www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in N associations. Discuss. Elaborate legitimation crisis. contemporary citizenship theory. representative democracy. 1 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in1 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2014-2015) E.P.S.-11 Political Ideas and Ideologies Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Auhtors for the help and Guidance of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do not claim 100% Accuracy of these sample Answers as these are based on the knowledge and cabability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample answers may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of the Question given in the assignment. As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so the chances of error or mistake cannot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer & for uptodate and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the university. Answer all questions. Try to answer in your own words. N Answer the following in about 500 words each. Q. 1. Write an essay on the new science of politics. Ans. View of Eric Voegelin Distinguishing between political theory and political science, Eric Voegelin says that political theory means a critical reflection on politics without which there can be no political science. He is against the system building in modern philosophy and thinds that the such thinkers are ignorant of the basic experience of existence. Views of Christian Bay: Christian Bay has questioned the behaviouralists about their wisdom regarding problem and perspective of enquiry. He agrees with David Easton that politics consists of all the processes by which public values are promoted and distributed by means of power and authority but objected to the absence of any reference to the relation of politics to human needs and problems in such definitions. He criticized the democratic theories of Berlson, lazarsfeld and McPhee along with that of S. M. Lipset. Voegelin worked throughout his life to account for something that is variously referred to as a philosophy of politics, history, or consciousness. One of Voegelin's main points in his later work is that a sense of order is conveyed by the experience of transcendence. This transcendence can never be fully defined nor described, though it may be conveyed in symbols. A particular sense of transcendent order serves as a basis for a particular political order. It is in this way that a philosophy of politics becomes a philosophy of consciousness. Insights may become fossilised as dogma. The main aim of the political philosopher is to remain open to the truth of order, and convey this to others. Voegelin is more interested in the ontological issues that arise from these experiences than the epistemological questions of how we know that a vision of order is true or not. For Voegelin, the essence of truth is trust. All philosophy begins with experience of the divine. Since God is experienced as good, one can be confident that reality is knowable. Voegelin’s work does not fit in any standard classifications, although some have found similarities in it to contemporaneous works by, for example, Ernst Cassirer, Ludwig 2 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in2 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, and Hans-Georg Gadamer. He has a sometimes unapproachable style and a heavy reliance upon extensive background knowledge. Voegelin often invents terms or uses old ones in new ways. However, there are patterns in his work. Or Christian Bay puts forth similar arguments as David Easton that politics consists of all the processes by which public values are promoted and distributed by means of power and authority but objected to the absence of any reference to the relation of politics to human needs and problems in such definitions. Thus, he criticizes the behaviouralists about the problem and perspective of enquiry. Bay also criticized the democratic theories of Berlson, lazarsfeld and McPhee along with that of S.M. Lipset on a similar note. Q. 2. Describe the salient characteristics of the Liberal and the Marxist political traditions. Ans. During the past 400 years of its development, liberalism has given many humanistic and democratic ideas, and almost all the issues of modern Western philosophy have been connected with liberalism in one way or the other. It has been the mainstream of the Western socio-economic and political philosophy. Liberalism has given progressive slogans like, liberty, equality, fraternity, natural and inalienable rights of man, democracy and development of human personality and it has vigorously fought against the orthodoxies represented by monarchy, papacy and feudal socio-economic order. N Liberalism guided many revolutionary struggles against the feudal order for the establishment of progressive capitalist socio-economic order. Its economic philosophy played an important role in the industrial development of the West; its social philosophy helped in the establishment of an open society; its social philosophy paved the way for liberal democracies; its ethical philosophy led to the triumph of individualism, and it promoted secularism in all walks of social life. Negative liberalism liberated the individual from traditional authorities and the State, and maintained that the political power is the trust of the people. Positive liberalism gives the idea of “Servant State” whose most important duty is to remove the hindrances which come in the way of the development of human personality. Positive liberalism emphasized the socio-economic, moral and developmental aspects of individual,—the social being. It has been a flexible philosophy. In conclusion, it may be said that once a progressive and revolutionary philosophy, liberalism now is in a weak position. Now it is an anti-revolutionary, reformist philosophy, and it is trying its level best, to save the capitalist socio-economic and political order. Liberalism has adopted many social-democratic ideas, it has pleaded for welfare measures of the State which led to the increase in the powers of the State in the present century. However, one doubts whether it will be able to survive the mounting pressure of the scientific and revolutionary philosophy—Marxism. Answer the following in about 250 words each. Q. 3. Distinguish between state and other associations. Ans. The concept of nation and states is that everyone must be strictly be separated into lands where everyone’s language, culture, heritage and other related factors are the same. it is this concept which had obstructed the progress of world peace and unity through the development of nationalism and cultural difference, and must be dissolved in order to achieve world unity. A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. In Max Weber’s influential definition, it is that organization that has a “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.” It thus includes such institutions as the armed forces, civil service or state bureaucracy, courts, and police. 3 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in3 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in Although the term often refers broadly to all institutions of government or rule–ancient and modern–the modern state system bears a number of characteristics that were first consolidated in Western Europe, beginning in earnest in the 15th century, when the term “state” also acquired its current meaning. Thus the word is often used in a strict sense to refer only to modern political systems. Within a federal system, the term state also refers to political units, not sovereign themselves, but subject to the authority of the larger state, or federal union, such as the “states and territories of Australia” and the “states” in the United States. Within a monarchy, two or more states may share personal union under the same monarch, but retain an individual identity, even unto a separate legislature and/or government. In casual usage, the terms “country”, “nation” and “state” are often used as if they were synonymous; but in a more strict usage they can be distinguished: Country denotes a geographical area and Nation denotes a people who share common customs, origins, and history. However, the adjectives national and international also refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to a set of governing institutions that has sovereignty over a definite territory. The state is an association of human beings. It is not, however, the only such association. Within the territorial limits of every highly civilized state are to be found an almost bewildering number of other associations such as churches, labour unions, political parties, professional associations of various kinds and countless others. One of the striking facts of modern life, in fact, has been the tendency of men to unite themselves into group associations for the advancement of common social, religious, political, economic and such other grounds, with the result that today society is a veritable network of such associations. Some of these associations embrace within their membership a large proportion of adult population many of them are international in scope. Large number of men are members of many associations. But a man can be the member of a single state having its definite territorial boundary. A state is not a voluntary organisation but is compulsory. An association’s functions are limited in nature but a modern state’s functions are manifold. An association may come up to an end without causing any harm to its members, but death of a state will spell disaster meaning great loss to its citizens and untold suffering for them. N Q. 4. Examine Juergen Habermas on the legitimation crisis. Ans. Weberian approach of legitimacy was ultered by James Habermas he admitted that modern capitalist societies have a sytem of a drawing out consent of the people but at the same time pointed out difficulties of legitimation that was found in a political process that produced and sustained unequal class power. Habermas identify these difficulties crisis tendencies of capitalist societies in his book legitimation crisis.(1973). Crisis Tendencies A fundamental contradiction between the logic of capitalist accumulation and popular pressures unleashed by democratic politics gave girth to the legitimacy crises, according to the views expressed by Habermas in his book, Legitimation Crisis (1973). In profit driven capitalist societies where class inequalities are produced but legitimacy is secured by democratic processes. This puts pressure on the state to expand its social responsibilities and raises demands of removal of inequalities through state intervention. For this reason state undertakes welfare measures (non-profit) which in turn increases taxation and public spending. This restricts capitalist accumulation of profit. Such societies find it, in the process, very difficult and finally impossible to maintain legitimacy and dips into crisis. 4 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in4 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in The capitalist society to sustain itself through the legitimacy that it can elicit through various democratic institutions. However, it tries to maintain the limit of such institutions so as to save defining principles of capitalism. Habermas claims that capitalist democracies cannot permanently satistfy both popular demands for social equality the requirements of a profit based market economy. This crisis would lead to disturbance of integration or cohesion of society. State Action During Crisis According to Habermas, the legitimation crisis is dealt with by using ‘system steering’ and ideological measures to legitimize and stabilize the existing structures. The economic and political spheres are separated where the political sphere becomes less participatory and more bureaucratized and impersonal and distanced from the governed. At the same time, discourses on justice, rights and citizenship provide the ideological basis for legitimizing the moral claims of the rulers to govern. Q. 5. What do you understand by negative and positive liberty? Explain. Ans. Negative liberty means the absence of coercion by individuals or instituions over interference into the private sphere of an individual. According to J.S. Mill, “Circle around every individual human being”, “a space entrenehed around”, “a reserved territory”. The conception of negative liberty has been upheld by a long tradition from John Locke through J.S. Mill to Hayek. N Negative liberty calls for participation in sovereign authority. Such participation provides the conditions for self-willed and self-directed actions to take place. Positive liberty means that freedom of choice can be a meaningful idea and can be practically effective if there are opportunities to act. It depends on the absence of impediments over and above the absence of simple coercion. The positive conception of Liberty was strongly emphasised in the writing of T.H. Green an English political philosopher. Postive freedom is the availability of opportunities to exercise meaningful and effective choice, it stresses to develop human capacities. Some of the impediments of positive liberty are: (a) Foce or coercion (b) Economic constraints (c) Political constraints (d) Cultural and moral constraints. Positive liberty cannot exist if there is possibility of one getting coerced or exploited by others. Force or coercion might be manifest in the denial of civil and political liberties. In capitalist societies, means of production are concertrated in a few hands and share of the produce of labour is retained by those who own or control extra-economic control and regulations. Therefore, workers do not enjoy the produce of their labour in times of their needs. Economic constraints prevent people from effective political participation, education and there by to culture. Berlin argues that we should limit the notice of liberty only to negative liberty and exclude from it the positive conception of liberty. Q. 6. Write a note on direct democracy. Ans. Aristotle views direct democracy as a mechanism which “all command each and each in his turn all”. In the system of direct democracy all collective decisions are taken through participation of all adult 5 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in5 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in citizens of the country. This is a form of selfgovernment where decisions are taken through deliberations or discussions because discussions allow people to reconcile different interest, inform members about various issues which according to Hague et al (1998) enable people to both influence and to be influenced by the group. In modern terms direct democracy is manifested is referendum. In India, Gram Sabha (73rd Constitutional Amendment is an example of this kind of democracy. Principles Governing Direct Democracy: Direct democracy allows its citizens to participate directly, without any mediation in a direct and continuous fashion. People make decisions through consensus and there is no difference between the governing and the goverened. This makes people sovereign and they do not need representation. Merits of Direct Democracy: It gives the control of the government in the hands of the people who are better informed and do not need to depend on the self-serving politicians. The legitimacy is at its zenith as the people have to accept their own decisions. Greek Democracy as Direct Democracy: In the 4th century BC, the democracy of Athens was a classic direct democracy in which there was the Assembly called Ecclesia to which all people belonged and made all their major decisions. The assembly had an executive body in the form of a council of 500 people and a committee of 50 people which made proposals to the council. Athenian Democracy: Reason its Fame: Athenian democracy enfranchised the whole citizenry which was very new to the political culture of that period. The citizens regularly participated in the meetings of the assembly and a large number of them were ready to take up the responsibilities of public office. The system had a general commitment to civic values and the private life was subordinated to the public affairs. According to Robert Dahl, in this democracy the politics was a natural social activity not sharply separated from the rest of life. N Aristotle’s ‘The Politics’: The work of Aristotle, The Politics (written between 335-323 BC), gives a detailed account of the ancient democracy. He says that liberty and equality are closely related concept in a democracy. He mentions two criteria of liberty in which one is to rule or being ruled and second is living as one chooses. He talks about numerical equality and believes equality to the basis of liberty and morality. Answer the following in about 100 words each. Q. 7. Individualist conception of the self. Ans. Individualism bases its theory on the understanding of the self and holds that every individual is free, rational and self-determining. He is free because he is capable of and has the right to question his participation in existing society and is rational because he is the best judge of his interests. His ability to self-determination means that he is capable of understanding what good life consists of. Self is broadly defined as the essential qualities that make a person distinct from all others. The self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the thoughts and actions of an individual to which they are ascribed. According to the individualist theory of self, every individual is free, rational and self-determining. He is free because he is capable of and has the right to question his participation in existing society and is rational because he is the best judge of his interests. His ability to self-determination means that he is capable of understanding what good life consists of. The self thus should not be interfered. Q. 8. Dimensions of globalisation. Ans. Homogenization of prices, wages, products and profits and the free market, etc are the results of economic globalization. We can assess the impact of globalization under three broad categories : Economic, 6 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in6 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in Political and Cultural. Such assessments are deeply influenced by the approach one adopts towards globalization. It allows one to highlight some features as enumerated below. Economic Globalization Those who are favourably disposed to globalization stress benefits of globalization. It has been beneficial to consumers. It has increased the scale and allocative efficiency of markets for goods and capital in the wake of globalization. It is supposed to have released huge unutilised resources and led to a great economic recovery worldwide. It has resulted in the rolling back of the state; undermined parasitism and bureaucracy and has led to a spurt in entrepreneurship and knowledge based industry. It has introduced a great deal of flexibility relative to the kind of rigidity that prevailed under the welfare regime and state controlled order. There is, under its aegis, the rise of a flexible mode of production, work processes, labour markets, production, education, patterns of consumption, savings etc. It has set into motion a highly intensified process of mergers and acquisitions of enterprises, promising a global economic order of both scale and quality. Globalization has greatly facilitated the movement of capital and lessened the dependence of developing countries on bilateral and multilateral agencies such as the IMF and World Bank. They can make their option today for FDIs or have an access to global capital markets. For several countries globalization has been an important mechanism to upgrade their technology and get an access to the global markets. Globalization has linked communities and cultures and enhanced the choices before them. There are critics of globalization have their own complains. Globalization has greatly increased existing inequalities. Thirty years ago the gap between the richest fifth of the world’s people and the poorest fifth stood at 30 to 1. There is growing disparity within the developed nations, between the developed nations and the developing nations, the developing nations themselves and among the poor across the world. There is a growing prevalence of casual, part-time and informal sectors of employment. There has been a cut in welfare programmes due to the decline in public expenditure especially on social services and welfare, reduction in subsidies of goods of mass consumption and decline in real wages. While a great deal of attention is paid to formulate rules for the expansion of global markets and capital flows, little attention is paid to objectives like labour standards, poverty reduction and human rights. Capital flows and trade have remained highly confined to certain core developed areas of the world. The rest of the world is subjected to a discipline to safeguard the interests of these core economies. The developed world has not shown much keenness in softening quantitative restrictions particularly against agricultural imports from developing countries in spite of WTO stipulations in this regard. On the other, large business houses have been quick to assert their claims and rights over the developing world. Political Globalization Nation-state are being reordered towards integration. WTO, IMF and other institutions are tools of globalization. N It has greatly circumscribed the power of the nation-state. Opponents of the ruling elites and the disadvantaged groups have an access today to a wider world. In fact, several dissident voices and advocacy groups have effectively made use of globalization to advance their concerns. Globalization has affected class relations enormously. There is a shift of power to capital and to the developed world and transfer of decision-making to an alliance of international financial organizations and corporate capital. There is a decline in the power of the organized working class. It has created a pool of migrant and local labour at the bottom of the labour market. Globalization has radically undermined the spatial and territorial anchoring of power. In its wake there is the explosion of ethnic and community identities and the avowal of fundamentalism. Globalization has 7 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in7 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in reinforced inequalities within and between nations in terms of access to information and knowledge. They have spawned new social categories of ‘information rich’ and information poor’. Neo-liberal ideology has emerged as the reigning ideology under globalization with its stress on market freedom, private property and accumulation. It has little respect for alternative and hallowed conceptions of the good. It disparages politics overtly while upholding individual enterprise. At the same time globalization has led to the construction of a hierarchised world presided over by the US and global capital. Globalization has led to the rise of new social movements that do not fall within the vortex of traditional class movements, such as of women, peasants, ethnic communities, displaced people etc. Globalization and Culture Universalization of values is taking place. Globalization has facilitated a phenomenal growth in the global circulation of cultural goods. They include printed matter, music, visual arts, cinema and photography, radio and television. Elements of ethnic cultures are woven through them. However, the ownership of these goods is concentrated in a set of media corporations. Fewer voices can be heard despite the proliferation of the media. Nation-states have little control over them as they are dominated by transnational corporations such as Time Warner, Disney, Viacom, Tele-communications Inc., New Corporation, Sony, Seagram, and General Electronic, Dutch Philips etc. Under globalization there has been a great expansion of western and particularly American culture. There has been a great imbalance between cultural flows. Accusations of cultural imposition and domination have been widely heard. Cultures have become vulnerable, e.g., vernacular languages in India.. However the extent of such domination and the ability of the local cultures to contest it has been a debated issue. N The English language has emerged to a predominant position of being the language of communication within and between global organizations and institutions. It has become the transmission belt for western goods and services. It is interesting to note that in spite of globalization certain institutions such as the press, television, national broadcasting are still anchored in national and the cultural ambiences. Globalization involves extensive migrations of people both within and across states. The communication networks make other cultures shape one’s way of life very intimately. They strengthen the fabric of cultural pluralism which increasingly confronts tendencies for cultural domination. ■■ 8 www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in www.ignou-ac.in8