Politics as Conciliation Reginald

Politics as Conciliation

This is a discerning and incisive essay defending politics as “a great and civilizing human activity.” Although Mr. Crick’s definition of politics is repeated in many variations, the pith of it is “the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion’ to their importance to the welfare and the survival of the whole community.” The political order, the author declares, is not the only mode of order possible, but it is the only order which in its very nature is pluralist. Politics can rule divided societies without unwarranted violence, because its general purposes are determined through and by the harmonization of special interests.

RL

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Reginald D. Lang

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Politics as Conciliation

This is a discerning and incisive essay defending politics as “a great and civilizing human activity.” Although Mr. Crick’s definition of politics is repeated in many variations, the pith of it is “the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion’ to their importance to the welfare and the survival of the whole community.” The political order, the author declares, is not the only mode of order possible, but it is the only order which in its very nature is pluralist. Politics can rule divided societies without unwarranted violence, because its general purposes are determined through and by the harmonization of special interests.