What is Politics?

Kendall (1988) defines politics as a

social institution through which power
is acquired and exercised by people
and groups.
Politics is an important part of
human development because it
promotes ideologies about:
• Democracy • Family
• Citizenship • Health
• Human rights • Social issues
• Freedom
Politics exist in all human societies.

It serves as the mechanism by which

individuals develop power and
understand proper functioning of
democratic society as a citizen.
 Citizenship is the most basic
identification with the nation.
The term denotes the membership of a
citizen in a political society. As a citizen, a
person enjoys full civil and political rights,
including protection inside and outside the
territory of the state.
Telos (end, purpose or goal)
According to Aristotle, everything has a
purpose or final end. If we want to
understand what something is, it must
be understood in terms of that end,
which we can discover through careful
study.
Telos of human being
• According to Aristotle, we are meant to
become happy.
• However, he says that living happily
requires living a life of virtue (morally
good behavior or character). Someone
who is not living a life that is virtuous,
or morally good, is also not living a
happy life, no matter what they might
think.
• Someone who does live according to virtue, who
chooses to do the right thing because it is the right
thing to do, is living a life that flourishes; to borrow
a phrase, they are being all that they can be by
using all of their human capacities to their fullest.
The most important of these capacities is logos - a
word that means "speech" and also means
"reason" (it gives us the English word "logic").
Human beings alone have the ability to speak, and
Aristotle says that we have been given that ability
by nature so that we can speak and reason with
each other to discover what is right and wrong,
what is good and bad, and what is just and unjust.
• Aristotle believes that it is not easy to be
virtuous, and he knows that becoming
virtuous can only happen under the right
conditions.
• an individual can only fulfill their telos and
be a moral and happy human being
within a well constructed political
community. The community brings about
virtue through education and through
laws which prescribe certain actions and
prohibit others.
Purpose/Goal/Final end of Politics
• to engender a certain character in the
citizens and to make them good and
disposed to perform noble actions.
• keep each of us safe from other
people (through the provision of police
and military forces) so that each of us
can choose and pursue our own ends,
whatever they may be (Western
societies)
Functions of Political Self
• Organizes self-relevant information about politics
• Constitutes knowledge about the Constitution,
government, and governance
• Helps in defining the structure and functions of the
government, in telling and understanding the
relationship between the state and the citizens, and
in describing their rights, freedom, and obligations as
citizens
• Exemplifies the ideals and aspirations of the people
• Embodies the rules and principles of the State
• Determines the status and power of people
The most important component of
political self is identity, the person’s
understanding of who and what he or
she is.
Citizenship becomes a salient basis for
political self. The political self is often
defined by citizenship.
The institutions which influence the
values of citizenship are the family,
church, school, media, government,
and non-governmental organizations.

The political self is also in part defined

by reference to other members in the
political group or community where one
belongs.