The Resurgence of Political Theory [6 Important Views]

The resurgence of Political Theory refers to the revival of the normative or value-based (Philosophical) political theory in political science.

In the middle of the twentieth century, many thinkers (David Easton, Alfred Cobban) have written about the decline of political theory. Again many concluded (Lasslett, Dahl) as a political theory is dead.

It would not be right to come to the conclusion that political theory has become unimportant or has declined.

It is true; however, that much of the earlier philosophical political theory has lost its significance. However, the nature of political theory has changed in line with the changing times and needs. This change in the nature of motion cannot be called the end of political theory.

The real proposition does not eliminate the influence of political theories on philosophy or values. Even political scientists have not been able to overcome the influence of values. They speak of liberal democracy as the best political system. Moreover, sophisticated research also tends to take a particular value as a basis.

The Resurgence of Political Theory [6 Views]

Towards the second half of the twentieth century, value-based political theory was revived (resurgence of political theory) in the writing of Michael Oakeshott, Hannah Ardent, Leo Strauss, Bertrand de Jouvenal, Sheldon Wolin, John Rawls, etc. Their arguments about the resurgence of political theory are given below.

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Michael Oakeshott on Resurgence of Political Theory

Michael Oakeshott in his book, ‘Experience and Modes’, has analyzed the philosophical interpretation of experience. He emphasizes the multidimensional aspect of the experience. Positivists have denied this multidimensional analysis of experience.

According to him, the experience is a concrete whole with different types of ‘modes’. The purpose of philosophy is to identify each mode to experience and to explain its relation to other aspects of the experience.

He added that philosophy presents the truth and is not determined by the historical background. But its space-time is important.

He identified four principles of modes of experience.

• First is history which concerns the past.
• The second one is Science which deals with measurement and quantification.
• The third is practice concerning with act of desiring and obtaining.
• And The fourth is Poetry which deals with imagination and contemplation.

According to him “The understanding of politics as an empirical activity is, then, inadequate because it fails to reveal a concrete manner of activity at all. And it has the incidental defect of seeming to encourage the thoughtless to pursue a style of attending to the arrangements of their society which is likely to have unfortunate results, to try to do something which is inherently impossible is always a corrupting enterprise.”

The Resurgence of Political Theory by Hannah Ardent

Hanna Ardent is one of the undisputed contributors to the revival of political theory. Her book, ‘The Human Condition’, stated that human experience is lost in the modern world.

She stressed the need to restore responsible freedom and dignity in human activities. And this is what he considers to be the basis for the revival of political theory.

She raises the issue of inconsistency with political theory. She emphasizes the distinctive and responsible nature of man. It is on this basis that he has launched a critique of behaviorism.

She has opined that “The unfortunate truth about behaviorism and the validity of its laws is that the more people there are, the more likely they are to behave and less likely to tolerate non-behavior…Statistical uniformity is by means a harmless scientific idea; it is no longer the secret political ideal of a society which, entirely submerged in the routine of everyday living, is at peace with the scientific outlook inherent in its very existence.”

Leo Strauss’s Views on The Resurgence of Political Theory

Leo Strauss focuses on the importance of traditional or normative political theory in dealing with modern-day problems.

According to him, political science and political philosophy are identical. The Greek philosopher Aristotle also evaluated political issues in the discussion of political science.

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Aristotle discussed political activity as a principle of justice. In practical matters, he speaks about the autonomy of prudence and political action to be essentially ethical.

Strauss opposes the behaviorist’s statement. Because behaviorists have separated political philosophy from political science.

According to him, behaviorism is as harmful as positivism. Because behaviorism denies knowledge of the final rules.

In the context of the rise of totalitarian doctrine, behaviorism is helpless and incapable of proving between right and wrong.

Bertrand de Jouvenal’s View on The Resurgence of Political Theory

There is a tendency in modern times to convert politics into administration. Jouvenal, like Mrs. Ardent, has also opposed this trend. Because of this tendency, the ability of politics to play a constructive role in the public is ignored.

Politics is considered a competitive process according to modern trends. This process is related to totalitarianism.

Politics is against the slogan of abstract ideology, and utopianism. There is a matter of moral choice and dislikes in politics. Its purpose is to consolidate individuals.

The Resurgence of Political Theory by Sheldon Wolin

He has presented in support of the former political tradition. He is known as a big critic of behaviorism. Under the influence of behaviorism, the old political theory has fallen, this idea is not correct.

He has interpreted the usefulness of the traditional style of political theory that has developed from the time of the Greek scholar Plato to the present day. At the same time, he has become aware of how to revive political theory or political philosophy.

According to Wolin, large-scale political theories of the past shed light on recent problems and current conditions.

The political theories of the past can be easily used to better understand the politics of the present. But judging in the light of contemporary standards alone is not necessary.

Recent political theories have abandoned the critical criterion due to the overemphasis on methodology. But this feature of political theory has always been an essential feature.

John Rawls and Resurgence of Political Theory

John Rawls was a notable figure in the second half of the twentieth century. He has had explicit discussions about Justice since Plato. His famous book is ‘A Theory of Justice’.

He enriched his theory of justice by adopting John Locke’s theory of social contract, and Kant’s theory of individualism. From his discussion, it is clear that philosophy has a borough role in theory which must be acknowledged.

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Conclusion

Undoubtedly, there has been a resurgence of political theory since the seventies of the twentieth century. And in addition to the Rawls behind this resurgence, such contributions as Habermas, Nozick, Walzer, M Sandel, etc. are really significant.

There are a number of special issues that need to be addressed in the construction of theories. Notable among them are welfare rights and social justice, democratic theory and pluralism, utilitarianism, post-modernism, feminism, neo-social movement, and municipal society, etc. Each of these concepts is based on values.

It must be put in mind, however, that caution must be exercised in distinguishing between the old political tradition and the recent political theory.

The latter is transmitted from the former, so the political theory of the next episode of its revival is not entirely new, but a sophisticated political theory. The larger structure of the former political tradition has been reconciled with the complexities of recent times.

So undoubtedly it can be said that there has been a resurgence of political theory.

The philosophical aspect of political theory is inherently far-fetched. Differences are observed in the philosophical aspect of political theory in different countries, periods, and individuals.

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