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Unpopular Opinion: A Positive Post About PoliticsA very non-political post. Also: What is the "Political Restaurant," and why do other chefs refuse to touch its ingredients?

The word "Politics" originates from the Greek Πολιτικά (Politiká), meaning "affairs of the city-state" (the Polis). The term is most closely identified with Aristotle's (384–322 BCE) seminal work of the same name—one of the founding texts of Western political thought.


In essence, politics is the collective set of activities associated with decision-making in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The academic study of politics (though certainly not limited to it) is known as Political Science.


However, we know that the usage of the term "politics" is much broader than just classical or academic definitions. So, what is politics really? Can it even be defined within a clear, universal framework—one where "politics" means the exact same thing everywhere in the world?


Here are a few definitions of politics by leading scholars in the field (feel free to skim; there is no exam at the end):

  • Harold Lasswell (1902–1978), a leading American political scientist: "Who gets what, when, and how."

  • David Easton (1917–2014), a Canadian-American political scientist: "The authoritative allocation of values for a society."

  • Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Russian revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union: "Politics is the most concentrated expression of economics."

  • Bernard Crick (1929–2008), British political theorist: "A distinctive form of rule whereby people act together through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences, to conciliate differing interests and values in the pursuit of common goals."

  • Adrian Leftwich (1940–2013), prominent academic and anti-apartheid activist: "Politics comprises all the activities of cooperation, negotiation, and conflict within and between societies, whereby people organize the use, production or distribution of human, natural and other resources in the course of the production and reproduction of their biological and social lives."


I find that there is truth in every one of these definitions, yet each feels overly specific in its own way. To reach a definition that is truly universal and precise, we must arrive at a formulation consisting only of words that are not subject to differing interpretations. The reason I believe most definitions—even those by the finest scholars—are not universal is that the definitions themselves often require further definition and interpretation.


After years of research and study, I have arrived at my own definition of politics—one that I believe accurately captures political activity in all its forms. I believe this definition is clear and intuitive, requiring no further research to be understood.


My definition of politics is:

"An action performed by more than one person, the consequences of which may affect more than one person, operating on two levels: a visible level and a hidden level, where the hidden level is known in real-time only to a limited few of those involved."


The political arena often receives unflattering critiques: that it is immoral, lacks values, is aggressive, violent, and sometimes even cruel—a sphere driven by ego and irrelevant considerations.


Sometimes, political actors deserve these critiques. However, in many other cases, the situation is different. We should view the political system as the arena where issues, dilemmas, and disputes are cast when they have found no answer—and often cannot find an answer—in any other sphere (business, social, legal, or voluntary).


These issues, which require decisions involving a change in priorities, affect large populations. In fact, the political system is the arena tasked with making the decisions that other sectors are incapable of making, or have tried to make and failed. When you add the fact that these decisions almost always involve large budgets, positions of significant power and influence, and the necessity of choosing one priority over another, you get a perfect recipe for unpleasant feelings—for the outside observer and often for the insider as well.


The political arena is like a restaurant kitchen. It is expected to cook a dish that will please as many diners as possible, while chefs from other restaurants refuse to allow those same raw ingredients into their own kitchens because they "stink"—yet they never stop interfering and criticizing every dish the political chef sends out.

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Image: Aristotle (384–322 BCE) – Roman copy of a work by Lysippos from circa 330 BCE. Source: After Lysippos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.


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