes

George Orwell wrote:

All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.[5]

Roger Stone said:

Politics is show business for ugly people.

Books

  • Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Science, 2nd Edition by Vernon Bogdanor, Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition (April 15, 1992)
  • Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? by Philip E. Tetlock, Princeton University Press; New Ed edition (August 20, 2006).

See also

References

  1. DiMaggio, Paul; Evans, John; Bryson, Bethany (1 November 1996). "Have American's Social Attitudes Become More Polarized?" (PDF). American Journal of Sociology. 102 (3): 690–755. doi:10.1086/230995. S2CID 144020785.
  2. Political polarization - Britannica
  3. DiMaggio, Paul; Evans, John; Bryson, Bethany (1 November 1996). "Have American's Social Attitudes Become More Polarized?" (PDF). American Journal of Sociology. 102 (3): 690–755. doi:10.1086/230995. S2CID 144020785.
  4. Chinn, Sedona; Hart, P. Sol; Soroka, Stuart (February 2020). "Politicization and Polarization in Climate Change News Content, 1985-2017". Science Communication. 42 (1): 119–125. doi:10.1177/1075547019900290. S2CID 212781410.
  5. George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946

External links