Jul 272013
Politics: A Very Short Introduction
In this provocative but balanced essay, Kenneth Minogue discusses the development of politics from the ancient world to the twentieth century. He prompts us to consider why political systems evolve, how politics offers both power and order in our society, whether democracy is always a good thing, and what future politics may have in the twenty-first century.In this provocative but balanced essay, Kenneth Minogue discusses the development of politics from the ancient world to the twentieth centur
List Price: $ 8.95
Price: $ 8.95
More Politics Products
Must read material!,
This is the first time that I read a book from the “Very Short Introductions” of the Oxford University Press and it sure made up for what it promised. A very well introduction on that abstract concept called politics.
Because it was such a small book, only 110 small pages, I expected a quick read, a snack for the hungry reader, something that you read in one zip. But that turned out to be a mistake. This is not an American style book, which tent to be somewhat gentler to the reader, but the English style, shorter and more to the point. But don’t get me wrong, this is a very well written book and explains the many involved concepts and insights very well, in an incredible short amount of time.
The books starts by explaining what is not politics, despotism is not politics Minogue tells us and uses history to explain. How better to explain the nature of things by the history of it? He tells us about how the Greeks organized politics, how the Romans changed it and what kind of transformation the Christian idears changed our political culture into something we have today. As the history becomes more recent he starts to explain important political concepts as the modern state, political doctrine, the role of justice and morality. One of the last chapters in the book is about political ideology, which I found one of the best of the book. The book ends with the future of politics and describes the clash between ideology and politics.
As is inevitable in a book on politics, the writer him self has his own belief system he likes most and before I bought the book, I did some googling on the author. Minogue seems to be a English political conservative. But after reading the book, I can tell you that he never lowers him self to take cheap shots at non-conservative contemporary political parties. This is a very well balanced book that is most of all, non ideological in nature.
An other reviewer, criticizes the book because Minogue writes in one off the best chapters in his book: that ideology is the opposite of politics. Minogue argues that ideology is a closed belief system that brings solutions and that political doctrines are not, although enthusiast of some political doctrines can transform it into an ideology. The main distinction he says is that political doctrines, don’t bring solutions but influence your decision that are based on options that reality gives you, but an ideology brings solutions, and that means that one’s actions can be based on the belief system alone and can ignores the considerations that reality provides (The solution follows from the doctrine). Thus, it is a fine line between ideology and political doctrines political parties adhere. A fine line, that this other reviewer, does not even seem to recognize, although Minogue, does a very much better job in explaining these concepts than I just did!
This book was a delight to read! I highly recommend it!
Was this review helpful to you?
|A Masterful Primer on Politics!,
Within a very short time, Oxford’s Very Short Introduction series has established itself as among the best of its kind. And this installment by London School of Economics and Political Science emeritus professor, Ken Minogue, is no exception. If you’ve not had the pleasure of this urbane and learned scholar’s company, then here is a fortunate substitute.
In a perfect outline of the field, Minogue covers the history of political thought from the ancients throught the moderns, enticing one to know more about the rise western civilization, “how we got here,” and why peaceful societies must cultivate the art of politics. He then moves on to foreign relations, analytical methods, and modern democratic functional topics.
One gem of concision concerns politics as ideology and the difference it makes, the topic of which professor Minogue is quite simply the authority. If this moves you, then pick up his classic “The Liberal Mind,” newly reissued–or else for a serious education, “Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology.” Whether you want to grasp the seductive thrall that enraptures ideologists from Eric J. Hobsbawm to John Gray, or from historic communism to today’s Islamism, “Alien Powers” is an essential guide to unmasking all pretense of knowledge.
Bravo, professor! Thanks for a masterful primer.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Long Term View of Politics,
Otto von Bismarck once remarked that politics is “the art of the possible.” This sentiment is meant to convey the idea that there is not much room for idealism in the everyday conduct of politics. Indeed, as “Politics: A Very Short Introduction” observes repeatedly, all attempts at organizing affairs of men along some highly idealized guiding principles invariably result in large-scale bloodshed. Another way of looking at this is to think of politics as a necessary evil, albeit one that can improve the lot of humanity in concrete ways without the need to reach all the way to the stars.
Because of its nature, politics can be a very unsavory subject to deal with. It is one of the virtues of this very short introduction that it aims to take a very long-term view of politics as it has evolved over the course of several millennia. This is also a very western-centric view, taking the beginnings of what we recognize as civic politics in the ancient classical world of Greece and Rome. Nonetheless, it is a fact that politics as a participatory civic activity has for the first time been well defined in the classical context, and whether consciously or unconsciously political institutions for the next two millennia have been compared to their purported classical ideals.
This book is written in a very literary style that is as far removed from the standard textbook writing as they come. The author throws sweeping generalizations and one-sentence characterizations with an almost reckless abandon. In a way this approach can be very refreshing, and makes this an enjoyable book to read. Even when you come across points that seem dubious at best you will appreciate the insights that are being offered. The book treats politics within the history of ideas, rather than a craft. This approach is probably necessary for a short book that aims for a sweeping view, but after reading it you may not be able to understand the politics as reported in the news any better than before. Nonetheless, this is a very lively book that is thought provoking and fun to read.
Was this review helpful to you?
|