Summary
Samenvatting Political Thought 2020-21
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Includes lesson notes + powerpoints (all learning material) Prof.: Eric Fabri
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By: julesliekens • 3 year ago
This is not a real summary, rather the slides in one beautiful document. The bold words in the quotes were useful.
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IntroductionPolitical thought= a compromise between political theory and political philosophy
Political philosophy= traditional name for the branch of philosophy that deals with politics
Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Grotius, Locke, Rousseau, …
Traditional question: legitimation of authority and best political organisation
Can there be a “best” political organisation?
o According to the “true” human nature?
Political theory= reaction to the (too) wide perspective of political philosophy
After WWII: need for thinking what happened and perplexity of classical philosophy
Hannah Arendt (among others) decided to call herself a political theorist
Why? Political theory …
o Is made by an individual in a definite social context
o Is context dependant: we ask different questions at different times
Example: Arendt and the Holocaust, question of slavery, feminism, black lives
matter, …
o Bears political stakes: political theory is political (it makes an argument)
To sum up:
Same object, but different perspectives
Theoria (political philosophy) VS Praxis (political theory)
Department of philosophy VS department of political science?
Goal: make an argument in a definite social context VS understanding the political dimension
of being?
Political thought= an englobing compromise referring to the corpus of writings on the political
Active relation to this corpus
Goal: an exercise of philosophy on the political
Philosophy…
o As a set of beliefs
o As “boring” books
o As an activity of interrogation
Intrinsically critical: why are things/representations as they are? The need to question
“evidence”
1
,How do we define “democracy”?
Problem: this term is used in very different contexts
As a descriptor
As an indicator of political legitimacy: very strong link democracy – legitimacy
As a decision-making model
But the expectations are not the same at all levels
We defend democracy in politics and accept tyranny in the workplace
So how do we define “democracy”?
1. DEMOS-KRATOS
Demos= the people
Kratos= the force, the power
Abraham Lincoln famous definition: “Government of the people, for the people, and by the
people” remarks:
o On who can the people exercise the power other than themselves?
o The idea is that people A have power over people A, not people B
o “For the people”: obviously they wouldn’t govern over themselves in the interest of
another people
Problem: once we have said that, we haven’t said anything multiple questions left:
o Who is the demos?
Only people with Belgian nationality
No people under 18 years old
For long: no women
Why these restrictions?
o How does he use his authority?
Delegates, representatives
o Over whom? The non-citizens? The non-humans? Children?
Why do humans have the right to exercise power over animals, nature, … ?
Right to destroy?
Limit right to vote to a certain age? Exclude seniors from voting?
Why is it important everybody can vote? Who is “everybody”?
o Why is he sovereign?
o Is it a good form of government?
o Can the majority impose its rule on minorities?
2. DEMOCRACY AS SOVEREING WILL?
Democracy= regime in which the people decide of their laws (direct, indirect or referendum)
o Direct connection between what people want and laws
o Is this enough to define “democracy”?
Is what people want right? The question of limits and hubris
o Example: majority vote to ban religious freedom
o What about other liberties? Referendum SWTZ: question comes from the people
General question: “Are there things that the sovereign people cannot do?”
o Is there an antidemocratic use of democratic power?
2
,3. DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Solution: add the guarantee of human rights and basic liberties
Is this enough to define “democracy”?
o Example Classical England: king with vast powers but a bill of right (limited power)
o Republicans and neo-republicans: freedom as non-domination
o Another sense of the idea of people sovereignty: there is no authority superior to the
people who can veto one of his decisions
It’s not enough to have rights and liberties, the idea of democracy also calls for a form of popular
sovereignty
PROVISIONAL DEFINITION
Democracy= sovereign power vested in people & individual liberties and human rights
Negative and positive aspects
What are the institutions of a democracy?
o Many different variations and conflicting democratic principles
o Direct democracy “more democratic” than indirect democracy?
o Consequences for electoral system? (US president election: popular vote vs winner)
o Referendum?
To answer these questions, we need a definition of democracy
Accurate definition of democracy?
Observation of actual regimes:
o “Actual democracies” aren’t necessarily labelled with the term
o Authoritarian regimes call themselves democratic
o Western democracies?
Democracy as a contested concept:
Representative or indirect
Partocratic (seems more oligarchic)
Deliberative
Participatory
Direct
Open
…
(In)equality
Wealth inequality (inheritance) vs income inequality
Are all men really born equal?
Merit vs luck (sometimes working hard doesn’t mean you get paid more)
“Is inequality a problem for democracy?”
What kind of equality matters for democracy? & Which inequalities threaten democracy?
o Equality identity
3
, Kinds of (in)equality:
RIGHTS
o In theory vs in practice
o Right to have rights no nationality means no rights
o Right to defend rights justice can be expensive (money, time)
GENDER
o Equal pay not yet
MINORITIES
o Discrimination
OPPORTUNITIES
o Should we all have the same opportunities?
PRIVILEGES
o Blue blood doesn’t mean much now, but it used to
o Caste system India
HONOUR
ECONOMIC
o We underestimate the proportion of economic inequalities!
Big difference between million and billion
o How to measure economic inequalities?
Include debt?
Actual vs virtual wealth?
o Income vs wealth
o Transmission of wealth: does inheritance fragment fortunes?
Yes: intuitive evidence vs No: snowball effect
Imagine you have a capital of 1000 euros and an average rate of 4%. Each
year you have 40 euros of dividend that you reinvest immediately.
After 10 years: 1480.24 euros
After 30 years: 3243 euros
After 60 years: 10 519 euros
Imagine you receive a million euros at age 18 and you die at age 78 (4%
interest rate) 10.5 million euros
Corrections: inflation, spending, taxation
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