Understanding Political Power and Social Systems

The Origins and Definition of Politics

Politics, derived from the word polis, was used in classical Greece. Its meaning refers to the political system corresponding to the polis as historically conditioned. There existed a plurality of meanings; their significance varied according to the grammatical function of the word. For example, "a policy" designates an action plan, while "politics" designates the dynamics of the command-obedience relationship. It is very difficult to provide a single-word definition.

Politics as a Reality in Human Society

Regarding political reality and human society: without human beings, there is no politics. However, that does not mean that human society is entirely political. Politics is an area of human reality, but not the whole of it, much like the bonds of love or friendship. No political system, with its necessary ingredients of political activity, can exist without an organized human society.

Politics as a Multiple Reality

• A. Politics in the formal sense: This refers to a technique for influencing the will of others and controlling their behavior toward specific goals. Example: An assembly of partners in a partnership.
• B. Politics in a material sense: This involves building, strengthening, and preserving a group of people to meet certain goals.

The Relationship Between Politics and Power

Politics and power represent the same reality. There are different meanings of power: it can be a position or a place, but power is essentially a relationship rather than just a location.

Defining Political Power

Political power is an essence of politics and is only one species of the genus of power, alongside social, religious, or military power. In a restricted material sense, the state cannot be conceived without politics and power. Political power is classified into state and non-state power:

• State Power: The human relationship between those occupying government offices whose activity is attributed to the state.
• Non-State Power: Human relations that originate internally in groups that hold positions of influence over the government or its occupants.

Politics and Morality

In politics and morality, political activity—with its unique features and rules—interacts with moral and legal norms at every phase. The law and legal rules are fundamentally based on moral standards.

The Ends of Political Activity

• Intrinsic Purposes:
  • Immediate End: The conquest of power.
  • Mediate End: The construction, building, and maintenance of the political community.
• New Purposes: For politicians, these include territorial expansion and economic growth.
• Metapolitical Purposes: The rise of the nation and the promotion of human dignity.

The Psychic Nature of Political Power

The psychic nature of political power involves the search for acceptance. The notion of legitimacy occurs when power aligns with a dominant belief system.