levels. It concerns how we coordinate our actions for mutual (or personal) gain, or, as political scientist [Harold Lasswell]?? said, politics is "who gets what, when and how." |
levels. It concerns how we coordinate our actions for mutual (or personal) gain, or, as political scientist [Harold Lasswell]? said, politics is "who gets what, when and how." |
In addition to government, journalists, religious groups, special interest groups, and economic systems and conditions may all have influence on decisions. Therefore, politics touches on all these subjects.
Studies of politics have both reflected and influenced the political systems of the world. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote [The Prince]?, an amoral analysis of politics in a monarchy, in 1513, while living in a monarchy. Karl Marx and [Friedrich Engels]? wrote The Communist Manifesto in 1848 and it went on to be one of the most influential works of the twentieth century. Today, much study of politics focuses on democracies, and how their form affects the decisions they make.
Other lines of political inquiry attempt to answer philosophical questions: is there a moral justification for government? What is the purpose of government?
Political science
In the United States, a democracy, political scientists look at elections, public opinion (on matters ranging from Social Security reform to foreign policy), institutional activities (how congress acts, where congressional power gravitates toward, how and when the Supreme Court acted, or didnt act, etc) and a variety of other data to try to figure out what the next move of soceity or government would be.