Analysis of Traditional Studies

In the traditional approach, the main focus is on exploring the ideals and principles of organizing society, and defining the relationship of the individual and the State in terms of political and public relationships. Plato’s The Republic explores the principles of an ideal State, virtues of the philosopher king, principles of justice and education, and so on. Aristotle’s Politics seeks to show the principles of an ideal State, polity, justice, and so on. Machiavelli’s The Prince offers suggestions as to what virtues (Machiavellian virtues, no doubt) a king should possess or show, and how to acquire, maintain and possess kingdoms. Machiavelli, however, also marshals historical and empirical data to support his suggestions. Hobbes’s Leviathan and Rousseau’s Social Contract enunciate the principles of civil society. Hegel’s Philosophy of Right deals with the key issues of law, politics and morality, and makes a distinction between the State and civil society. Bentham’s An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation enunciates the hedonistic nature of man, centering on pain and pleasure as moving forces, and lays down the principles of utilitarianism. Marx and Engels’s The Communist Manifesto envisions a classless society. Rawls’s A Theory of Justice enunciates the principles of justice based on equalitarian liberalism. C. B. Macpherson’s Democratic Theory: Essays in Retrieval stresses on moral and creative freedom as the organizing principle of the individual–state relationship.

All of these studies explore ideals, principles or universal values—what Sabine refers to as the ‘disciplined investigation of political problems’.²

We may cite a second set of explorations that focuses on analysing empirical and/or historical data relating to political institutions, political practices and constitutional law for the purposes of making comparisons, suggestions or generalizations.

Aristotle’s famous analysis and classification of the 158 constitutions of Greek city-states in the fourth century BC, wherein he attempts to find the best possible political set-up. Jean Bodin’s analysis of the location of sovereignty in classical and contemporary political regimes in his The Six Books of Commonwealth where he shows absolutism to be the best of all defensible regimes.³ Charles-Louis Montesquieu’s comparative analysis of political and legal issues based on political and social institutions of Europe in his The Spirit of the Laws, and his advocacy of separation of powers. Walter Bagehot’s The English Constitution, in which he presents an analysis of the working of the political process.⁴ A. V. Dicey’s Introduction to the Law of Constitution, in which he studies constitutional law and legal institutions. James Bryce’s Modern Democracy, in which he analyses and compares the features of democracy, and the absence or presence of its ‘favouring conditions’, in six democracies—Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Switzerland and USA—and compares them with other forms of government such as monarchy and oligarchy.⁵ Ivor Jennings’s British Constitution, Cabinet Government and Party Politics, and K. C. Wheare’s Modern Constitutions, Legislatures and Federal Government, which focus on political institutions. Karl Popper’s The Open Society and its Enemies, in which he rejects Hegel (historicism/dialectical idealism), Marx (dialectical materialism), Spengler (cyclical change) and others, and insists that any hypothesis, to be valid in a scientific manner, must be open to verification through observations.