Class Notes 4 You

Acc to Marxists, State is a part of superstructure, a reflection of base. And since base(means of economic production) are controlled by the capitalists, the state too is controlled by the capitalists. Engels in his book origin of family, pvt property and state has given Force theory- state not a result of social contract but forced upon the weak by the strong. Instrumentalists ( derived from communist manifesto) call state as executive committee of the capitalist class, i.e. for implementing its decisions and say neutrality of state is false consciousness . Since state is a class institution workers cannot expect justice out of it. Hence Marxists believe in a stateless society. based on historical materialism(class struggle). Lenin : the existence of state represents irreconcilability of class conflict. Friedrich Engels said - when freedom exists, there will be no state. Marx Lenin-  state represents irreconcilability of the class conflict. Ralph Miliband-book: state in a Capital...

For states who came out of colonialism in the wake of ww2. F W Riggs calls these states as prismatic societies, i.e. societies in transition. coexistence of modernity and tradition. Soft state by Gunner Myrdal in his book Asian drama. Context was he was analyzing poverty alleviation programs in India wherein he says that the poor implementation of laws,rules and schemes make India a soft state. Functional anarchy by Galbraith (first US ambassador to India) Neo Marxist analysis of post colonial state 1:  Instrumentalist approach : given by scholars of third world for third world.  gave core and periphery concept and semi- peripheries. Believe Neo-colonialism is still continuing(Kwan Nkrumah) Core- G7 Periphery- third world Semi periphery- BRICS According to dependency school , the states in periphery are instruments of Bourgeoisie of core countries. Ex- conflict in the middle eastern countries because the arms lobby in USA wants to sell weapons and maximize profit. The nuc...

Intro: The study of state has been one of the most important concepts in normative political theory. Sovereignty: defined by Jean Bodin “ supreme power over citizens and subjects, unrestrained by law.” Theories of sovereignty- Monistic theory Exponents: Hobbes- established supremacy of positive law i.e. law given by state over natural/customary laws. Say sovereignty , a permanent characteristic of state , is inalienable and indivisible  John Austin- book - Lectures on jurisprudence Pluralist theory- Call monistic theory as legal fiction . This is because externally state’s choice is limited by other actors and its relations with them and internally sovereignty is limited by various organisations and associations say state is not the only institution fulfilling needs of man and hence only it must not have the authority to make laws. Monistic theory emerged to address the chaos in the medieval age. Pluralistic theory emerged to avoid recurrence of war(as it puts limits on state sove...

Intro: The idea of justice occupies centre stage in political philosophy. John Rawls famously described justice as ‘the first virtue of social institutions’. He was a social liberal and an egalitarian. context:  Behavioualism could not explain rise of feminist move, black rights movement, etc. In this context Rawls theory of justice came as a respite in 1971 and led to revival of political philosophy as a discipline. His theory of justice: Social contract entered into by people who are rational,moral and mutually disinterested and in original position and under veil of ignorance(meaning they know nothing about themselves or others but know the basic rules of a society  )would be a result of rational debate among rational people to arrive at rational principles of Justice for distribution of primary goods ( primary goods are those that help individuals achieve their desired goals in life. These include “rights, liberties, opportunities, income and...

Intro- Political Science is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political  activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and laws. Pol sci ki bhar bhar k tareef: It stands apart bcoz of its utility. Aristotle calls pol sci as master science because: Its all encompassing character in which it deals with economy,politics,governance,society,law,etc thus it covers diverse spheres of human lives. Greeks never looked at politics in a compartmentalized manner Since it deals with justice  it automatically becomes architectonic . It is dynamic and flexible which can be seen in behavioral and post behavioral movements The diversity of ideologies highlights the discipline’s tolerant culture. Conclusion-Aristotle on political science- It is no small matter we are discussing. we are discussing how we ought to live. Various approaches to study Political Science: Traditional- before WW2 in Europe: Philosophic...