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Politics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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This is the first time that I read a book from the "Very Short Introductions" of the Oxford University Press and it sure made up for what it promised. A very well introduction on that abstract concept called politics.

Because it was such a small book, only 110 small pages, I expected a quick read, a snack for the hungry reader, something that you read in one zip. But that turned out to be a mistake. This is not an American style book, which tent to be somewhat gentler to the reader, but the English style, shorter and more to the point. But don't get me wrong, this is a very well written book and explains the many involved concepts and insights very well, in an incredible short amount of time.

The books starts by explaining what is not politics, despotism is not politics Minogue tells us and uses history to explain. How better to explain the nature of things by the history of it? He tells us about how the Greeks organized politics, how the Romans changed it and what kind of transformation the Christian idears changed our political culture into something we have today. As the history becomes more recent he starts to explain important political concepts as the modern state, political doctrine, the role of justice and morality. One of the last chapters in the book is about political ideology, which I found one of the best of the book. The book ends with the future of politics and describes the clash between ideology and politics.

As is inevitable in a book on politics, the writer him self has his own belief system he likes most and before I bought the book, I did some googling on the author. Minogue seems to be a English political conservative. But after reading the book, I can tell you that he never lowers him self to take cheap shots at non-conservative contemporary political parties. This is a very well balanced book that is most of all, non ideological in nature.

An other reviewer, criticizes the book because Minogue writes in one off the best chapters in his book: that ideology is the opposite of politics. Minogue argues that ideology is a closed belief system that brings solutions and that political doctrines are not, although enthusiast of some political doctrines can transform it into an ideology. The main distinction he says is that political doctrines, don't bring solutions but influence your decision that are based on options that reality gives you, but an ideology brings solutions, and that means that one's actions can be based on the belief system alone and can ignores the considerations that reality provides (The solution follows from the doctrine). Thus, it is a fine line between ideology and political doctrines political parties adhere. A fine line, that this other reviewer, does not even seem to recognize, although Minogue, does a very much better job in explaining these concepts than I just did!

This book was a delight to read! I highly recommend it!

Within a very short time, Oxford's Very Short Introduction series has established itself as among the best of its kind. And this installment by London School of Economics and Political Science emeritus professor, Ken Minogue, is no exception. If you've not had the pleasure of this urbane and learned scholar's company, then here is a fortunate substitute.

In a perfect outline of the field, Minogue covers the history of political thought from the ancients throught the moderns, enticing one to know more about the rise western civilization, "how we got here," and why peaceful societies must cultivate the art of politics. He then moves on to foreign relations, analytical methods, and modern democratic functional topics.

One gem of concision concerns politics as ideology and the difference it makes, the topic of which professor Minogue is quite simply the authority. If this moves you, then pick up his classic "The Liberal Mind," newly reissued--or else for a serious education, "Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology." Whether you want to grasp the seductive thrall that enraptures ideologists from Eric J. Hobsbawm to John Gray, or from historic communism to today's Islamism, "Alien Powers" is an essential guide to unmasking all pretense of knowledge.

Bravo, professor! Thanks for a masterful primer.

Otto von Bismarck once remarked that politics is "the art of the possible." This sentiment is meant to convey the idea that there is not much room for idealism in the everyday conduct of politics. Indeed, as "Politics: A Very Short Introduction" observes repeatedly, all attempts at organizing affairs of men along some highly idealized guiding principles invariably result in large-scale bloodshed. Another way of looking at this is to think of politics as a necessary evil, albeit one that can improve the lot of humanity in concrete ways without the need to reach all the way to the stars.

Because of its nature, politics can be a very unsavory subject to deal with. It is one of the virtues of this very short introduction that it aims to take a very long-term view of politics as it has evolved over the course of several millennia. This is also a very western-centric view, taking the beginnings of what we recognize as civic politics in the ancient classical world of Greece and Rome. Nonetheless, it is a fact that politics as a participatory civic activity has for the first time been well defined in the classical context, and whether consciously or unconsciously political institutions for the next two millennia have been compared to their purported classical ideals.

This book is written in a very literary style that is as far removed from the standard textbook writing as they come. The author throws sweeping generalizations and one-sentence characterizations with an almost reckless abandon. In a way this approach can be very refreshing, and makes this an enjoyable book to read. Even when you come across points that seem dubious at best you will appreciate the insights that are being offered. The book treats politics within the history of ideas, rather than a craft. This approach is probably necessary for a short book that aims for a sweeping view, but after reading it you may not be able to understand the politics as reported in the news any better than before. Nonetheless, this is a very lively book that is thought provoking and fun to read.

This book suffers from its overall argument, which is that the notion of politics has been construed, expanded, and has therefore become meaningless. In Minogue's view, if everything from reading a poem to conducting a love affair is considered political, then politics ultimately becomes meaningless. Minogue suggests that the death of true politics is somewhat of a paradox. If politics becomes the micromanagement of social life, in his words: "Politics will have died, but everything will be politics" (p. 111). I do not necessarily disagree with this argument, but Minogue does not sufficiently explain what is wrong with the view that everything is political, and he does not sufficiently explain what true politics should be. Given that the book title is "A Very Short Introduction," it seems the author would explain the nature of politics in detail and what politics is or should be.

Minogue never really explains what politics is, and this becomes a problem throughout the book. In the last chapter and in one or two other places in the book, he mentions that politics has something to do with power, but he does not elaborate this point. In the beginning of the book he discusses the problems with despotism, but then later in the book (p. 106) he argues that despotism is opposed to politics. In my view, politics is ultimately about the issue of power, the power of how society should be organized, and how that power should be divided. In this sense, despotism is very much political, although it is not desirable, since political power is designated to one or very few people.

Minogue's lack of discussion of political power and his strange view of despotism as opposed to politics affects his discussion of democracy, or the lack of a discussion there of. As the publisher's book description points out, Minogue does discuss the history of politics and the history of political thought, but the thing he fails to do in this discussion is to explain the difference between ancient and modern democracy. The Ancient Greeks invented democracy, but how was their form of direct participatory democracy different than modern liberal representative democracy? Minogue never explains this. Since most Western governments are democratic, and since democracy is considered the ideal form of government, it would seem Minogue would spend more time on this topic.

One of the other problematic arguments that Minogue puts forward that may confuse the introductory student is his notion that "ideology challenges politics" (chapter 12). Although Minogue is considered an "expert" on ideology, I disagree with his view that ideology is opposed to politics and that ideology merely represents "dogmatic conviction." Minogue defines ideology as those systems of beliefs which are self-referential, and he only identifies Marxism, radical feminism, and anarchism as such systems. He suggests these systems are opposed to politics. In my view, ideology is very much a part of politics. Ideology represents the system of beliefs and world view in which we interpret reality and politics. In this sense, liberalism, Marxism, Fascism, feminism, Islam, Christianity, Zionism, etc. all represent ideologies. Minogue seems to think that it is possible to transcend ideology and view politics from an untainted and non-ideological standpoint. I would argue that such a view is ideological in itself, since we always interpret reality from some standpoint or position that most likely contains underlying reasons and a philosophical basis. Minogue may define ideology differently in his other books, but his discussion in this book is very limited and confusing.

Although Minogue certainly has a comprehensive understanding of political history and political thought, the overall argument of this book is much too ambitious, and it does not provide clear and thorough explanations that an introductory text requires.

Being new to the study of politics, I was looking for a quick, concise introduction to the subject. I found it in "Politics: A Very Short Introduction". It is well-written and expresses many of the foundational concepts in politics, drawing on the classics to support its main points. Although the writing is fairly complex (college-level), it is still manageable. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick overview of the history of politics and a framework for interpretation of modern political events.

Great primer for a subject that is so complex yet fundamental to everyday life. Author does a great job presenting a well-rounded introduction to politics. I appreciated especially (maybe as a non-Western reader) the first half of the book which guides us through the development of the political world from Greek times up till the 20th century.