Understanding Interactions: Political Science and Economics

We live in a world of interactions, and these interactions shape our lives in various
ways. For example, even before graduating from senior high school, you will have to
start thinking about what you want to take up in college. Your parents may prefer a
course for you to take, and they may convince you to take it. But then your friends will
remind you that it is your life and future at stake, so the decision should ultimately be
yours. However, your parents will be the ones to finance your college education, so
they should at least have some say in the matter.
In this scenario, different people around you attempt to exert their influence on a major
life decision you need to make. These are interactions on the personal level. This
lesson will discuss interactions not only on the individual level, but also on the societal
level, covering topics such as allocation of resources, governance, and the dynamics of
power within society and its institutions.

Political Science: The Use and Dynamics of Power in Society

Salud Algabre was a prominent figure in the Sakdal Uprising of 1935. The Sakdal
movement was founded in 1930 by Benigno Ramos, a former government clerk. It was
composed mostly of landless peasants discontented with the oppressive policies of the
landed elite. They advocated radical land reform and the reduction of taxes on the
poor, and the immediate severance of all Philippine-American ties. They opposed the
establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth as it did not constitute full
independence. They became an official political party in 1933 and performed relatively
well in the 1934 elections.
Algabre was born to a wealthy family. Her grandfather was a gobernadorcillo, the
highest government post a Filipino could aspire for in Spanish times. However,
nationalism and a strong sense of justice were in her blood. Her father, also a
government official, once refused to kiss the hand of Spanish friars, so he was exiled to
Dapitan. An uncle of hers was a member of the Katipunan, and she had other relatives
who joined the revolutionary movement, or were exiled for their subversive activities.
She attributed her own love for country to the teachings of Manuel Quezon: "Hereby,
fellow citizens...bear in mind that you are a Filipino and that the Philippines is your
country...you must keep it if necessary..." (Kintanar & David, 1996). A relative,
recognizing her nationalism, gave her a copy of the Sakdal, the official publication of
the movement. This sparked her interest in the group, and she joined them in their fight
for Philippine independence from the United States.
The group staged an uprising on May 2, 1935. That night, Sakdalistas took over
municipal halls in 14 towns, including San Ildefonso in Bulacan, and Sta. Rosa and
Cabuyao in Laguna. However, government response to the incident was quick, and it
did not take long for the Philippine Constabulary to subdue the rebellion. The
movement was disbanded, its founder fled the country, and Algabre was eventually
arrested. The remaining Sakdalistas (including Algabre herself, after her release)
maintained pockets of resistance against the oppressive elite for years after the failed
rebellion.
The story of Salud Algabre and the Sakdals, and the stories of revolutionary
movements in general, revolve around issues of power, oppression, governance, and
the role of the state in addressing the welfare of its citizens. These very issues are the
focal points of political science.
Political Science Defined
Politics, the main subject matter of political science, has been defined in various ways
by political scientists. Andrew Heywood (2007) describes politics as the activity through
which people make, preserve, and amend the general rule under which they live. David
Easton stresses the importance of the concept of change in politics, as those who
participate in political activity can propel society towards either progress or regress.

TABLE 5.1 Key Concepts in Political Science

CONCEPT
Power - The ability to influence or control others
State - A community of persons permanently occupying a definite territory, having a
government of their own to which the members render habitual obedience, and
enjoying freedom from external control
Sovereignty - The power and authority of a state to govern itself
Legitimacy - The attribute states possess when their citizens view their sovereignty as
appropriate, proper, or acceptable
Nation - A group of people with a sense of unity based on shared traits, customs, or
culture
Government - The formal and institutional processes that operate at the national level
to maintain public order and facilitate collective action
Governance - The various ways through which social life is coordinated
According to Heywood, few people come to politics with a blank slate. Most students
have preconceptions about the subject, most of which are generally negative. The term
has gained pejorative meaning over the years due to how the practice of politics is
commonly associated with corruption, manipulation, failed bureaucracy, violence, and
other ignoble activities.
To have a well-rounded view of political science as a field, we must shed more light on
Heywood's four general interpretations of politics: politics as the art of government,
politics as public affairs, politics as compromise and consensus, and politics as power
and the distribution of resources.
Politics as the Art of Government
The word politics came from the Greek word polis, which means city-state. Looking at
the term's etymology, we can say that politics refers to the affairs of the polis, or the
state. General Otto von Bismarck, former German chancellor, is reported to have told
the German Reichstag that "politics is not a science...but an art." Bismarck's statement
refers to the art of governing or exercising control over society. Aristotle also wrote that
politics is an art, the purpose of which is to uphold the welfare of the governed. Politics,
in this sense, is viewed in its classical definition: the study of government or exercise of
authority.

Politics as Public Affairs

Aristotle wrote in his book Politics that politics is the "master science." He believed that
political activity allows human beings to achieve and perfect what he calls their telos
(end or purpose). In this interpretation, politics is what occurs in the public sphere-
events and phenomena that are not restricted to the private sphere. The word public in
'public affairs" can then refer to two things:
(1) Public can refer, simply, to state institutions or government apparatuses. They are
"public" in the sense that they are funded by the citizenry, and are responsible for the
citizens' general welfare.
(2) The term public can also refer to any institution that is accessible to the public, and
not merely those run by the state. These include businesses, community and religious
groups, and non-governmental organizations. Politics as Compromise and Consensus
Our society is a pluralist one. That is to say, various sectors comprise it-women, the
poor, laborers, students, and so on-and each sector has its respective interests, some
of which may compete with others. Conflicts, though undesirable, are inevitable. It is
therefore the task of politics to find ways of resolving conflicts in society through
compromise and negotiation, not by force and coercion.

Politics as the Exercise of Power and the Distribution of Scarce Resources

Power is defined as the ability to achieve a desired outcome or alter the will of another
agent. Harold Lasswell (1936) stated that politics involves deciding who does and does
not get access to the world's resources. Lasswell viewed political activity as directed
towards the maintenance of power. Power is central to politics, as those who are in
power authoritatively decide who gets what and how much. Politics is an arena defined
by a struggle over scarce resources, and power serves as a weapon that one can wield
to emerge victorious. This definition of politics is the broadest and most radical
because it can be applied to interactions in both the public and private spheres.
GROUP 1
Political Science Through the Years
Political science traces its roots to ancient Greece; at the time, it was referred to as
political p l philosophy. In its formative years, the study of political science was
normative or prescriptive in nature, meaning, political questions and themes were
focused on what should be rather than what is. Writings produced in this period formed
the basis of the traditional approach to political science. Central to this approach is the
analysis of institutions and reexamination of doctrines in political thought in order to
offer holistic solutions to issues. The empirical or descriptive approach, on the contrary,
seeks to explain political reality as it is. In this approach, scholars aim to formulate
objective, factual, and impartial analyses of political phenomena. Understanding
political issues comprehensively is vital in prescribing efficient solutions to political
problems.

Plato and Aristotle are considered the forefathers of political science. In The Republic,
Plato wrote about the characteristics that he believed make up an ideal city, which he
named the Kallipolis. The goal of society, according to Plato, is to establish a
harmonious city founded on justice and fairness. The best city is one that seeks to
produce ideal citizens, so it is imperative for the state to educate and train its citizens
for positions of public leadership and governance.
Whereas Plato pondered philosophical and speculative questions, Aristotle (384-322
BCE) examined the observable aspects of politics. In his Politics, he was the first to
give conceptual rigor to the vocabulary of political life. His classification of the
constitutions, wherein he analyzed the different forms of government in ancient Greece
and how they distributed power, remains relevant today.
St. Augustine (354-430 CE) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 CE) were the leading
figures in political philosophy during the Medieval Period. St. Augustine's De Civitate
Dei Contra Paganes (The City of God) contains his groundbreaking philosophy which
infuses Christian doctrine with the tenets of Neo-Platonism. St. Thomas Aquinas, on
the other hand, was heavily influenced by Aristotelian thought, as evident in two of his
major writings: Summa Theologiae and De Regimine Principum (On Kingship). The
latter asserts the naturalness of a p a political community while arguing that a
monarchy is superior over other forms of government. St Thomas Aquinas believed
that tyranny remains a possibility, so governments must promote peace, foster a sense
of community, and ensure sufficiency of necessities.
Another notable figure influential in shaping political science was Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527). Born in Florence, then an independent republic, Machiavelli was a
diplomat by profession who was sent on various diplomatic missions in France and
Germany. During his employment, he acquired vast knowledge about the dynamics of
politics. When he lost his job, he was forced into voluntary exile on his farm in Florence
in 1512, and he devoted his time to writing everything he knew about politics. His most
famous work is The Prince. At the outset, Machiavelli's magnum opus serves as a
guide for princes (or rulers in general) on how to acquire and maintain power-although
some scholars argue that it was written as a satire. However, the book has since
gained notoriety for espousing realpolitik, or politics based on "practical" objectives,
while disregarding the moral implications of political actions, methods, and strategies.
A quote commonly attributed to Machiavelli in relation to The Prince is "the end justifies
the means." Machiavelli never used those words, although he does express similar, if
more complex, views: He believed that rulers must appear to be virtuous, and
whenever possible, must indeed act virtuously. However, he also asserted that
circumstances will frequently require rulers to disregard virtue; they must therefore
have the necessary frame of mind to act underhandedly, while maintaining their
virtuous image. As long as the ruler's virtuous objectives are met and his appearance
remains untainted, the public will praise him, regardless of his less-than-virtuous
methods. Conversely, failure to recognize circumstances which require a ruler to
disregard morals may prove disastrous not only for himself, but even for the people he
governs.

In the 16th century, studies in political science became more scientific, formal, and
analytical. This period also marked the beginning of a systematic analysis of the state
in relation to the origins of society. Jean Bodin (1530-1596), a French jurist, is
considered the first philosopher to use the term "political science," particularly in
reference to his major work, Six Books of the Commonwealth. Whereas Machiavelli
relied on historical commentary and reflections on personal experience in his works,
Thomas Hobbes (1558-1679) provided a more accurate, institutional framework for the
foundation of the modern state. Meanwhile, in his Two Treatises on Civil Government,
John Locke advocated for natural liberty and equality of human rights (right to life and
property), and government formed by consent and constituted by separation of powers,
religious toleration, and constitutional democracy. The doctrine of popular sovereignty,
presented by Hobbes in his work Leviathan, was reintroduced by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau (1712-1778) in his work, The Social Contract. Rousseau wrote that neither
the kings nor the parliaments are sovereign. The general will of the entire community is
the only sovereign.
Later on, political theorists explored and advocated social change in their work. Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels, in their The Communist Manifesto (1848), argued that
political and historical events are the product of social forces, or a series of
contradictions within society. They said that every human society is characterized by
two classes: the rulers or the powerful, and the ruled or the powerless. Their
relationship is antagonistic. Marx and Engels' work also serves as a staunch critique of
the capitalist economic system.
By the mid-20th century, political science gradually gained recognition as a scientific
discipline. Scholars thought it possible to gain objective knowledge about the political
world by distinguishing between facts and values. Theories and models could be
employed to extract data and analyze phenomena. Access to reliable data and biases
that students of politics have, however, would still remain a challenge.
Columbia University is home to the first department of political science in the United
States. In 1903, the American Political Science Association was founded. In the
Philippines, the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) was established in
1962 to bring together Filipino political scientists and raise awareness of all issues in
Philippine and Asian politics.
GROUP 2
Methods Employed
Political scientists not only describe phenomena but they also prescribe solutions or
recommendations for political issues. One of the skills that a political scientist has to
master is political analysis. It is conducted by applying political theories and models in
analyzing an issue or phenomenon. A theory is defined as a systematic explanation of
empirical data, usually presented as reliable knowledge, while a model is a theoretical
representation of empirical data that aims to underscore significant relationships and
interactions.
TABLE 5.2 Approaches and Theories in Political Science
PERIOD / DESCRIPTION
 Traditional (early 20th century) - Description of political systems and their various
institutions
 Behavioral (19505-19605) - Descriptive study of politics that emphasizes
objectivity, value-neutrality, causality, explanation, and prediction; there is greater
emphasis on the political behavior of Individuals as opposed to larger political
structures, and on quantitative over qualitative methods.
 Post-Behavioral (late 1960s-1980s) - Rejected a grand theory of politics,
criticized modernization theory as biased and inaccurate; employs a variety of
methods and political approaches; studies focus primarily on class and group
relations and conflict
APPROACHES/THEORIES
 Institutionalism
 Structuralism, Political Culture, Political Development and Modernization
 Political Economy. Democratization, Social Movements/Contentious Politics,
Constructivism, Post-structuralism

Political Science and Its Subdisciplines

The table below lists some of the subfields of political science and their respective
specializations.
TABLE 5.3 Branches of Political Science
BRANCH
 Comparative Politics
 International Relations
 Political Communication
 Political Economy
 Political Psychology
FOCUS/SPECIALIZATION
 Examines how different political systems operate; compares systems at a macro
or micro level (comparing general political structures or focusing on individual
elements of political systems)
 Focuses on relationships between and among states; subject matter Includes
war, regional integration, international organizations, military alliances, and
economic pacts
 Examines the relationship between politics and different groups of citizens, and
the communication modes that connect these groups to each other
 Focuses on the relationships and interactions between society, the state. and the
economy, drawing on methods and techniques from various disciplines such as
economics, history, sociology, and law
 Studies cognitive processes that underlie political judgments and decision-
making

In essence, economics is the discipline concerned with the organization of

economic activities in a society. By economic activities, we mean how human
beings distribute scarce resources to produce commodities, and how those
commodities are allocated to members of society for consumption. In the words of
Campbell McConnell (1996), economics is concerned with the efficient utilization or
management of limited productive resources for the purpose of attaining the
maximum satisfaction of human material wants.
Economists seek to address five fundamental questions with respect to the use and
allocation of resources (Reynolds, 2002):

1. What goods and services should be produced?

2. How many of each should be produced?
3. How should those goods and services be produced?
4. When should the goods and services be produced?
5. How should the goods and services be distributed among the members of
society?

How these questions are answered will depend on a number of factors, such as the
various goals of individuals and of society as a whole, the relationships between
different social groups, and the availability and viability of alternative choices.
TABLE 5.4 Key Concepts in Economics
CONCEPT/ DEFINITION

Allocation The act of identifying a resource, thing, or place for a specific use
Consumption The process of using existing goods and services to satisfy wants
Demand Consumer's desire and willingness to pay a price for a specific good or
service
Distribution The process of dividing or apportioning a good, service, or resource
and giving rights to use or ownership among the members of a group
Economy An entire network of producers, distributors, and consumers of goods
and services in a local, regional, or national community
Economy Development An improvement in the standards of living for the members
of an economy
Economic Growth An increase in the aggregate measures of an economy's
performance: gross or net domestic product, national income, etc.

Goods Things that satisfy human wants; things which have positive utility
Market A social institution that facilitates the interaction of potential buyers and
sellers of a good (or related goods) for the exchange of property rights to goods

Production The process of altering inputs (or resources) to increase their ability to
satisfy human wants

Services Tasks or activities that are performed for a price to provide utility
Supply Total amount of a specific good or service that is available to consumers

EMERGENCE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Political Research Methods Focuses on the study of the many details of empirical
social science
Political Theory Studies the history of political philosophy, philosophies of
explanation or science, and philosophical inquiries into the ethical dimensions of
politics
Public Policy Analyzes how laws, regulations, and other policies are formulated,
implemented, and evaluated
GROUP 5

Economics: The Interaction Between Resource Allocation and Society

Ma' Rosa is a 2016 film by Brillante Mendoza, starring Jaclyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Felix
Roco, Jomari Angeles, and Andi Eigenmann. Jose won the Best Actress award at
the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for her performance.

The film tells the story of a family in the slums of Mandaluyong. Rosa (Jose) and
Nestor Reyes (Diaz) are a husband and wife who run a convenience store, buying
basic items like bread, milk, and candy wholesale, then selling these items to their
local community at a profit. However, this income source proves insufficient, and the
couple turns to selling crystal meth on the side to make ends meet.
The police raid the Reyeses' store and arrest them, and demand an exorbitant
amount of money in exchange for their release-and implying that this is simply how
things are done. Unable to pay the hefty sum, the Reyeses strike a deal to turn in
their supplier, in hopes that he, instead, will have the money the cops are asking for.
With the Reyeses' help, the cops bring in the supplier, but find that he has only part
of the amount they want. It then falls on the Reyes children to put together the
remainder. In their desperation, they go to great lengths to pay off the corrupt
policemen.

The setting, themes, and events in this film-poverty, income (and lack thereof),
wealth inequality, and the dealings of the underground market-are some of the
concerns of the study of economics. As a discipline, economics examines the value,
allocation, and distribution not only of material goods but also of non-tangible
services that people render in exchange for currency with which they can purchase
their wants and needs.

Economics Defined

Canadian economist Jacob Viner (1892-1970) once said that economics is what
economists do. While the statement seems logical, it does little by way of explaining
the key concepts at hand. Who are the economists? What do they do? Better yet,
what is economics? What distinguishes it from other social sciences?

Economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) wrote that economics is the study of

mankind in the ordinary business of life. It examines individual and social
actions that are closely connected with the attainment and use of the material
requisites of well-being. He commented that on the one hand, economics is a
study of wealth but more importantly, it is part of the study of man. What is
notable about Marshall's definition is that he places primacy on the role of the
individual in the economic system.

Economics Through the Years

The first comprehensive theory of economics was established in the 18th
century by a group of French philosophers known as the physiocrats. The
physiocrats lived at a time when mercantilism was the predominant economic
system employed by major trading nations in Europe. The mercantilist system
measures national wealth in terms of increasing exports and the acquisition
of precious metals, especially gold. Led by Francois Quesnay (1694-1774), the
physiocrats protested against the state's exercise of control over economic
life. As an alternative, they advocated laissez-faire, a system which allows
businesses to conduct economic activity without state interference. The
physiocrats also gave primary importance to agricultural activities, the
development of agricultural lands, and the significance of productive work in
the national economy.
The next years of the history of economics can be revisited through the four
(4) historical schools of economic thought: classical economics, Marxist
economics, neo-classical economics, and Keynesian economics.

The classical tradition in economic thought began in the 18th century with the
publication of Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations (1776), and flourished until the late 19th century through the works of
economists such as David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, and John Stuart Mill. Although
economics had existed prior to the classical tradition, and indeed, many of the ideas
advocated by the classical school, such as laissez-faire, were not their invention, it
was Smith who first theorized on these concepts in such a comprehensive manner
that would mark the beginning of modern economics. In particular, in The Wealth of
Nations, Adam Smith expressed his views on the role of production as the nation's
main source of wealth. Smith is best known for his notion of the invisible hand, a
metaphor he used to explain that the economy would best work if left on its own
without the intervention of government. David Ricardo's On the Principles of Political
Economy and Taxation (1817) presented theories in relation to the determination of
wages and value, as well as principles concerning international trade, which
continue to be applied at present.
In the 19th century, the Marxist tradition in economic thought criticized the long-held
principles of classical economics. The term Marxist was taken from the name of Karl
Marx, a German political economist and philosopher who founded this school of
thought. Marx was a staunch critic of capitalism, an economic system based on
private ownership of the means of production such as labor, machineries, and
capital, as exemplified in the works of Smith and Ricardo. Marx criticized the
proponents of capitalism for their inability to see that economics as an activity is a
result of much broader historical and social processes. Marx argued that capitalism
is a system where workers are exploited in ways favorable to the capitalists. He
coined the term primitive accumulation (ursprüngliche akkumulation) to refer to the
process where capitalists reduce the wages of laborers as much as possible in
order to gain a wide profit margin for themselves. Marx also advocated a shift from
capitalism to socialism, a transitory system meant to begin addressing the
inequalities of capitalism through government interventions in the means of
production and distribution of goods and services, before finally transitioning to
Marx's idealized end goal: communism, a system defined by the abolition of social
classes, complete government control of the means of production, and an
abundance of goods.
Meanwhile, the ideas and concepts of classical economics were given new life by
the neoclassical tradition in economic thought, as spearheaded by Alfred Marshall in
his book, Principles of Economics (1890). The neoclassical school retained the
classical school's advocacy of free-market capitalism and a self-regulating
economy, while giving it increased mathematical rigor and introducing the concept
of marginal utility, which examines the additional benefit (or "satisfaction") a
consumer gains from consuming additional amounts of a good or service. The
neoclassical school also marks the shift from the use of the term political economy
to economics, signifying the recognition of economics as a separate discipline.

GROUP 6
Methods Employed
Regarded as a subfield in economics, econometrics focuses on the quantitative
analysis of economic data through statistical methods and tools. This field seeks to
provide empirical content in analyzing economic phenomena. It is believed to have
been developed by Norwegian economist Ragnar Frisch, one of the founders of the
Econometric Society and co-laureate of the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic
Sciences in 1969. Frisch (1933) considered econometrics as a unification of
concepts, methods, and perspectives from three fields-economic statistics,
economic theory, and applied mathematics.
The field of econometrics has the following specialized fields of study: econometric
theory, which deals with the development and evaluation of tools and methods, and
the study of econometric methods and its properties; and applied econometrics,
which is concerned with the development of quantitative models and the application
of econometric methods to these models with the use of economic data.
Econometrics may employ standard statistical models to study economic questions,
but most often econometric analyses are concerned with observational data. In this,
the design of observational studies in econometrics is similar to the design of
studies in other observational disciplines, such as sociology and political science.
As individual firms and businesses have become more interrelated, econometrics
provides the necessary tools and framework to analyze economic phenomena with
methodological rigor.
Economics and Its Subdisciplines
Economics is broadly separated into two major fields: macroeconomics and
microeconomics. Macroeconomics deals with the study of entire economic systems-
their behavior, main elements, and overarching systems. Its scope of study includes
gross domestic product, inflation, government interest rates, unemployment, and
international trade. Microeconomics observes the workings of the market on an
individual or group level, as well as the transactions between individuals and firms,
and how money flows between these economic actors.
James Cochrane (1970) asserted that economics can be divided into three (3) main
categories: descriptive economics, analytical economics, and applied economics.
Descriptive economics is concerned with the collection of relevant facts concerning
a particular economic phenomenon. Analytical economics attempts to explain how
economic systems work and examines the vital features of such systems. Applied
economics is the application of descriptive and analytical economics to the process
of identifying problems and determining possible solutions.
Some of the more well-known subfields in economics include behavioral economics,
energy economics, game theory, health economics, welfare economics, labor
economics, economic geography, development economics, international
economics, and information economics.

SUMMARY
 As social sciences, political science and economics study interactions.
Political science is concerned with the interactions between different groups of
people in establishing and maintaining society, and how power is used in
those interactions. Economics, on the other hand, examines the interactions
involved in how society uses and allocates its scarce resources.
 Politics is the activity though which people make, preserve, and amend the
general rules under which they live.
 Politics can be defined using four perspectives: as the art of government, as
public affairs, as compromise and consensus, and as power and the
distribution of
 resources.
 Economics is concerned with the organization of economic activities in a
society. As a field of study and practice, economics seeks to address issues
such as what goods and services should be produced, for how much, when,
and how they should be produced.
 The historical development of economics as a scientific discipline can be
broadly summarized through the four major schools of economic thought: the
classical tradition, the Marxist tradition, the neo-classical tradition, and the
Keynesian tradition.