Word study

I. FIND IN THE TEXT «DEFINING POLITICS» ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS FOR:

Исправлять; связывать; обеспечивать; признавать; примирять; достигать; поддерживать; защищать; решать; конкурировать; противопоставлять; подходить к пробле­ме; увлекать за собой; пытаться; спасать; соглашаться и проводить; вызывать в воображении.

П. GIVE RUSSIAN EQUIVALENTS FOR: Sense; inextricably; rival; wants; needs; a search; ines­capable; inevitable; diversity; scarcity; an attempt; biased; impartial; dispassionate; disruption; violence; deceit; unsa­vory; valuable; laudable; allocation; scarce; deception; dis­tribution.

III. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES PAY­ING ATTENTION TO THE UNDERLINED WORDS AND PHRASES.

1) Whereas most people think of, say, economics, geog­raphy, history and biology simply as academic subjects few people come to politics without preconceptions.

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2)То make matters worse, politics is usually thought of as a 'dirty' word.

3)As long as 1775, Samuel Johnson dismissed politics as 'nothing more than a means of rising in the words'.

4. The heart of politics is a process of cooperation and peaceful solution of the global problems.

5. Studying politics is connected with studying govern­ ment and exercise of authority.

6. The word «politics» is derived from polis meaning city-state.

7. Conflict resolution is the main aim of all thoughtful

politicians.

8) The word «politics» may be treated in the broad sense and in the narrow sense.

IV. MAKE UP YOUR OWN SENTENCES WITH THE FOLLOWING WORD-COMBINATIONS:

Whereas; to make matters worse; to make matters better; as long as; the heart of; to be connected with; to be derived from; conflict resolution; in the broad sense; in the narrow sense; on the one hand; on the other hand.

V. ARRANGE THE FOLLOWING WORDS IN PAIRS OF SYNONYMS:

rival dispassionate

needs nevertheless

to guarantee to try

however to ensure

inescapable lie

to attempt inevitable

impartial wants

deceit distribution

allocation competing

VI. FIND IN THE TEXT ANTONYMS FOR THE FOL­LOWING WORDS:

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Agreement; passionate; partial; escapable; savory; tomiss; to entangle.

VII. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES USING EITHER «POLITICS» OR «POLICY». PAY ATTEN­ TION TO DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF THE RUSSIAN NOUN «ПОЛИТИКА».

Politics 1. Политика: наука, искусство управления государством; политическая деятельность.

2. Политические взгляды, убеждения.

Policy 1. Политика: home (internal) domestic policy — внутренняя политика.

Foreign policy — внешняя политика.

2. линия поведения, курс.

l)Old as she is, she takes great interest in ...

2. We must decide what our ... on this matter should be.

3. The moment they come together they would start ar­ guing about ...

4. When Г finished my student years at Oxford I had to decide whether to devote my life to philosophy or to ... .

5) What is the industrial ... of the present British government?

6. Though their ... were different they were great friends.

7. Honesty is the best ... .

VIII. DISCUSSION

Do you agree with the author's statement? Expressions below will be helpful

« ... the inescapable presence of diversity (we are not all alike) and of scarcity (there is never enough to go around) ensure that politics is an inevitable feature of the human condition.»

(I agree ...; I am afraid I can't agree ...; I'd like to say that ...; That's an interesting point of view, but...; I'd like to support the point of view about ...»)

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UNIT II

POLITICS AS THE ART OF GOVERNMENT Politics is not a science ... but an art', Chancellor Bis­marck is reputed to have told the German Reichstag. The art Bismarck had in mind was the art of government, the exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decisions. This is perhaps the classical definition of politics, developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Greece.

The word 'politics' is derived from polls, literally mean­ing city-state. Ancient Greek society was divided into a collec­tion of independent city-states, each of which possessed its own system of government. The largest and most influ­ential of these city-states was Athens, often portrayed as the cradle of democratic government. In this light, politics can be understood to refer to the affairs of the polls, in effect, 'what concerns the polis'. The modern form of this definition is therefore 'what concerns the state'. This view of politics is clearly evident in the everyday use of the term: people are said to be 'in politics' when they hold public office, or to be 'entering politics' when they seek to do so. It is also a definition which academic political science has helped to perpetuate.

In many ways, the notion that politics amounts to 'what concerns the state' is the traditional view of the discipline, reflected in the tendency for academic study to focus upon the personnel and machinery of government. To study politics is in essence to study government, or, more broadly, to study the exercise of authority. This view is advanced in the writing of the influential US political scientist David Easton (1979, 1981), who defined politics as the 'authori­tative allocation of values'.

However, what is striking about this definition is that it offers a highly restricted view of politics. Politics is what

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takes place within a polity, a system of social organization centered upon the machinery of government departments and the like, and it is cabinet rooms, legislative chambers, government departments and the like, and it is engaged in by a limited and specific group of people, notably politicians, civil servants and lobbyists. This means that most people, most institutions and other educational institutions and most social activities can be regarded as being 'outside' politics. Businesses, schools and other educational institutions, community groups, families and so on are in this sense 'nonpolitical', because they are not engaged in 'running the country'. By the same token, to portray politics as an essentially state-bound activity is to ignore the increasingly important international or global influences upon modern life, such as the impact of transnational technology and multinational corporations. In this sense, this definition of politics is a hangover from the days when the nation-state could still be regarded as an independent actor in world affairs.

This definition can, however, be narrowed still further.This is evident in the tendency to treat politics as the equivalent of party politics. In other words, the realm of 'the political' is restricted to those state actors who are consciously motivated by ideological beliefs, and who seek to advance them through membership of a formal organiza­tion such as a political party. This is the sense in which politicians are described as 'political', whereas civil servants are seen as 'nonpolitical', as long as, of course, they act in neutral and professional fashion.

The link between politics and the affairs of the state also helps to explain why negative or pejorative images have so often been attached to politics. This is because, in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians. Put brutally, politicians are often seen as power-seeking hypocrites who conceal personal ambition behind the rhetoric of public service and ideological

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conviction. Indeed, this perception has become more common in the modern period as intensified media exposure has more effectively brought to light examples of corruption and dishonesty, giving rise to the phenomenon of anti-politics. This rejection of the personnel and machinery of conventional political life is rooted in a view of politics as self-serving, two-faced and unprincipled activity, clearly evident in the use of derogatory phrases such as 'office politics' and 'politicking'. Such an image of politics is sometimes traced back to the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, who, in The Prince ([1531] 1961), developed a strictly realistic account of politics which drew attention to the use by political leaders of cunning cruelty and manipula­tion.

Such a negative view of politics reflects the essentially liberal perception that, as individuals are self-interested, political power is corrupting, because it encourages those 'in power' to exploit their position for personal advantage and at the expense of others. This is famously expressed in Lord Acton's (1834-1902) aphorism: 'power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Never­theless, few who view politics in this way doubt that politi­cal activity is an inevitable and permanent feature of so­cial existence. However venal politicians may be, there is a general acceptance that they are always with us. With­out some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, society would simply disintegrate into a civil war of each against all, as the early social-contract theorists argued. The task is therefore not to abolish politicians and bring politics to an end, but rather to ensure that politics is conducted within a framework of checks and constraints that ensure that governmental power is not abused.

Notes:

Polis: (Greek) City-state; classically understood to imply the highest or most desirable form of social organization.

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Polity: A society organized through the exercise of po­litical authority; for Aristotle, rule by the many in the interests of all.

Anti-politics:Disillusionment with formal and estab­lished political processes, reflected in nonparticipation, support for antisystem parties, or the use of direct ac­tion.

II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: l)What did Chancellor Bismarck have in mind when saying that 'politics is ... an art'?

2. What is the origin of the word 'politics'?

3. What is the modern form of the definition of 'politics'?

of politics?

6. What institutions are ignored according to these definitions?

7. How can this definition be narrowed still further?

8. Can you explain why negative images are often attached to politics?

9. What are the ways of overcoming these negative fea­ tures of political power?

10) Do you agree with Lord Acton's aphorism: 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'? Prove it. , ■■'.

III. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. Chancellor Bismarck said that politics is not a science but ... .

2. The word 'politics' is derived from ... .

3. Athens was portrayed as ... .

4. People are said to be 'in politics' when ... .

5. To study politics means to study ... .

6. David Easton defined politics as ... .

7. Polity is a system of ... .

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8. 'Nonpolitical' institutions are those which,... .

9. Politicians are described as ... .

10. Politicians are often seen as ... .

11. Mass media play a significant role in ... .

12. A negative view of politics is sometimes present because ... .

IV. CONTRADICT THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS:

1. It was Plato who said, «Politics is not a science but an art».

2. This classical definition of politics developed from the original meaning of the term in Ancient Rome.

3. The largest and most influential city-state in those times was Miletus.

4. It was Bismarck who defined politics as the 'authori­ tative allocation of values'.

5. Politics is what takes place within any institution.

6. Civil servants are seen as political along with politi­ cians.

7. Politicians are always seen as intelligent and loyal people without any ambitions.

8. It was David Easton who in his work The Prince de­ veloped a strictly realistic account of politics.

9. N. Machiavelli said, «Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely».

V. DIVIDE THE TEXT INTO LOGICAL PARTS AND MAKE UP AN OUTLINE OF THE TEXT.

VI. SPEAK ON THE TEXT.

VII. FIND IN THE TEXT ALL PASSIVE CONSTRUC­ TIONS AND TRANSLATE THE SENTENCES INTO RUSSIAN.

VIII. FIND IN THE TEXT PARTICIPLE AND GERUND AND TRANSLATE THE SENTENCES INTO RUSSIAN.

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IX. TRANSLATE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FUNCTIONS OF PARTICIPLE AND GERUND:

1. There is a unity in the world, but it is a unity result­ing from diversity.

2. The most fruitful, the most plausible, and at once the simplest and most flexible way was that discovered by Locke.

3. Following up this line of speculation Berkeley was led to postulate another mode of cognition.

4. He took the course of doubting everything except that which was clearly indubitable.

5. However two points are already worth noting.

6. Descartes said that philosophy should begin by ac­ cepting only that which cannot possibly be doubted.