The Role of Politics in Society

Many bloggers, and also some politicians, often make reference to something called being politically interested, or, being politically aware. However, the idea that politics is merely, or primarily, about political power struggles is definitely challenged over modern times. Many political scientists have challenged this view. Still, most political scientists concur that politics does play a substantial role in society. Politics, at least at the broadest level, is defined by the political parties involved.

Politics is, in large part, a social activity. It is definitely so. As political scientist Robert Weihlmann put it "Politics is really a social activity and political institutions are political institutions." Politics isn't static; it constantly changes as sets of people come together and find different ways of cooperating to satisfy their political needs. This ongoing procedure for politics has been present since the earliest history of democracy, as sets of men banded together to form political coalitions to attain particular ends.

From the initial days of politics the concept of politics was linked closely to the question of power. At the time, power meant individual control over social organizations such as warring against neighboring tribes, creating a country, and so forth. Power was tied closely to the ownership of land, and therefore, politics became a game of who had more usage of political power. Thus, those groups with the greatest number of warriors were able to rule by using politics. Power was in line with the fact that those that held political power had access to more weapons and therefore, were capable of defending themselves making use of their political power. Thus, politics became closely linked to war.

The first civilizations that existed beyond the reach of Rome did not have political systems, and therefore, politics was not an important matter. Groups of men would band together and create political coalitions when necessary. Rome was not developed enough at the moment to create stable governments, and thus, politics became a key point that was considered when forming alliances with other groups. Many of these political coalitions happened because of religious or nationalistic reasons. Religious groups like the pagans or the Jews would sometimes form coalitions so as to fight off encroaching empires.

As political theory became more developed throughout the centuries that followed, it began to are more intertwined with ideas of right and wrong. For instance, lots of people would associate right thinking with societal bliss, moral enlightenment, and a sense of honor and integrity. Quite often, political systems were established by using force, and the societies that emerged in the classical world were generally brutalized through the use of political violence.

However, despite the fact that some political thinkers argue that such societies are too difficult to analyze, most political scientists have tried to analyze how politics really works in the real world today. Actually, political scientists have spent decades trying to explain the workings of politics in the twenty-first century world. Most political theories in the twentieth century have already been developed through the study of political systems that have developed across the world. Studying the political systems of ancient and contemporary societies has revealed a great deal about how politics works.

Politics is usually regarded as a political arena where sets of people decide on which kind of political system they want to reside in. However, politics also plays an integral role in social interaction, and politics play a part in the shaping of social norms. Many social scientists have theorized that the way that politics influences social interaction is through deliberation. For example, in case a political philosopher discusses the problem of poverty, lots of people might immediately commence to discuss their own personal strategies for alleviating poverty.

In addition to social interaction, politics influences other areas of human life including cultural norms, gender roles, national identity, and even religion. All of these areas of politics can be traced back to their origins in ancient societies. Thus, politics plays an essential role in all aspects of contemporary human life. Although political debate is often seen as the domain of powerful governments and political leaders, politics could be understood as a process by which people come to decide how their society and world will function, and how they themselves will be affected by that process.