Political science

PART 1

In readings and discussions of Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes we have focused on their understanding of what politics is. Using the readings, answer the following questions in essay form 2 pages long . Be sure to have some brief introduction where you note what you will be arguing and a brief conclusion where you summarize your main points. Answer the questions as fully as possible but do not include information and ideas that are not directly relevant to your answer.

READINGS;

• Aristotle, Politics, Book 1 Chapters 1- 13. Book 3.
• Thomas Hobbes Leviathan, Chapters 13- 19

1. What does it mean when Aristotle claims that humans are ‘political animals’? Why, according to him, are we destined to live in political communities? In what way is the household different from the city? Who does Aristotle consider to be citizens of the city?
2. For Hobbes, why do we live in political communities? For him, what are the values that we seek through our political associations? Should we be afraid of the state? Is it good that people are afraid of the state and obedient to its commands? Are there any doubts, for Hobbes, regarding what the best way to live together is?
3. What are the key differences between Hobbes’ and Aristotle’s understanding of politics? Do we have a political life today according to Hobbes’ understanding? Do we have one according to Aristotle’s? If, for Aristotle, being human means having politics, are we fully human in this society or have we retreated into the non-human/animal side of our nature? If you had the choice, would you rather live in a society that embodies Aristotle’s understanding of politics or Hobbes’?

Part 2

The various ways that the notion of ‘politics’ has been understood has included three theorists that are decidedly a-liberal or anti-liberal in how they understand politics: Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Carl Schmitt. 2 Pages

Readings:

*Karl Marx, Alienated Labour in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts

Karl Marx, On the Jewish Question

Mar. 4 Karl Marx, Machinery, Automation, Free Time, and Communism in

Grundrisse

Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation

Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political

Explain how each of the foregoing is critical of the liberal notion of politics.

1. Why does Marx draw a sharp distinction between human rights and political rights? What does he think the problem is with the modern split within us as members of civil society on the one hand and as citizens on the other? In his opinion, what should political emancipation entail?
2. For Weber, why does he think that the state dominates us? Is the use of violence the core or only a tangential source of political power?
3. For Schmitt, how is politics different from economics and aesthetics? Why is it important for him to know who it is that decides who the enemy is?