Philippine

Politics and
Governance
First Quarter
 According to Heywood (2007),
people may disagree about the
following concerns: How people should
live? Who should get what? How
should power and other resources be
distributed? Should society be based
on cooperation or conflict?
 He further stressed that
humans also disagree about how
such matters should be resolved,
how should collective decisions be
made, who should have a say and
how much influence should each
person have?
 Defining politics and
identifying its scope of study is
not easy. Although there is no
agreed single meaning of politics,
it is often understood as a social
activity.
 Here are some of the
definitions of politics
offered by subject matter
experts:
 In broadest sense, politics is
the activity through which people
make, preserve and amend the
general rules under which they
live. (Heywood 2007)
 Politics is an activity or process
through which groups reach and
enforce binding decisions.
(Hague & Harrop 2013)
 Politics is an activity by which
different interests are conciliated
by giving them a share in power in
proportion to their importance to
the welfare and the survival of the
whole community. (Crick 2005)
 Politics is a set of activities that
organizes individuals, systematically
resolves disputes, and maintains
order in society through creation
and enforcement of rules and
government policy. (Barrington et
al. 2010)
 Politics is an activity through
which human beings attempt to
improve their lives and create
the Good Society. (Aristotle in
Heywood 2007)
 Different
Views about
Politics
A.Politics as the art of government
Politics is viewed as an art or practical
application of knowledge for attaining a
particular objective. Considered as the
classical definition of politics: the art of
government to exercise control in society
through making and enforcing collective
or group decisions.
 This view was developed in Ancient
Greece. Remember, the word politics is
derived from the ancient Greek word
polis, meaning city-state. Politics can be
studied by referring it to the affairs or
concerns of the polis or its modern
meaning which is concerned the state.
 If you are studying politics, you are
studying the government. Two aspects
are under this setting:
•Government personnel or the people in
government and
•Government machinery or the different
government departments, offices, or
agencies.
 Politics happens in cabinet
official meetings, legislative
chambers, and government
departments.
 To study politics is to study
the exercise of authority defined
as legitimate power. Legitimate
means it is acceptable for the
people.
 Politics is engaged in by a
limited and specific group,
notably politicians, civil servants
and lobbyists.
 B. Politics as public affairs
This second view looks at politics as what
happens in the public sphere of life. It is
important that you remember the
distinction between ‘the political’ and ‘the
nonpolitical’. It coincides with the division
between what is public and what is private.
If it happens in the public sphere, it is
political.
 To clarify, the distinction between
public and private conforms to the
division between the state and civil
society. The institutions of the state (the
government offices, departments and
agencies) can be regarded as ‘public’
because they are responsible for the
collective organization of community life.
 Moreover, they are funded at the public’s
expense through taxation. In contrast, civil
society consists of institutions such as private
businesses, trade unions, clubs, community
groups and so on that are ‘private’ in the
sense that they are set up and funded by
individual citizens to satisfy their own
interests, rather than those of the larger
society.
 C. Politics as compromise and consensus
The third view about politics focuses on
the way how decisions are made. Politics is
seen as a particular means of resolving
conflict: that is, by compromise,
conciliation and negotiation, rather than
through the use of force and naked power.
 Describing a solution to a problem as a
‘political’ solution implies peaceful debate
and arbitration, as opposed to what is often
called a ‘military’ solution. This is anchored
on the perspective that society is
characterized by consensus and not by
irreconcilable conflict. Disagreements that
exist can be resolved without resort to
intimidation and violence.
 This view of politics has a
positive character. Members of
society should be encouraged to
respect politics as an activity, and
they should be prepared to
engage in the political life of their
own community.
 D. Politics as power
The fourth view sees politics as something
that is present in all social activities, at every
level of social interaction; it can be found
within our families and amongst our small
groups of friends just as much as amongst
nations and on the international or global
stage. What makes a specific social activity or
behavior political is the presence of power.
 Politics under this view is in essence the power or
ability to achieve a desired end, through any way
possible. Politics is viewed as a struggle over limited
resources, and power can be seen as the means
through which this struggle is conducted. In politics,
power is usually thought of as a relationship: that is, as
the ability to influence the behavior of others. It is
referred to in terms of having ‘power over’ people.
Remember, politics may be defined as: the art of
government, public affairs, compromise and
consensus, and power.
The Government and its Purposes
According to Mendoza (1999),
government is the term generally used in
referring the formal institutions through
which a group of people is ruled or
governed, and the term extends to include
the people and organizations that make,
enforce, and apply political decisions for a
society.
 Government as explained by De
Leon (1991) is created for the
benefit of the people governed and
it accomplishes services or functions
that are beyond the capabilities of
any individual or enterprise.
He enumerated the
important purposes of
government which are:

(1) The maintenance of peace

and order;
He enumerated the
important purposes of
government which are:

(2) The protection of persons

and property;
He enumerated the
important purposes of
government which are:

(3) The administration of

justice;
He enumerated the
important purposes of
government which are:

(4) The promotion of

education;
He enumerated the important
purposes of government which
are:

(5) The preservation of the

state from external danger and;
He enumerated the important
purposes of government which
are:

(6) The advancement of the

physical, economic and social and
cultural well-being of the people.