POL114H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Holy Alliance, Nuclear Weapon, Total War
Document Summary
Different approaches & philosophical assumptions about politics & the state. Humans are shaping the planet (not trees, oceans, etc. ) this might lead to global crises (i. e water shortage or climate change) No consensus among scholars on meaning of politics/political science. David easton (political scientist) & the liberal tradition: politics as allocation- who gets what when & how. Custom: feudalism (nobility rules), consensus, divine right of kings (social order decided by kings. Command: inequality, force & coercion (force & coercion not always explicit: consensus means the process is seen as fair for the most part despite rich/poor"s complaints. Easton believed that command is the stuff of politics (ex. Paying taxes v tax evasion = coercion), and only if the world had stability, no crises, anarchy might work, however, these are existent, therefore, often times custom is needed to maintain order. Exchange relies on sanctity of contract, implicit trust/agreement (ex.
