Political Thought
Directions : Answer each of the following 2 questions in an essay of 800-1000 words. 1. Consider Machiavellis new approach to the study of politics. How does Machiavelli *break with the medieval Christian view of politics; *while at the same time look backward at the commitment to civic virtue/ civic spiritedness in the Roman Republic; and *ultimately, bequeath to the modern world a realist political science focused on power, interest conflict, and a psychology of human nature ? (Consult our email-based lectures.) 2. Consider the role of ideas in guiding politics. Discuss how an ideology is a conceptual framework which helps us to describe action; interpret action; justify the ends and means of political action; and persuade us how to get things done. Often ideology simplifies and popularizes more intricate traditions of political philosophy. But unlike political philosophy and political science, the purpose of ideology tends toward action, not the weighing of the truth claims of its propositions. Choose 3 ideologies and describe *how each conceptually comprehends what the world is, and what the world is not; and *how each provides us with a way we can conceive of a way of ordering our lives? (Consult the Andrew Heywood book POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES, chapters 1, 2,3,4 & 7. These chapters are supplemented by my email-based lectures.)
