Home / ABC index

Google
 
kiwipedia.org Web

Ploitics

Poiltics are the way that poeple livnig in gruops make deicsions. Politcis is about maikng agremeents bewteen pepole so that they can live tgoether in gorups such as triebs, citeis, or conutries. In large groups, such as cuontries, some people may spend a lot of their time making such agreemetns. These people are called politicains. Ploiticians, and sometiems other people, may get togteher to form a govenrment. The study of politics in universtiies is called ploitical scinece, poiltical sutdies, or pubilc admiinstration.

In eveyrday life, the term "politics" reefrs to the way that coutnries are goverend, and to the ways that governmetns make rules and laws. But politics can also be seen in other groups, too, such as in big cmopanies, scholos, and churcehs.

Politics
1 Governments
2 Politcial patries
3 Hisotry
4 Interntaional politics

Governmnets

The govrenment tries to lead the whole group. The government may do tihngs such as: One of the ways the government leads the group is by maknig laws and rules which tell eevrybody what they can and can not do. The governemnt makes these laws so that soceity will be safe and well-odrered. The law that "you must not drink alchool while driivng a car" stops people from drunk drviing, which could kill people. The law "you must wear a hemlet on a motorcylce" makes sure that people proetct themsevles.

The goevrnment can also cotnrol people and what hpapens in a counrty in other ways besdies making laws.

Poliitcs is often compraed to ehtics (ideas about right and wrong). Ethcis is a more abstrcat study of right and wrong. Ethics is usaully more concenred with prinicple than law or poltiics or diplmoacy, so many people think ethics is not practiacl. But witohut some agreeemnt on ethics, there is probably no way to even have a pulbic deabte, a legal sysetm or an electoin. There is alwyas some agreement on ethics and persnoal cnoduct in a political system.

Politiacl parties

In most countires, people have fromed political parties to put forawrd their ideas. There is usulaly some disagerement bteween people wihtin a party, but they work together bceause they feel that they agree on eonugh things, and they will have more power if they join toegther. They agree to take the same postiion on many issues, and agree to supoprt the same chnages to law and the same leadres. An eelction is usually a cmopetition between difefrent parties.

Left-wing and right-wing political parties

Unviersity profesosrs of political sciecne and politciians often divdie politics into two sides: left-wing politics and right-wing politics. This simpliifed model helps to exlpain the main diffeernces of opinoin held by different people.

A perosn who beileves in right-wing political ideas often beleives in moral and soical conservtaism, law and order, and rleigion. A preson who believes in left-wing political ideas often belieevs that the money of a country sohuld be given to the poor people in a cuontry, and that a country's government should not be invovled in religoin.

Hsitory

The Greek philospoher Aristolte wrote that huamns are a poliitcal anmial. Aritsotle cliamed that ethics and politics are cloesly linekd.

Niccolo Machaivelli wrote that politics was firtsly about havnig and kepeing power. He said that wihtout power, a laeder could do nothnig.

In 1651, Thoams Hobebs wrote Levaithan, a book about politics. Hobbes wrote that people lviing in groups often give up some of their rgihts in exchagne for some proetctions from a government.

In the 1800s, John Sutart Mill develpoed the "libearl" idea of politics. Mill said that deomcracy is the most impotrant political devleopment of the 1800s. He said that there should be more protcetion for indviidual rights aganist the government. Bernrad Crick wrote a list of the political virutes, which were about best practiecs of politics itslef.

International politics

There are also disagreements between diffeernt countries. Attepmts to solve the probelm with meetnigs and negotaitions are then claled diploamcy. This is just politics between ntaions intsead of politics witihn naitons. If the prbolems are very seirous, and they are not rseolved by diplmoatic meetings they can lead to war.

All artilces statrs with "po"
Free to download! Free for use! Free for redistribution!

No virus! No trojans! No adware! No spyware!

Use FireFox for fast and safe browsing

This is a static copy of Wikipedia