POLS 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Group Dynamics
26 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
A key difference between realists and idealists is how they view human nature. Idealists tend to believe that humans are essentially good, social beings who care for each other. Idealists argue that we should judge government and their leaders by how much they maximize these positive human qualities and how effectively they provide for their populations. Realists believe that human beings care only about maximizing their own self-interests and they expect no more from their leaders. Tries to control every aspect of life, sometimes down to the level of thought and that requires significant resources and imposes tremendous costs on both the rulers and the ruled. From a realist perspective, people want to become leaders because holding the leadership position or being part of the elite group that controls the leadership position provides tremendous individual benefits. One of the fundamental mechanisms that leaders and governments use to control large populations.
