Editor's Choice



Political Theory and Practice

Political Theory and Practice
Published On: 02-Jan-2022
18609 views

Article by


The doctrine of Aristotle who said Man is a political animal could be quintessentially argued upon that Man is not the only political animal. Political thought and its tendencies of implication are embedded in ‘non-human animals’ too. Only the intellect of man has made him the superior political animal. Therefore, politics, its theoretical framework and ideology and their application is struggling to be perfected by this superior political animal.

The intellectual history of political thought dates back to Aristotle and Plato in pages of history but the existence of Egyptian, Indus and Mesopotamian civilizations show that the political practices and their theories were existent since the first human on earth. The first solution of a dispute given by Adam (A.S), over marriage between Cain and Abel, and their response to this solution of giving sacrifice shows the politico-economic will of early human beings. In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes has developed his argument by discussing the murder of Cain by Abel that state of nature was a state of war and the nonexistence of common power resulted in the murder of Cain (“Cain, Abel and Thomas Hobbes” by Helen Thornton). It means that political philosophers and peers consider political theory and its practice as old as the birth of the first man.

Every scientific theory is the outcome of an idea/hypothesis that is supported by evidence but political theory is a bit different. It is developed subjectively either as an idea/thought and put to practice or derived directly from a practice. Karl Marx stated in Das Kapital that;

“Practice without theory is blind. Theory without practice is sterile.”

Therefore, the theory in itself is of no value unless it is practiced. The development of political theory is a subjective and a dependent process. The practices of a sovereign mostly lead to development of a political theory or formation of a new theoretical framework which could develop another political theory, to be applicable and, to replace existing practiced models. In Marx’ framework, it can be associated with the development of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. To practice a political theory, accumulation of power by a sovereign is necessary and this accumulation of power leads to the foundation of practicing political theory and extinction of morality in practice. As stated by Lord Acton;

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

In a rational and “Post-Westphalian” world, morality in political theory and action is always subjective and mainly depends upon national interest and public opinion. Political theories are shaped by political practices and vice versa at public/nation/state level and at international level too because major international theories have roots at national level; especially before the postmodern era.

To explore political theory in practice at a general level, political action does not seem to be always aligned with political theory on which it is based. Political theory is intended to be ideal while ground realities, socio-cultural aspects and political behavior and its psychology varies. Therefore, it produces vagueness between a political theory and action. Due to these reasons practical political models based on political theory sometimes fail in the longer run such as the failure of the communism model in agrarian Russia instead of industrial Germany and the presidential system in Pakistan.

The fundamental problem in political theories is that they usually take extreme and ideal positions whose achievement in actuality is quite not possible. If structure of a state and international political structure is confined to such theories then it results in othering and marginalization of powerless and have-nots. As a few examples, Imperialism and Mercantilism based on Realism resulted in colonization of about 80% of the world. The Soviet Union’s communism model marginalized critical artists and free thinkers and formed Gulags. Neoliberalism and Neoconservatism based on the Afghan and Iraq war. This shows that every political theory is a rational theory which prefers self-interest over goodwill of humanity. But political theory and its practice are interdependent. A man cannot omit politics from his life and politics cannot thrive without a man’s intellect. The process of development of political theory is a continuous process and it will end with the end of the world. We, humans, will never reach an ideal political theory but we will struggle to find the best solution possible as it is the trait that differentiate us from other living beings. But we will not attain a perfect and ideal political theory and model/action as nothing will ever be perfect. In Salvador Dali’s words;

 

“Have no fear of perfection-you will never reach it.”

About Us

Monthly "Azeem English Magazine", launched in 2000, records the information about diverse fields like mental health, literature, research, science, and art. The magazine's objective is to impart social, cultural, and literary values to society.

Contact Us

Azeem English Magazine

 +92 51 88 93 092

 contact@aemagazine.pk

  First Floor, RAS Arcade, Eidhi Market, Street#124, G-13/4, Islamabad, Pakistan, 44000.