Paper-XI:

Social and Political Philosophy

Prepared by Dr. Jatin
Bishoyi

UNIT-I:-
What is Social philosophy? Social Science and Social Laws; Philosophy of
Social Science.

Q-1. What is social philosophy? Discuss the nature and scope of

social philosophy?

INTRODUCTION:-
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such
as the nature, knowledge, truth, justice, beauty, mind and language. Philosophy is the
root cause of all knowledge. It is contemplated as mother of all sciences. Philosophy
helps to coordinate the various activities of the individual and the society. It assist us
to understand the significance of all human experience. Philosophy critically evaluates
and analyses the variety of human experiences. It develops a comprehensive system of
thoughts about the universe and the life as a whole.
Social Philosophy:-
Man is a social animal. The entire existence of every human being is sustained,
nurtured, furthered and developed in all the aspects through the active cooperation of
his fellow beings. Social Philosophy tries to find out the basic laws which operate in
the society and influence human relations. Its aim consists in discovering the meaning
of the actual mode of existence. A Social Philosopher tries to study society from
philosophical point of view and tries to find out the link between human society and
the basic nature of Ultimate Reality. An individual is born in the society and thereafter
interacts with the society throughout his life. The society is the soil where his
personality is nurtured. Social Philosophy is the philosophy of human relations in
Society.
Social philosophy is one of the paramount(important) and essential branch of
philosophy that scrutinizes(studies) the questions about the social behaviour and
interpretations of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than
emprical relations. Social philosophers systematically and logically analyzes or
emphasizes on understanding various social contexts for political, legal, moral,
ethical, cultural questions and social problems, especially those issues pertaining to
social values. Social philosophy is the philosophy of human relations in society. It
gives insight into the actual activities of human beings in the society. It tries to find out
the rudimentary(basic) laws which wield(operate) in society and sway(influence)
human relations. It aim consists in discovering the meaning of the actual mode of
existence. Social philosophy elucidate(explains) society with reference to the essential
social unity of mankind.

Society is a group of individuals united together with a definite end in view. The
nucleus of the society is man. Society is a dynamic organization of purposive
individuals. Social philosophy studies the interactions and inter-relations that exist
among men and their groups.
According to John Stuart Mackenzie, “Social philosophy seeks to explain the nature
of society in the light of the principle of social solidarity. Social philosophy aims at
interpretation of society with reference to the norm of ‘social unity’ .
For Bertrand Russell, “Social philosophy solicit(obtain or seek) the conditions in
which all the constructive tendencies of man such as love, sympathy, social marriage,
and education can provide maximum possible opportunities to produce the people who
can save the world from future catastrophe(disaster)”.

Nature and Scope of Social Philosophy:-

Social Philosophy is the philosophy of practice. It inquires into ‘what is Right or Good
for man and society’. Social Philosophy deals with the individual’s Highest Good in
the society. It is primarily concerned with general questions concerning the problems
of society such as social cohesion, social progress and social disintegration. Social
Philosophy is the philosophical study of the questions about human social behavior. It
is concerned with the institutions like family, educational institutions, economic
institutions such as business and markets. It is also related with religious and social
institutions for recreation and enjoyment. The social classifications like race, caste
and gender too are studied in Social Philosophy.
1. Social Philosophy is Normative:-
Social philosophy concentrates its attention on the unity of mankind. Its effort is to
dissect(study) meaning and worth of the present, past, and future modes of existence.
Social philosophy looks beyond the actual existence and seeks to discover the ideals
that bring highest good for all. It shows that individual good is deeply involved in the
realization of common good. Social philosophy is concerned with what ought to be
done to realize the ideals involved in our social existence. Social philosophy studies
the ideals that are found in the society. It suggests the means to realize those ideals
through social institutions such as family, education, the state etc.
2. Social Philosophy is Evaluative:-
Social philosophy evaluates the various means to realize common good. Customs,
traditions and various social institutions are means to achieve order, stability and
harmony in the society. These customs, traditions and institutions with their set of
rules and laws imposes several restrictions on the conduct and behavior of its
members. Social philosophy aims at the criticism of social interactions and the social
relations in the community. It is mainly concerned with the study of the values of
various social phenomena. Social philosophy formulates the rule for the ideal soical
interactions. Social philosophy seeks to explain the nature of society in the light of the
principle of social solidarity. It tries to expose the drawbacks of social institutions and
the social behaviour of people. It sets the higher ideals for the guidance of conduct in
human society.
3. Social Philosophy is Speculative:-
Social philosophy is the speculation upon the basic principles of human behaviour, the
supreme values of human life and the purpose of entire existence. A social philosopher
is deeply concerned with the study of the inner implications of social phenomena.
Social philosophy attempts to understand the patterns, changes and tendencies of
societies. It explores philosophical questions about social issues, social behaviour and
social values. It is not based on emprical method. Social values are implied in social
activities. The principles of social philosophy are the basic conditions of any social
relationship. The ideals of social philosophy are A Priori, they cannot be determined
from our experiences.
4. Social Philosophy is Critical:-
According to Allen Ginsberg, “Social philosophy must take into account the results of
social sciences before formulation of the general principles of human behaviour”.
Social philosophy has two main functions namely critical and constructive. It criticizes
the actual social existence in the light of common good. It points out shortfalls in the
social phenomena. It tries to find out the logic of the postulates and the method of
social sciences. The critical function of social philosophy consists in verifying the
validity of approaches and methods.
5. Social Philosophy is Constructive:-
According to Allen Ginsberg, the criticism by social philosophy is constructive. The
social philosopher applies his standards of value to the various social phenomena. He
seeks to find out the conditions which make the society a harmonious whole. The
constructive aspect of social philosophy studies the validity of the social ideals. Social
philosophy gives insight into human tendencies which, with proper training can raise
the level of social life. It also seeks solutions to get rid of all defective tendencies
operative in a social group. Social philosophy not only points out the drawbacks in the
social interactions but shows the measures to rectify them and therby improves social
conditions.
6. Social Philosophy transcends the conclusions of other sciences:-
The thinkers like John Stuart Mackenzie, Allen Ginsberg, Pitirim Sorokin
maintained that social philosophy is closely connected with social sciences. E.S.
Bogadus points out that social philosophy gives broad interpretation of human
personality and society on the basis of the scientifically collected data on social
phenomena. Social philosophy has passed through the stages of the speclative study to
the descriptive study, from the descriptive study to the analytical study and from the
analytical study to the philosophical reflections. Now it is facing the critical issues of
single parent family, marriage, live-in-relationships, gender inequality, and new
educational and work institutions. By going beyond the received data, social
philosophy interprets the meaning of ver changing human life in society.

Scope of Social Philosophy:-

Social Philosophy as a science of society reflects upon the basic nature of human
relationships in society. It studies the interrelation of social organizations and the
relation of individual to these organizations. It speculates upon the principles that
underlie the human behavior. Social Philosophy studies the structure and functions of
social systems and investigates into their philosophical implications. Social
Philosophy reflects upon the impact of science and technology on human society and
gives a comprehensive philosophy of civilization. It incorporates the conclusions of
other sciences and gives their philosophical interpretation. Social Philosophy has
axiological point of view. It defines the social values such as common good, happiness,
peace, security, justice, freedom, excellence/beauty, punctuality and discipline.
CONCLUSION:-
Social Philosophy studies the most fundamental laws which influence social cohesion,
social progress, social change and social disintegration. It seeks insight into the
causes of social crimes, juvenile delinquency, child labor, honor killing, gender
differentiation, injustice, and inequality. It tries to find out the root causes of social
pathology and suggests the remedies for it. Social Philosophy seeks to discover and
restore the social bonds that hold the mankind together.
Q-2. State the definition of social science and philosophy of
social science and describe different social laws?

INTRODUCTION:-
Systemetic study of facts and gathering collection of knowledge on the basis of
observation and experiementation is called science. The word ‘Science’ is derieved
from the Latin word ‘Scientia’ which means ‘to know or knowledge’. Science in this
modern era is broadly classified into three major branches that consist of the natural
science, social science and formal science. Natural science is a branch of science
concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena,
based on empirical evedience. It studies nature in the broadest sense. For Eg:- Biology
, Chemistry, Physics. Social science is a category of academic disciplines, concerned
with society and the relationship among individuals within a society. For Eg:-
Anthropology, Archaeology, Communication Studies, Economics, History, Human
Geography, Jurisprudence(Legal Theory), Linguistics, Political science, Psychology,
Public health and sociology. Formal science are formal languages disciplines
concerned with formal systems, such as Logic, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer
Science, Robotics, Information Theory, Game Theory, System Theory, Decision
Theory, and Theoretical Linguistics.
Social Science:-
Social science is an indispensable(important) category of academic disciplines,
concerned with the society and the relationships among individuals within a society. It
is also the study of human interaction between two or more individuals. Social
sciences study the social behavior of human life. The different core-components of
social behavior of human life are- economic behavior, political behavior, cultural
behavior and tradition, customs and social institutions, religious faiths and ethics,
value pattern followed insociety, etc. These behaviours are studied using systematic
observation, measurement and experiment with the formulation, testing and
modification of hypothesis that is a scientific method. Branches of social science
includes Anthropology, Communication Studies, Criminology, Economics, Education,
Geography, History, Law, Linguistics, Media studies, Political Science, Psychology
and Sociology.
Philosophy of Social Science:-
Philosophers of social science are concerned with the differences and similarities
between the social and the natural sciences, causal relationship between social
phenomena, the possible existence of social laws, and the ontological significance of
structure and agency. The philosophy of social science is consequently a
metatheoretical endeavour—a theory about theories of social life. To achieve their end,
philosophers of social science investigate both the practice of the social sciences and
the nature of the entities that the social sciences study—namely, human beings
themselves. The philosophy of social science can be broadly descriptive, prescriptive
or some combination of the two. The philosophy of social science can be described
broadly as having two aims. First, it seeks to produce a rational reconstruction of social
science. Second, the philosophy of social science seeks to critique the social sciences
with the aim of enhancing their ability to explain the social world or otherwise
improve our understanding of it. Auguste Comte the father of Sociology, first described
the epistemological perspective of Positivism in his journal,“The course in positive
philosophy”.
Social Laws:-
Society is the inhabitable, essential element for human existence. No human society
can ever exist without righteous human beings. The righteous human life can be
possible by the correct formulation and application of laws which are called the norms
or ideals of the society. These laws are social laws on the basis of caste, religion,
region, language, and race. In society there were no laws so they started forming laws
by living in social family, village, state, nation(highest form of living) and joint
family(primodial form of human existence). After that they started creating rules and
regulations for the regulator control and guidence of people for social progress and
social development. Social law is a unified concept of law, which replaces the classical
division of public law and private law. The term has both been used in main fields of
law that fall between ‘core’, private and public subjects, such as corporate law,
competition law, labour law and social security, or as a unified concept for the whole
of the law based on associations.
1. Public Law:-
It is that part of law which governs relationships between individuals and the
government, and those relationships between individuals which are of direct concern
with society. Public law comprises constitutional law, administrative law, tax law and
criminal law as well as all procedural law. In public law, mandatory rules prevail.
Laws concerning relationships between individuals belongs to private law.
A. Constitutional Law:-
It lays out the foundation of the state. It postulates the supremacy of the law in theare
functioning of the state, the rule of law. Secondly, it sets out the form of the
government-how its different branches work, how they are elected or appointed, the
division of powers, and responsibilities between them. Traditionally, the basic elements
of government are the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. And thirdly, in
describing what are the basic human rights which must be protected for every person
and what further civil and political rights citizens have, it sets the fundamental borders
to what any government must and must not do.
B. Administrative Law:-
It refers to the body of law which regulates bureaucratic procedures and defines the
power of administrative agencies. These laws are enforced by the executive branch of
government rather than the Judicial or Legislatuve branches. This body of law
regulates international trade, manufacturing, pollution, taxation and the like. This is
sometimes seen as a subcategory of civil law and sometimes seen as public law as it
deals with regulation and public institutions.
C. Criminal Law:-
It involves the state imposing sanctions for defining crimes committed by individuals
or businesses, so that society can achieve its brand of justice and a peaceable social
order. This differs from the civil law in that civil actions are disputes between two
parties that are not of significant public concern.
D. Tax Law:-
Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study which deals with the constitutional,
commom-law, statutory, tax treaty, and regulatory rules that constitute the law
applicable for taxation.
2. Private Law:-
It is the part of a civil law legal system that involves relationships between individuals,
such as the law of contracts or torts(as it is called in the common law), and the law of
obligations(as it is called in civil legal systems). It is to be distinguished from Public
law, which deals with relationships between both natural and artificial persons i.e
organization and the state, including regulatory statues, penal law and other law that
affects the public order. In general terms, private law involves interactions between
private citizens, whereas public law involves interrelations between the state and the
general population.
Areas of Private Law:-

A. Civil Law
B. Law of torts
C. Law of unjust enrichment
D. law of trusts
E. Law of agency
F. Law of Property
G. Family Law.
Short Notes:-
Q-1. What are the nature of social laws?
1. Social laws are non-political.
2. Social laws are not enforced through the court of law.
3. Social laws may be ethical or non-ethical.
4. Social laws are non-judiciary.
5. Social laws are subjective rather than objective.
6. Social laws are dynamic in nature.
7. Social laws are guided by social norms, believes, values, and rules.
8. Social laws are non-obligatory.
Q-2. Distinguish between social law and political law?
1. Social laws are societal and political laws are legal.
2. Social laws are non-obligatory and political laws are obligatory.
3. Social laws are non-justifiable and political laws are Justifiable.
4. Social laws are subjective and political laws are objective.
5. Social laws are guided by social norms, believes, values and political laws are
guided by political rules.
6. Social laws are the essential aspect of society and political laws are essential
aspects of the state.
7. All political laws are social but not all social laws are political.
Q-3. Write the nature and scope of social science?
1. Social sciences are the genesis or the parent disciplines of social studies.
2. Social sciences seek social utility.
3. Social sciences are studied through idealistic approach.
4. Social sciences aim at contributing knowledge and increasing the intellectual
horizon.
5. Social sciences are advanced study of human society. They are basically taught
at high school / university level.
6. Social sciences are the complex study of social phenomena.
7. Social science does not discover new facts.
8. Social science rationalizes and philosophizes social phenomena.
9. Social science is a second order activity.

UNIT-II:-
The Explanation of Human Actions; Reasons and causes.

Socialism, Marxism and Humanism.

Q-1. What is Socialism? Discuss various principles of Socialism?

INTRODUCTION:-
In political philosophy we put forth the highest ideal for the determination of basic
values for the state, government, etc. The highest ideal, which are indispensable for
the explanation of the relationship between individual society is either socialistic
theory of state or individualistic theory of state.
Socialism:-
The word socialism was first use by Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad also popularly know
as C. E. M. Joad. It is raised as a theory which is against Individualism or Capitalism.
Socialism is a theory or principle which claims that all the four important means of
production such as:- Land, Labour, Capital, and Organization are under the control
of society and state. It is an economic system under which major instruments of social
productions are placed under the ownership and control of public authority.
C. E. M. Joad defines, “Socialism, in short, is like a hat that has lost its shape because
everybody wears it”.
Joseph Schumpeter’s Socialism is defined as:- The organization of society in which
the means of production are controlled and the decisions on how and what to produce
and on who is to get what, are made by public authority instead of by privately-owned
and privately-managed firms.
Basic principles of Socialism:-
1. Socialism gives more importance on society:-
Society is a social organization which includes a group of people. When the society is
legally and politically sanctioned it is called state. In socialism the development of
state is given utmost importance because the development of state implies the
development of its people. The state is enjoying absolute power in the sphere of its
activities.
2. It is opposed to individualism:-
The theory of individualism is called Laissez-faire theory. It means let be alone.
Individualism claims that individuals should be given full freedom and the intervention
of state is a necessarily evil. But, socialism does not accept it. It opposes the basic
principles of individualism.
3. The state control over the means of production:-
For the process of production four factors are essential such as:- Land, Labour,
Capital, and Organization. All these process of production are not controlled by
individuals but by the state.
4. It attempts to abolish private property:-
Private property is the root cause of corruption and capitalism. It creates a gap in
between have and have not. So socialism claims that private property should not be
given to individuals. All property should belong to the state.
5. It aims at the establishment of class:-
Economic class is the root cause of the imbalance society. Class is created on the basis
of wealth or capital. In class based society the higher class always dominant and
exploits the lower or marginalized class so socialism aims at the establishment of
society where there is no class and group on the basis of wealth, division of labour, etc.
Class discrimination or class oppression must be eradicated in socialist state.
6. It is against Capitalism:-
Capitalism refers to an economic system of modern age largely based on industrial
production where means of social production(land, building mines, forest, machinery
and capital) are distributed and exchanged that are owned by private entrepreneurs. A
large number of worker are employed on wages at the market rate. An economic
activity is primarily devoted to private profit. Here workers are free to work anywhere.
According to their skill and capacities as per market demands. Socialism claims that
capitalism is the real cause of social inequality. So wealth should not be concentrated
in the hands of capitalist but must be distributed among all people.
7. Dictatorship of proletariat class:-
The rules of capitalism leads to exploitation, inequality, injustice in the society. The
proletarian class that belongs to a poor class is exploited in the capitalist system but
socialism does not establishes the rules of proletarian class. It starts the establishment
of social and economic qualities for the people that are the prime aim of socialism.
8. Establishment of equality, equanimity, equity are the primary objectives of
socialism:-
Equality means the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities,
equanimity means calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation and
having a balance life in terms of sex, wealth etc while equity means the quality of
being fair and impartial. All these three qualities must be fulfilled in socialist theory of
state.
CONCLUSION:-

Short note of Socialism.

Types of Socialism:-
On the basis of applications socialism is divided into two types such as:-
1. Utopian Socialism:- It is ideal, it cannot be practical.
2. Practical Socialism:- It is practical and applicable.
On the basis of principles socialism may be divided into two types such as:-
1. Evolutionary Socialism:- Slow changes.
2. Revolutionary Socialism:- Radical changes.
Again evolutionary socialism is subdivided into two types such as:-
1. Guild Socialism
2. Fabian Socialism
Again revolutionary socialism is subdivided into two types such as:-
1. Scientific Socialism or Marxism.
2. Maoism or Brussel socialism.
Short note of Marxism.
When capitalism was in peak where human beings of proletariat class were exploited
by bourgeois class by means of two sectors such as industrial and agriculture. Each
industry was ruled by individuals and the labours were tourtured. Industrial owner
exploited labours. This lead Karl Marx to propound Marxism.
The philosophy and thoughts of Karl Marx is known as Marxism. This philosophy of
Karl Marx is explained in his famous work known as, “Das Kapital” and “The
Communist Manifesto”. Marxism is a scientific socialism which claims public
ownership on the means of production such as Land, Labour, Capital, and
Organization. It was created against capitalism and individualism.
Short note of Humanism.
Humanism stands for a philosophy which holds that man is the centre of the world. It
believes in the high potentiality, dignity, goodness of men rather than any spiritual and
ideal authority. In humanism men and his freedom is the essence. This philosophy was
first advocated by Greek thinker Protagoras as he stated that, "Man is the measure of
all things". The term was coined by theologian Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer at the
beginning of the nineteenth century to refer to a system of education based on the
study of classical literature. In modern times this humanistic philosophy is advocated
by Lokāyata and Bṛhaspatya system of Indian philosophy, Karl Marx, Thomas Paine,
Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller also known as F.C.S Schiller. In this theory human
beings are always treated as end not as means.
Basic tenets of Humanism:-
1.Humanism primarily focuses on human being as a whole.
2. Human experience is the source of all values.
3. Human dignity is the essence of humanism.
4. Human problems can be sorted out or solved by humanistic approach.
5. Human knowledge is essential for social progress.
6. Rationality is the essence of humanism.
7. It gives importance to human freedom.
8. It is against authoritarianism, spiritualism, and idealism.

UNIT-III:-
Political ideals: Liberty, Equality and Justice.

Q-1. What is Liberty? State the nature and types of Liberty?

INTRODUCTION:-
Freedom means the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants, the state of not
being imprisoned or enslaved. Freedom is a vital concept, when this concept is limited
to political sphere it is liberty. Thus, liberty is termed as the state of being free within
society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's behaviour or
political views. Liberty is a political concept and freedom is a social concept. The
British philosopher John Stuart Mill was the first to recognize the difference between
liberty as the freedom to act and liberty as the absence of coercion in his work, “On
liberty.
Sir Isaiah Berlin a Russian-British social and political philosopher and theorist in his
book, “Two concepts of liberty” formally framed the differences between these two
perspectives as the distinction between two opposite concepts of liberty:-
1. Positive Liberty
2. Negative Liberty
1. Positive Liberty:-
Positive liberty is the possession of the capacity to act upon one's free will, as opposed
to negative liberty, which is freedom from external restraint on one's actions. A
concept of positive liberty may also include freedom from internal constraints.
2. Negative Liberty:-
Negative liberty is freedom from interference by other people. Negative liberty is
primarily concerned with freedom from external restraint and contrasts with positive
liberty(the possession of the power and resources to fulfil one's own potential).
Nature of Liberty:-
1. Liberty is a political concept.
2. Liberty is the pillar of democracy.
3. It is the foundation of socio-political philosophy.
4. It indicates free excercise of thoughts.
5. Liberty cannot be possible without equality.
6. It is not possible without economical and social development.
7. It implies two things such as the quality of human beings and the condition of
human beings.
8. Liberty implies social responsibility.
9. Broadly it may be positive and negative.
Types of Liberty:-
There are six different types of liberty such as:-
1. Natural Liberty.
2. Civil Liberty.
3. Personal Liberty.
4. Political Liberty.
5. Economic Liberty.
6. National Liberty.
CONCLUSION:-

Short note of Equality.

Democracy has opposed to worldly accpeted form as best form of government. The
success of democracy depends on proper function of various institutions. Concept out
of this condition liberty, equality are important because liberty and equality are know
as pillars of democracy. Equality is a concept which stands for equality among
inequality and inequality among equality.
Equality is a state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated
group have the same status in certain respects, including civil rights, freedom of
speech, property rights and equal access to certain social goods and services.
However, it also includes concepts of health equality, economic equality and other
social securities. It also includes equal opportunities and obligations, and so involves
the whole of society. For example, sex, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, origin,
caste, class, income, property, language, religion, convictions, opinions, health or
disability must absolutely not result in unequal treatment under the law and should not
reduce opportunities unjustifiably.
Equality also means the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or
opportunities, including the concept of equanimity and equity. Equanimity means
calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation and having a balance life in
terms of sex, wealth etc while equity means the quality of being fair and impartial,
proper distribution of justice.
Q-2. What is Justice? State different types of Justice?
INTRODUCTION:-
Justice is one of the pioneer socio-political concept. The word, “Justice” is one the
ambiguous word having no specific meaning. It is derieved from the Latin word,
“Justitia” which means the idea of joining or fitting. So it literally means to fit or
establish a intimate relationship among men in society, so that the viewpoints of one
individual matches with another in an organized system. It primarily believes in the
principle of abolition of discriminations and special privileges. It implies a sect of
supreme values for the conduct of just system of human relations, so it broadly implies
the concept of being just right or resonable. It is also a legal and philosophical theory
by which fairness is administrated.
Saint Augustine of Hippo a Roman African, early Christian theologian and
philosopher propounds justice as, “Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms
but great robberies? For what are robberies themselves, but little kingdoms?”.
Immanuel Kant a German philosopher says, “If justice and righteousness perish,
human life would no longer have any value in the world”.
Plato defines, “Justice prevails due to non-interference of each class with the activities
of other classes.
Aristotle defines, “Justice is a process which can be at three levels such as:-
1. Distributive Justice
2. Retributive Justice
3. Commutative Justice.
Types of Justice:-
There are five major types of justice such as:-
1. Social Justice
2. Political Justice
3. Economical Justice
4. Moral Justice
5. Legal Justice.
1. Social Justice:-
Social justice stands for the creation of a just and fair social order. A just and fair
social order firstly implies social equality which in turn means that all citizens are
equally tangible units of society and no one is entitled to special privileges. All have
an equal opportunity to stand up and develop their personality. It means the absence
of all discriminations in the social status of the people on the ground of diffrences in
sex, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste, class, income, property,
language, religion, disability. Secondly, a just and fair social order involves the need
for special protection of the weaker and backward sections of the communtiy. Social
justice combines the advantages of justice and democracy. Social justice is basically
an egalitarian concept. It can be said that the principle of equality is the foundation of
social justice.
2. Political Justice:-
The essence of political justice is political equality. By political equality it is meant
that equal access of everyone to the avenues of authority. Political justice which is
rooted in political equality, therefore, it implies equal participation of all in the affairs
and power structure of the state. Other implications of political justice are right to
vote, right to stand in election, right to public office, right to petition etc. Political
justice however, does not in any way means absolute political equality. It is neither
possible nor desirable. Prescription of certain conditions by the state will be essential
to guarantee political equality to all. The attainment of political justice in modern
times has been the result of long struggle for the people against the authoritarian rule
in the past. It is only in a democratic state the meaning and significance of political
justice is fully realized. Political justice, which implies the enjoyment of political rights
by all citizens, is the sine qua non (is a Latin legal term meaning an essential
condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary) of a democratic state.
3. Economical Justice:-
Economic justice presupposes economic equality. Economic equality means equality in
economic power which implies sufficiency for all to satisfy their primary needs. It
means that there must be sufficiency for all before there can be superfluity for some.
Economic justice seeks to reduce or eliminate inequalities in wealth. Economic justice
requires the state to guarantee access to all of its citizens the means of satisfying their
primary economic needs. However, it has been very difficult ideal to achieve. So far it
has not been attained in any society, communist or otherwise. Absolute economic
justice is nowhere possible in the world and it is absurd to claim such a type of justice.
Economic justice is understood in the sense that it makes provisions for adequate
scope of employment, reasonable wages, adequate leisure and other economic rights.
4. Moral Justice:-
Many socio-political philosopher cannot categorize moral justice as an independent
concept. It is non-obligatory, non-legal and not force according to constitutional law.
Moral justice demands a sincere pursuit of love, equality, devotee among all
individuals. It does not believe in the principle of discrimination and differences
among all people on the basis of sex, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, origin,
caste, class, income, property, language, religion, disability etc. It is a jewel that
shines by its own light not by the constitutional and legal light.
5. Legal Justice:-
Legal justice implies two things such as:-
a) Justice according to law.
b) Law according to justice.
According to Sir William David Ross also know as David Ross a Scottish philosopher,
justice consists in an efficient administration of the law.
Law is an universal phenomena and justice consist in the obidience of law. It does not
questions whether a particular law is right or wrong. The question only arises with
regard to the interpretation and implementation of the law.
CONCLUSION:-

Unit-IV:-
Democratic Ideals; Democratic Government; Human Rights.
Q-1. Give a full account on democratic government?
INTRODUCTION:-
In modern state the welfare activities of the society is mainly performed by democratic
or authoritarian government. However in 21st century democracy is known as the best
form of government because it implies a stable political status, an ethical concept and
a good social condition. In literal sense democracy comes from a Greek word,
“Dēmokratía” which means rule by people or rule of the people. So, democracy is the
form of government which the mass of the people have the right to involve in the
activities of the state.
Important definitions of Democracy:-
Sir John Robert Seeley defines democracy as, “A government in which everyone has a
share”.
Albert Venn Dicey states democracy as, “A form of government in which the
governing body is a comparatively large fraction of the entire nation”.
Abraham Lincoln have propounded democracy as, “Government of the people, by the
people and for the people”.
James Bryce says, “Democracy is that form of government in which the rulling power
of a state is legally vested not in any particular class or classes but in the members of
the community as a whole”.
Basic principles of Democracy:-
Democracy has the following basic principles
1. Popular Sovereignty:-
Supreme power of the people. The ultimate political power resides not in any
particular class or classes but in the community as a whole. In a democracy the people
control the government. The people must be given the freedom to choose who shall
govern freedom of choice, thus, is the basis core of democracy.
2. It is based on political liberty and equality:-
A democratic form of government is built on the foundations of the principles of liberty
and equality. Individual freedom and equal opportunities for all are essence of a
democratic form of government. It guarantees essential freedom, personal liberty,
freedom of expression.
3. It is based on egalitarian thought:-
Egalitarian thought implies each individual has equal status with others that
democratic emphasizes. It is a system in which class distinctions are absent or
relatively unimportant. It guarantees equal opportunities for all irrespective of
differences on the ground of sex, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, origin, caste,
class, income, property, language, religion. It emphasizes on the doctrine of equality
before law.
4. It is a government by consent or public criticism:-
Democracy is generally regarded as government by consent or by public criticism. No
democratic government can rule without the consent of the people. A government by
consent implies the right of free discussion and criticism to all the people, the right to
form various parties and associations for propagating ideas freely, the freedom of
press etc.
5. It respect for human dignity and personality:-
Under a democratic government, the dignity of the human personality is recognised.
Every individual is free to live in his own way. Democracy is therefore, not only a form
of government, but also a way of life. It respects and does value human dignity.
6. It is rule by majority:-
All the people in a modern democratic state do not take on active part in the affairs of
the government. In actual practice, democracy is a system of government which is
based upon the principle of majority rule. This however, means rule by the majority
with full safeguards for the rights of minorities. There are political parties in all the
democracies of the world. The party which secures a majority of seats in the
legislature, forms of government.
Forms of democracy:-
There are two different forms of democracy, they are:-
1. Direct Democracy
2. Indirect Democracy or Representative Democracy.
1. Direct Democracy:-
In modern days, it is traced in some of the cantons of Switzerland, in which laws are
passed. Direct democracy was prevalent in the ancient Greek city states. The citizens
of these states were directly participating in the management of the public affairs.
They used to assemble at a particular place and pass laws. The policies of the
government and the appointment of the public officials were also made by the people
directly. Hence, the government under this system was directly run by the people
themselves and not through any representatives. Direct or pure democracy is suitable
to small states and it cannot be practicable in the large territorial states of the modern
times.
There are certain features of direct democracy which are as follows:-
a) Referendum:-
it is a procedure by which a particular bill or constitutional amendment is reffered to
the people for their popular vote.
b) Initiative:-
Unlike referendum it is a positive power in the hands of the people as the matter
regarding the necessity of a particular law is initiated by the people.
c) Recall:-
It is an unique method which enables the people to excercise their power of recalling a
representative whom they have selected.
2. Indirect Democracy or Representative Democracy:-
Indirect democracy or representative democracy is generally prevalent in modern
times. Under this system representatives are elected by the people for a particular
period of time and during this period the activities of the representatives are reviewed
by the people. If the people are not satisfied with their activities then they can replace
them by choosing new representatives. Indirect or representative Democracy involves
representation and election. Representation and election have become the basic
characteristics of democracy today.
Merits of Democracy:-
1. Democracy is considered as the best form of government as it believes in the
popular participation in the affairs of the government.
2. People learn to solve their own problems and cultivate the art of self-government.
3. Democracy protects the interests of the people.
4. A democratic government is a responsible government, it is responsible to the
people who are governed. The opinion of the people has great significance in a
democracy. It respects the wishes of the people.
5. Democracy upholds liberty and equality.
6. Democracy is a training ground for citizenship.
7. A democratic government is a government by common consent.
8. Democracy is regarded as an active school for character buliding.
Demerits of Democracy:-
1. Democracy is often criticized as an inefficient form of government.
2. Democratic form of government attach more importance to quantity rather than
quality, it is based on the assumption that one main is as capable of ruling as another.
3. A democratic government is a government by majority party.
4. Democracy is a government by the party system.
5. Democratic government is wasteful and expensive.
6. Corruption and bribery follow as a national consequence from the elections which
is the soul of democracy.
7. Democracy does not ensures stability and continuity of policies in the
administration.
CONCLUSION:-

Unit-V:-

Power and Authority; Grounds of Political Obligation.

Q-1. Give a full account on political obligations?
INTRODUCTION:-
Man is a social being who lives with others for the maintainance of social order and
social well being which can be possible through political obligations. Political
obligations means obidience alligiance of a citizen to the state as a whole. An
individual in a state follows various rules unconditionally for the sake of state only. In
it a citizen is under obligation to obey the will of the state can excercise soverign
power. A citizen sometimes also resisit law which are inconvenient. So broadly
political obligations implies two things such as:-
1. Obligation of individuals towards the state.
2. Obligation of state towards its individuals.
Types of Obligation:-
There are four types of obligations such as:-
1. Moral Obligations
2. Legal Obligations
3. Positive Obligations
4. Negative Obligations.
1. Moral Obligations:-
Moral obligations means obidience to moral principles and social ethos of the state
for the development of its citizens. For eg:- When we follow the ethical principles like
satya, ahimsa, truth etc.
2. Legal Obligations:-
When we follow the rules of the state or be obidient towards the rules of the state it is
menat to be legal obligations. For eg:- An individual paying his taxes; obeying traffic
rules etc.
3. Positive Obligations:-
Positive obligations implies certain duties on the part of the individuals which are to
be alone. These obligations are in its positive sense. For eg:- Paying taxes, serving in
army forces whenever called upon to do so at the time of emergency etc.
4. Negative Obligations:-
Negative obligations on the other hand refers to those obligations which the
individuals are not to perform in the state or their respective region as restricted bt
the laws of the state. For eg:- Drinking alcohol and driving etc.
Grounds of political obligations:-
There are various theories that justifies the grounds of political obligations, these
theories are:-
1. Divine right theory
2. Concent theory
3. Idealist theory
4. Prescriptive theory
5. Marxist theory
6. Moral theory
7. Realist theory
8. Existentialist theory.
1. Divine right Theory:-
This theory is related to god or the absolute power. It is the oldest theory of political
obligations which was advocated by Thomas Aquinas and Sir Robert Filmer. This
theory claims that the individuals must obey the rules of the state because they think
that law emanates from the divine reason or the god. For eg:- India is been termed as
Mother India.
2. Concent Theory:-
This theory is advocated by social contractualists like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. It claims that individuals obey the state and its law because
they create an agreement or contract or mutual concent for the obligations.
3. Idealist Theory:-
This theory is advocated by the idealistic thinkers like Plato, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich
Hegel, Immanuel Kant. It claims that political obligations is unconditional and
unquestionable because the state is the highest ideal consist of reason and freedom.
4. Prescriptive Theory:-
This is also a kind of moral theory which claims that we obey the laws out of respect
and reverence of the individuals for the social institutions. It further claims that
obidience is cultivate among individuals as a matter of social habits and practices.
John Langshaw Austin, Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, Edmund Burke are
propounder of this theory.
5. Marxist Theory:-
This theory is propounded by Karl Marx and the follower of Marxism. Marxism in his
initial stage( during capitalism) denies the role of political obligations but with the
establishment of classless society the individuals are supose to follow the rules of the
state without resistance and questions.
6. Moral Theory:-
This theory is advocated by moral thinkers like John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant and
others. It claims that to obey the rules of the state is a moral necessity we live in a
society for the promotions and cultivations of moral habits.
7. Realist Theory:-
This theory is advocated by Aristotle, John Locke, David Hume and others. According
to this theory Resistance to law in some extend justify for the understanding of the real
social setup relations between individual and society but in many cases individuals are
bound to follow the rules of the state on the basis of social construction and
development.
8. Existentialist Theory:-
It is also a realist apporach that put more importance on man and his existence
because existence only preceds the essence including the laws of the society. They
choose the laws on the basis of their existence for their suitable purpose. Exception of
resistance is however allowed.
CONCLUSION:-
Q-2. What is Authority? Explain different types of Authority?
INTRODUCTION:-
Power and Authority are the two political concepts that need philosophical and moral
introspections in order to generate highest state i.e. ideal state. Power means control
and command over the others and when it is passed by law and constitution it becomes
legalized and legitimized and takes the form of authority. Authority means legalized
and legitimized power which has been approved by the people and which can
excercise as per the constitution and laws of the state. It is the authority in virtue of
which person excersise, command and control over others. By this authority an
individual, commands and controls over the subordinates.
Political philosophers explain authority as:-
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber also know as Max Weber a German philosopher says,
“Power is the chance to impose your will within a social context, even when opposed
and regardless of the integrity of that chance.”
Albert Bierstadt says, “Authority is institutionalized power.”
Emil Lask a German philosopher states that, “Authority is a function of relations and
it derives its validity from the way in which those relations are organized. Thus,
authority as a whole implies power and command within constitutional preview,
legality, limitations etc.”
Types of Authority:-
According to Max Weber there are three types of authority such as:-
1. Rational-Legal Authority.
2. Traditional Authority.
3. Charismatic Authority.
1. Rational-Legal Authority:-
In the case of rational-legal authority, obedience is given to the, ‘impersonal order’ of
norms and regulations which defines the status of the person issuing the command.
The prototype of this authority is the bureaucracy, the organization exemplifying
Weber’s idea of rationality. This type of authority is based on the political office held
by an individual according to the constitutional rules. Also known as bureaucratic
authority, is when power is legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations such
as governments.
For eg:- The authority enjoyed by the President of India, Collector of a district etc.
2. Traditional Authority:-
Traditional authority is that in which power is given to a status or position as per
social customs, norms, and traditions. It depend upon, ‘acceptance of the sanctity of
immemorial traditions’ and is the most, ‘universal and primitive’ of the authority types.
Traditional authority is also present in most developed societies.
For eg:- The British monarch. A king’ s authority belongs to this category.
3. Charismatic Authority:-
Charismatic authority is based on good personality, or innate qualities that influence
others to follow. This type of authority may emerge on the basis of personal
characteristics of an individual by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men
and treated as one endowed with supernatural, superhuman or at least exceptional
powers or qualities.
For eg:- Abraham Lincoln, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Martin Luther King Jr., Ernesto
Che Guvera were some of the examples of charismatic leaders of modern times.
CONCLUSION:-