We seek to understand and find solutions for public problems.
We have many theories about how the policy process works.
Across the political landscape, we have many different views about what things are problems, what are the solutions to those problems, whether a government program is the best way to solve those problems, and what are the best ways to implement solutions.
How did your friend, family member, or other person respond when you asked them to define politics?
policy?
Politics is the process of making collective decisions, usually by governments, to allocate public resources and to create and enforce rules for the operation of society.
Politics is how we organize and govern ourselves; the art and science of government.
Public Policy is the course of action the government takes in response to an issue or problem.
Public policy is political because it takes place in the public sphere.
Public policy addresses problems that are public or problems that some members of society think should be public.
Public versus Private come to us from the Latin publicus and privatus, from Ancient Rome
Publicus means “of the people” or “of the state”
Privatus means “individual” or “personal”
Public (publicus) | Private (privatus) |
Polis – the State | The Household – private business |
Freedom | Necessity |
Equality | Inequality |
Immortality | Mortality |
Open | Closed |
These distinctions begin to collapse from the 19th century onward.
Political theory is the study of the ideas and values that underpin political systems and institutions.
We'll look at Western Political Theory in brief:
Liberalism evolves as a response to changing societal needs and economic conditions:
This progression reflects ongoing debates about liberty, equality, and the proper role of the state.
Policy is a tool governments use to address public problems and improve society. It reflects collective decisions about priorities and values.
“Policies are revealed through texts, practices, symbols, and discourses that define and deliver values including goods and services as well as regulations, incomes, status, and other positively or negatively valued attributes.”
Policy is an attempt to translate the popular will into a political reality.
“The future depends on what we do in the present.”