Welcome to the

presentation on
‘Political’
PS 201: Modern Western Political Thought
Presented by : Fatema Akter
Roll: 97
Section : B
 The word ‘Political’ is derived from the Greek
word ‘Polis’ which means city or state or equivalent
of today’s sovereign state.
Origin of the
word
‘Political’ The synonym of the word ‘Political’ is
governmental, government, state, parliamentary.
These words are not direct synonyms, but are
associated with the word ‘Political’.
How can we define the
word ‘Political’
 The word ‘Political’ generally refers to governance,
actions, or decisions related to governance, government, or
the affairs of a community, organization or country. It can
also pertain to ideologies, policies, and debates concerning
power, authority, and public administration.
 Political scientists define the term ‘Political’ as anything
related to the study, analysis, or practice of governance,
power dynamics and public policy.
Different meaning of the
word ‘Political’
 The term ‘Political’ has at least seven different meanings :
 1.The collective power to produce decisions about every aspect of the
good life in the community. Here political refers both to power and to
ethical values.
 2. The conflict between irreducibly different power groups over who
would be the decision makers and whose conception of the good will
prevail.
 3. The term ‘Political’ is used to relate power and self interest.
 4. It also refers to power embodied in a separate institution apparatus,
that is, the state.
 5. State power used to realize the common good or values.
 6. State power used to exercise domination by one group over others.
 7. The political merges once again with the social and what it does is
less to generate subject-related (individual, group, sovereign)
domination or realize ethical or moral values and more system-
conformity, whatever the nature of the system.
Broader conception
about ‘Political’
 ‘Political’ encompasses a wide range of topics and
activities, including :
 Governance
 Politics
 Political system
 Political ideologies
 Political institutions
 Political participation
 Political economy
 Political science
 Conclusion
 At last, it can be said that the word
‘Political’ is used to mean the activities
associated with the governance of a country
or area, especially the debate or conflict
among individuals or parties having or
hoping to achieve power.
The End
Thank you