POG 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Lower Canada Rebellion, Responsible Government, Environmentalism
20 Jun 2018
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Lecture 2 Political philosophy, thought and ideology from Plato to NATO
Thinker of the week: Vaclav Havel
(1936-2011)
What is the difference
- The philosopher asks:
Does man need government?
Who should rule?
What is the best system of government and governance?
- The political thinker asks:
How can this be applied?
- The ideologue answers:
Politics be done in a certain way
The state has a specific role
Republicanism from Socrates to Thomas Pain: The search of form and justice
Socrates (470 BCE- 399 BCE)
- Socrates asks “what course of life is best?”
- In answer, he recommends the philosophical life- the pilgrimage for truth
- “we need a government based on truth and we can only have that if we have a king who
is smart and works for general interest”
- Wisdom consists of knowing that one does not know. One must recognize his own
ignorance and be humble to search for truth.
- Socrates is known because of Plato and Xenophon
Plato (427-347 BCE)
I. The Republic
- Socratic dialogue
- Allegory of the cave
- What is justice?
- How are cities governed?
- Timocracy (military rule), oligarchy, democracy and tyrant
- All are poor substitutes
- Ruling should be left to philosophers, who are the most thoughtful, most disinterested
and therefore least susceptible to corruption
- Idea of philosopher king who understands public good and works selfishly for public
good
II. Politicus (the Statesman)
- Socrates dialogue
- Plato argues that to rule or have political power one must have specialized knowledge
- The statesman must rule justly and well and to have the best interests of the citizens at
heart (the “public good”)
- This philosopher-king must be intelligent, reliable, and willing to lead a simple life
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
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- Student of Plato
- Polymath- writes politics
- Aristotle proposed the “golden mean”. The mean is the way of moderation. Most things
have two extremes, we need the middle way
- On one side is cowardice, on the other side is foolhardness. The golden mean is courage.
- Private property is necessary because people neglect common property but care for
private property
- Private property is a good thing because people like private property
- Property should be possessed in moderation and put to public use when possible
- Aristotle believes that it is dangerous to concentrate in an elite
- Royalty can become tyranny
- Concentrated power will breed discontent
- The middle class embodies moderation since they hold property and make livings. They
will reject radical change.
- Qualified rulers are then make property owners who are literate
- Aristocracy can become oligarchy (the wealthy)
- Constitutional government can become democracy
The Roman Republic
- Like the idea of republic (a government run by man and not by god or the nameof god)
Structure of Roman government:
- Consuls, the executives
- Senate (300 former magistrates who served for life. Senate controlled spending and
foreign policy. The senate could not pass laws.)
- Magistrates, the judges, were elected directly by the people
- Assembly of all Roman citizens. The assembly elected the magistrates
- Tribunes were the protectors of the people. Every year 10 tribunes were elected. A single
tribune had veto power over the Assembly, the Senate and the Consults.
The renaissance and the enlightenment: challenging god in government
- Roman empire collapse
- Middle ages- new thinking
- Renaissance- idea that ancient Greeks and Romans has something going for them
- Impact on politics from people looking at Ancient Greece and Rome
Renaissance Republics
- Holland
- Genoa
- Venice
- Florence
Challenges to the British Monarch
- The Magna Carta (1215) imposed on English king which says king has limits on power
and cannot detain people without legitimacy
- Limits the power of the monarch
- Recognition of some civil rights (habeas corpus)
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find more resources at oneclass.com
- 400 years later first English revolution (bourgeois republican government the common
wealth)
- Does not last entirely because in the minds of many, there is a real purpose in the crown
Seeking legitimacy Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
“The Prince”
- Man can look after themselves Machiavelli
- Response to the problems of order- a guidebook for how to succeed in governing a state
- Machiavelli was a realist and said you have to deal with problems and enemies as they
are to protect public good
- Justify reigns by doing good as people will follow you (never spoke of god)
- Machiavelli ideas travel to the United States and have an impact on defining what
liberalism and publicism is
- Key idea: “Political Realism.” Approach to politics that emphasizes the importance of
power and interests over ideology or morals and ethics
- A wise (and virtuous?) prince does what is necessary to secure the state
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
- A polymath, like Aristotle
- Little faith in man
- Deeply skeptical of claims made- idea that you can replace monarch is dangerous
- Leviathan 1651- “The only way to erect such a common power”
- Believes in role of monarchy (a mortal god)
- Monarch can unite all voices and create common wealth
- Less convinced of God’s role, however; government must work towards developing
legitimacy
- Develops ideas on rights and individuals and democracy
- In Leviathan, Hobbes develops idea of social contract: liberty of the individual and
protection of the “commonwealth”
- Leviathan is a human god
- Hobbes is the bridge between monarchy and sovereignty between people
The French enlightenment: The rights of man and the notion of republicanism
- Voltaire (1994-1778)
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
- Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
The Scottish Enlightenment (1700s)
- Scots had a foundation influence on Canada
David Hume (1711-1776)
- A Tory; follows Hobbes
- Rule of law is critical; moderation is necessary
- Separation of powers; decentralization; limits on clergy: right to vote
- Both articulate idea that a monarch is necessary but there has to be rule of law and right
to vote
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 2 political philosophy, thought and ideology from plato to nato. Republicanism from socrates to thomas pain: the search of form and justice. Socrates asks what course of life is best? . In answer, he recommends the philosophical life- the pilgrimage for truth. We need a government based on truth and we can only have that if we have a king who is smart and works for general interest . Wisdom consists of knowing that one does not know. One must recognize his own ignorance and be humble to search for truth. Socrates is known because of plato and xenophon. Timocracy (military rule), oligarchy, democracy and tyrant. Ruling should be left to philosophers, who are the most thoughtful, most disinterested and therefore least susceptible to corruption. Idea of philosopher king who understands public good and works selfishly for public good. Plato argues that to rule or have political power one must have specialized knowledge.
