Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Interrelationship with other branches of learning.
No precise and definitive boundaries can be placed around a subject as
comprehensive as political science. It shares many points of common interest with
other social disciplines.
(1) History. – The bond between the political scientist and the historian is
obvious in the observation that “history is past politics and politics present history”.
The political scientist frequently adopts a “historical approach” and employs the
knowledge of the past when he seeks to interpret present and probable
developments in political phenomena.
(2) Economics. – Until late in the 19th century, political science and economics
(the study of the production, distribution, and conservation, and consumption of
wealth) were coupled inter the name “political economy”. 7 Today, these fields are
jointly concerned with the fact that economic conditions affect the organization,
development, and activities of states, which in turn modify or even prescribe
economic conditions. The political scientist regularly adopts an “economic
approach” when seeking to interpret such matters as “public financial policies” and
government regulation of business.
(3) Geography. – Geopolitics (a science concerned with the study of the
influences of physical factors such as population pressures, sources of raw
materials, geography, etc., upon domestic and foreign politics) indicates one
approach which a political scientist frequently must adopt to help explain such
phenomena as the early growth of democracy in Great Britain and the United States
and its retarded growth in certain Continental Europe, and the rise of authoritarian
governments in developing countries.
(4) Sociology and anthropology. – The political scientist, the sociologist (who
specializes in the study of “society as a whole”), and the anthropologist (who studies
“mankind” in relation to physical, social, and cultural development) are all deeply
concerned with the origins and nature of social control and governmental authority,
with the abiding influences of race and culture upon society, and with the patterns
of collective human behavior.
(5) Psychology. – The political scientist as well as the psychologist promotes
studies of the mental and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of
individuals and groups. One of the many topics which the political scientist handles
from a “psychological approach” is that of public opinion, pressure groups, and
propaganda.
(6) Philosophy. – The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle and Locke (and
other universal thinkers about the state) are important to the specialist in academic
philosophy and also to the political scientist. These concepts are the underlying
forces in the framing of constitutions and laws. The political scientist considers the
branch of philosophy called ethics, too, when he contemplates the moral
background of proposed changes in social legislation.
(7) Statistics and logic. – The political theorist must possess a broad scientific
background and knowledge of current political problems, and he must employ
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scientific methods in gathering and evaluating data and in drawing conclusions.
These involve a proper application of statistical procedures for the quantitative
measurement of social phenomena and of logical procedures for the analysis of
reasoning. 8
(8) Jurisprudence. – This branch of public law is concerned with the analysis of
existing legal systems and also with the ethical, historical, sociological, and
psychological foundations of law. 9 A comprehension of the nature of law) whether
the “natural law” or the “divine law”) and of statues enacted by legislatures is
indispensable to the political theorist. 10
Law and state are inseparable. All states proclaim laws, effective within their
jurisdictions, and enforce them through a system of penalties or sanctions. To
maintain a full understanding of the facts of political life, the political scientist has to
combine the legal with the extra-legal viewpoints. 11
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Democracy has practical advantages which no one can appraise in monetary
terms. Just how much is freedom worth? The oft-repeated but seldom
comprehended quotation,”eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” requires
amendment. Study, information, and understanding of the complexities of modern
government and politics are necessary as eternal vigilance.
(3) Knowledge as understanding of government. – Political science seeks to
gather and impart this knowledge and understanding. The “good” citizen who
behaves himself and votes regularly is no longer enough. He must know how his
government really operates, what interests and forces are behind particular policies,
what the results of such policies are likely to be, what his rights and obligations are,
who his elected representatives are, what they stand for. 13
Elements of state.
The modern state has four (4) essential elements. They are:
(1) People. – This refers to the inhabitants living within the state. Without
people there can be no functionaries to govern and no subjects to be governed.
There is no requirement as to the number of people that should compose a state.
Ideally, it should be neither too small nor too large: small enough to be well-
governed and large enough to be self-sufficing. 15
Reputedly the smallest state in point of population is the Vatican. Its estimated
900 citizens, mainly clerics and some Swiss guards, are ruled by Pope. 16 The island
Republic of Nauru17 has a total population of only about 9,000. China is the largest
in point of population placed at 1,314,480,000 at the end of 2006 according to
China’s National Bureau of Statistics.
The Philippines is estimated to have a population of about 88,574,614 as of
August 1, 2007, 18 composed mostly of Malays and Chinese;
(2) Territory. – It includes not only the fixed portion of land over which the
jurisdiction of the state extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes
therein, a certain area of the sea which abuts upon its coasts (fluvial and maritime
domain), and the air space above the land and the waters. (Aerial domain). Thus
the domain of the state may be described as terrestrial, fluvial, maritime, and aerial.
The smallest state in point of territory is Vatican, located just outside the
western boundary of Rome with an area of only 0.17 square mile or 0.44 square
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kilometer. It would fit in Rizal Park in Manila. It is the smallest independent nation in
the world. The Republic of Nauru has an area of about 8 square miles or 21 square
kilometers. The former Soviet Union19 was the largest state in point or territory with
its total land area of about 8,599,610 square miles or 22,273,674 square kilometers.
Canada has an area of about 3,849,674 square miles or about 9,970,610 square
kilometers20 which covers a surface nearly as large as Europe.
The Philippines has a total land area of about 115,813 square miles or about
299,955 square kilometers;
(3) Government. – It refers to the agency through which the will of the state is
formulated, expressed and carried out. The word is sometimes used to refer to the
person or aggregate of those persons in whose hands are placed for the time being
the function of political control. This “body of men” is usually spoken of as
“administration”. The ordinary citizens of a country are a part of the state., but are
not part of the government; and
(4) Sovereignty. – The term may be defined as the supreme power of the state
to command and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction and
corollarily, to have freedom from foreign control. It has, therefore, two
manifestations:
(a) Internal or the power of the state to rule within its territory; and
(b) External or the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without
subjection to or control by other states. External sovereignty is often referred to
as independence.
These internal and external aspects of sovereignty are not absolutely true in
practice because of the development of international relations and consequently, of
international law.
Origin of states.
There are several theories concerning the origin of states, among which are:
(1) Divine right theory. – It holds that the state is of divine creation and the
ruler is ordained by God to govern the people. Reference has been made by
advocates of this theory to the laws which Moses received at Mount Sinai;
(2) Necessity or force theory. – It maintains that states must have been created
through force, by some great warriors who imposed their will upon the weak;
(3) Paternalistic theory. – It attributes the origin of states to the enlargement of
the family which remained under the authority of the father or mother. By natural
stages, the family grew into a clan, then developed into a tribe which broadened
into a nation, and the nation became a state; and
(4) Social contract theory. – It asserts that the early states must have been
formed by deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form a society
and organize government for their common good. This theory justifies the right of
the people to revolt against a bad ruler.
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It is not known exactly which of the above theories is the correct one. History,
however, has shown that the elements of all the theories have played an important
part in the formation and development of states.
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(2) Consequence of absence. – Government exists to do these things which by
their very nature, it is better equipped to administer for the public welfare than any
private individual or group of individuals. It is obvious that without an organized
structure of government, anarchy and disorder, and a general feeling of fear and
insecurity will prevail in society, progress and development will not be possible, and
values taken for granted in a free modern society such as truth, freedom, justice,
equality, rule of law, and human dignity can never be enjoyed.
The need for government is so apparent that even the most primitive societies,
history shows, had some form of it.
Forms of government.
The principal forms are the following:
(1) As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers:
(a) Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority is in the
hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election of the
nature or duration of his tenure. Monarchies are further classified into:
1) Absolute monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by divine right;
and
2) Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with
a constitution;
(b) Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by a few
privileged class which is known as an aristocracy or oligarchy; and
(c) Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by a majority of
the people. 21 Democratic governments are further classified into:
1) Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the state is
formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a
mass meeting or primary assembly rather through the medium of delegates
or representatives chosen to act for them; 22 and
2) Indirect, representative, or republican democracy or one in which
the will of the state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a
relatively small and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as
their representatives. 23
(2) As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:
(a) Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local
affairs is exercised by the central or national government; and
(b) Federal government or one in which the powers of government are
divided between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other local
affairs, each organ being supreme within its own sphere. The United States is a
federal government.
(3) As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the
government:
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(a) Parliamentary government or one in which the state confers upon the
legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office of the real executive.
Under this system, the Cabinet or ministry is immediately and legally
responsible to the legislature and immediately or politically responsible to the
electorate, while the titular or nominal executive – the Chief of State – occupies
a position of irresponsibility; and
(b) Presidential government or in one in which the state makes the
executive constitutionally independent of the legislature as regards his tenure
and to a large extent as regards his policies and acts, and furnishes him with
sufficient powers to prevent the legislature from trenching upon the sphere
marked out by the constitution as executive independence and prerogative.
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(4) Early laws. – A legal system already existed in the Philippines even in pre-
colonial times. The early Filipinos had both written and unwritten laws.
The written laws were promulgated by the datus. The two known written codes
in the pre-Spanish era are the “Maragtas Code” which was said to have been written
about 1250 A.D. by Datu Sumakwel of Panay, and the “Kalantiaw Code”, also of
Panay. The unwritten laws consisted of customs and traditions which had been
passed down from generations to generation.
(5) Comparison with older ancient governments. – It can be said that the laws of
the barangay were generally fair. The system of government, although defective
was not so bad considering the conditions in other lands in the age during which it
flourished. An eminent scholar has written: “The Filipino people, even in the
prehistoric times had already shown high intelligence and moral virtues; virtues and
intelligence clearly manifested in their legislation, which, taking into consideration
the circumferences and the epoch in which it was framed, was clearly as wise, as
prudent, and as humane, as that of the nations then at the head of civilization.” 27
(4)