World eBook Library - eBooks | Read eBooks online

An Exhibit on Politics

Power

Uncle Tom's cabin : or, Life among the l... (by Stowe, Harriet Beecher)
Introduction to the Principles of Morals... (by Bentham, Jeremy)
The Twelve Caesars (by Tranquillus, Gaius, Suetonius)
Of the Conduct of the Understanding (by John Locke)
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists (by Tressell, Robert)
The Trial (by Kafka, Franz)
The Subjection of Women (by Mill, John Stuart)
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonapar... (by Marx, Karl)
Animal Farm (by Orwell, George)
The Federalist Papers (by Hamilton, Alexander)
Political Ideals (by Russell, Bertrand)
The Law of Nations; (by Vattel, Emer De)
On Liberty (by Mill, J. S.)
A Modest Proposal (by Swift, Jonathan)
Declaration of Independence of the Unite... (by United States, Founding Fathers of the)

Power: An Exhibit on Politics

This virtual exhibit examines the history of political ideologies and the on the application of personal and political power within the context of social and resource control. Throughout history, man has struggled for both control, and sovereignty. The concepts of freedom and independence have been great inspiration for writers throughout millenia. These documents are located in the following Collections: Politics, Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Government, Law, Literature...among many other volumes of influential works.

The Social Mind

In Twentieth Century Political Thought, political philosopher Joseph S. Roucek draws from E.A. Ross and C.H. Cooley to say that the state has a “social mind” that prescribes forms and obligations to all associations, and shapes the societal composition. The modern discourse of political struggles is that political victors become the leading creators of the “social mind” that control the order of the defeated. This discourse is common in the study of politics that shape modern nations and international relations today (Twentieth Century Political Thought, Joseph S. Roucek).

The Review of the Management of Our Affairs in China, Since the Opening of the Trade in 1834; With an Analysis of the Government Despatches from the Assumption of Office by Capt. Elliott, on the 14th December, 1836, to the 22d of March, 1839 discusses the history of British influence in China’s opium trade. According to the author, the British collaborated with elite Chinese bureaucrats and merchants, creating profits for a few, but much havoc in the country (; With an Analysis of the Government Despatches from the Assumption of Office by Capt. Elliott, on the 14th December, 1836, to the 22d of March, 1839, Captain Eliot). The aggression of foreign powers entering into China for their own trade interests transformed the country into German, Russian, British and French “spheres of influence” (“May Fourth Movement,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). In this context, the “social mind” in China was actually being influenced by foreign powers rather than according to the interests of the Chinese themselves. According to China at the Peace Conference, August 1919, Paris became the site for the Peace Conference that brought together the world’s leaders to end the World War I (China at the Peace Conference, August 1919, Far Eastern Political Science Review). Wellington Koo and Cao Rulin represented China. Koo demanded an end to imperialist policies in China (“V.K. Wellington Koo,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). However, Western powers refused his claim. China was the only country that did not sign the Paris Peace Conference Treaty. This led to the May Fourth Movemen t in China (“May Fourth Movement,” World Heritage Encyclopedia).

Sovereignty

The writer, Roucek, also states that the indispensable elements of states are populations, territory and sovereign power. The quantity and quality of a population legitimizes a ruling power’s territorial administration. Sovereignty is described as political leaders raising the flag, erecting government buildings and instituting police and army forces to defend their territory. In the words of J.W. Burgess, the original, absolute, unlimited power of the state over individual and collective subjects that reside in that territory (Twentieth Century Political Thought, Joseph S. Roucek). This concept of sovereignty is demonstrated in the the writings of Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. He believed that a state’s stability is always subject to threat.

Niccolò Machiavelli was born in a time when France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and Switzerland battled Italian city-states for regional influence and control (“Niccolò Machiavelli,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a 16th-century political treatise which argued that there is a benefit to leaders using violence to achieve stability and security, also known as sovereignty (The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli). However, political sovereignty may also be born from the social, economic and psychic forces emerging out of the population. According to Popular Sovereignty, in order for a peaceful state to be achieved, informed individuals need to be willing to work toward it. It is the responsibility of the the institutions and laws to support the development of informed individuals who will in turn advocate for popular needs and interests (Popular Sovereignty, Charles Anthony).

Ideology

Roucek adds that the state’s power is founded upon territorial residence and control of vital economic items, such as property. Smaller political units called city-states evolved into states. Ancient monarchies expanded into empires. The ideological leadership of states can be absolutist, tyrannical, representative, democratic, socialistic, militaristic and industrial. Other ideological forms include aristocracy and democracy, theocracy, physiocracy and plutocracy. These differences in governments reflect the techniques that dominant groups use to exercise their power (Twentieth Century Political Thought, Joseph S. Roucek).

New political ideologies are adopted by groups as contexts shift. In 1835, French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America, documenting his travels to America and illuminating the amorphous nature of the state (“Alexis de Tocqueville,” World Heritage Encyclopedia). Through this book, he wanted to inform France about its changing position in the global arena due to the rise of Anglo-America as an emerging imperial power. De Tocqueville observed how state practice of aristocratic politics was giving way to a new ideal called democratic politics: American democracy allowed people to come together for the common cause of creating their political society according to civil laws, while also expanding across the North American continent (Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville).

Another type of political ideology is socialism, which would critique dominant political orders such as U.S. imperial power. In Revolutionary Socialism, A Study in Socialist Reconstruction, Louis C. Fraina wrote that imperialism is the height of capitalism as it animates the economic, social and political forces that structure capitalism to exploit workers. Thus, the death of capitalism is an opportunity to practice Revolutionary Socialism, in which proletariat workers depend upon themselves to produce their own needs, in order to change the elite-controlled society (Revolutionary Socialism, A Study in Socialist Reconstruction, Louis C. Fraina).

Works Cited

“Alexis de Tocqueville.” World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

Anthony, Charles. Popular Sovereignty. London: Longmans, Green & Company, 2010.

Captain Eliot. Review of the Management of our Affairs in China, 1834; With an Analysis of the Government Despatches from the Assumption of Office by Capt. Elliott, on the 14th December, 1836, to the 22d of March, 1839. London: Smith, Elder and Company, 1840.

Far Eastern Political Science Review. China at the Peace Conference, August 1919. Canton: Diplomatic Association, 1919.

Fraina, Louis. Revolutionary Socialism. New York: The Communist Press, 1918.

Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. London: Oxford University Press, 1921.

"May Fourth Movement." World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

Roucek, Joseph S. Twentieth Century Political Thought. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc., 1946.

“V.K. Wellington Koo.” World Heritage Encyclopedia. WorldLibrary.org. Web. 2014.

Political Collections

Political matters refer to the calculation of forces that seek to assert power over territory and population. The Nature of Organized Power: An Exhibit on Politics features Roucek’s concepts such as the “social mind,” “sovereignty” and “ideology” to explore how a particular definition of order asserts its power over territory, and circulates its ideals to generate public consent of that order. However, this order is always shifting, as different political ideas co-exist and compete for the manifestation of their ideal reality.

Explore other books on politics in these collections.

Top 100 books on Politics

Uncle Tom's cabin : or, Life among the l... (by Stowe, Harriet Beecher)
Introduction to the Principles of Morals... (by Bentham, Jeremy)
The Twelve Caesars (by Tranquillus, Gaius, Suetonius)
Of the Conduct of the Understanding (by John Locke)
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists (by Tressell, Robert)
The Trial (by Kafka, Franz)
The Subjection of Women (by Mill, John Stuart)
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonapar... (by Marx, Karl)
Animal Farm (by Orwell, George)
The Federalist Papers (by Hamilton, Alexander)
Political Ideals (by Russell, Bertrand)
The Law of Nations; (by Vattel, Emer De)
On Liberty (by Mill, J. S.)
A Modest Proposal (by Swift, Jonathan)
Declaration of Independence of the Unite... (by United States, Founding Fathers of the)

Top 100 books on Government

Communist Manifesto, The (by Marx, Karl)
The Declaration of Arbroath
The Politics of Obedience : The Discours... (by De La Boetie, Étienne)
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (by Thoreau, Henry David)
The Elements of Law Natural and Politic (by Hobbes, Thomas)
Ethica (by Baruch Spinoza, Benedictus De Spinoza, Johannes Va...)
Lex, Rex : The Law and the Prince, A Dis...
The Commonwealth of Oceana (by Harrington, James)
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (by Thoreau, Henry David)
Robert's Rules of Order Revised for Deli... (by Robert, Henry M. (Henry Martyn))
History of the Greek Revolution : Compil... (by John Lee Comstock)
Utopia (by More, Thomas, Sir)
Virginia Declaration of Rights and Cardi... (by Mason, George)
The Prince (by Machiavelli, Niccolò)
The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Ma... (by Thomas ( Hobbes)

Top 100 books on Anthropology

An Anthropologist at Work; Writings of R... (by Benedict, Ruth)
The Dolmens of Ireland, Their Distributi... Volume 3 (by Borlase, William Copeland)
The Fijians : A Study of the Decay of Cu... (by Thomson, Basil)
Criminal Sociology (by Ferri, Enrico)
Anthropology (by Marett, R. R. (Robert Ranulph))
Argonauts of the Western Pacific (by Malinowski, Bronislaw)
Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of... (by Morgan, Lewis Henry)
American Anthropologist : Vol. 21 Volume Vol. 21 (by American Anthropological Association)
Ancient Society (by Lewis Henry Morgan)
The Races of Man : An Outline of Anthrop... (by Deniker, Joseph)
Social structure (by Murdock, George Peter)
The Golden Bough Volume Xii : A Study in... (by Frazer, Sir James George)
Systematic Theology (by Hodge, Charles)
The Great Rift Valley : Being the Narrat... (by Gregory, John Walter)
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological... (by Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ire...)

Top 100 books on Biographies

The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (R...
The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seing... (by Casanova, Giacomo)
Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedien... (by Thoreau, Henry David)
The Life of Charles Dickens (by Forster, John)
Celebrated Crimes Volume: 2 (by Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870)
Famous Affinities of History the Romance... (by Orr, Lyndon)
The Memorabilia (by Dakyns, H. G.)
Up from Slavery : An Autobiography (by Washington, Booker T.)
Plutarch's Lives : Volume 2 (by Plutarch)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (by Franklin, Benjamin)
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Scul... Volume Vol. 10
St. Francis of Assisi (by Chesterton, Gilbert Keith)
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, V9 (by De Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet)
Leonardo Da Vinci (by Brockwell, Maurice Walter)
The $30,000 Bequest : And Other Stories (by Twain, Mark)

Top 100 books on History of India

The British Empire at Home and Abroad; A... (by Sanderson, Edgar)
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati; Pioneer in th... (by Butler, Clementina)
The Laws of Manu; Or, Manava Dharma-Sest...
Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in Indi... (by Hodson, William Stephen Raikes)
Clough, Kingdom-Builder in South India (by Hines, Herbert Waldo)
Thoburn and India; Semicentennial Sermon... (by Crawford, William Henry Ed)
The Founders of the Indian Empire. Clive... (by Malleson, G. B. (George Bruce))
Forty-One Years in India. From Subaltern... Volume Vol. 1 (by Roberts, Frederick Sleigh Roberts, Earl)
Indian Outfits and Establishments : Prac... (by Anglo Indian)
A Descoberta Da India (by Lobo Davila, Arthur)
Reports on British Prison-Camps in India... (by International Committee of the Red Cross)
The Unity of India Collected Writings 19... (by Jawaharlal Nehru)
The Kipling Index : Being a Guide to the... (by Saxton, Eugene Francis)
The Decisive Battles of India : From 174... (by Malleson, G. B. (George Bruce))
A Century of Indian Epigrams : Chiefly f... (by Bhartrhari)

Top 100 books on Philosophy

The Analysis of Mind (by Russell, Bertrand)
Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic... (by Kant, Immanuel)
The Problems of Philosophy (by Russell, Bertrand)
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding ... (by John Locke)
Pragmatism (by James, William)
Creative Unity (by Tagore, Rabindranath)
The Monadology (by Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm)
Confucian Analects Confucius, Score Cfu ... (by Legge, James)
New Atlantis, The (by Bacon, Francis)
Aids to Reflection in the Formation of a... (by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
Of the Shortness of Life (by Seneca, Lucius Annaeus)
The Reasonableness of Christianity, As D... (by Locke, John)
An Introduction to the Principles of Mor... (by Bentham, Jeremy)
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understandin... (by Hume, David)
On Liberty (by Mill, John Stuart)

Top 100 books on Sociology

The Social System (by Parsons, Talcott)
The Negro in Chicago : a study of race r... (by Chicago Commission on Race Relations)
A Far Country (by Churchill, Winston)
Introduction to the Science of Sociology (by Park, Robert Ezra)
The School as a Social Institution; An I... (by Robbins, Charles Leonidas)
Theories of Social Progress, A Critical ... (by Todd, Arthur James)
The Principles of Sociology : Volume 2 (by Spencer, Herbert)
Five Lectures on Blindness (by Kate M. Foley)
Woman : Her Charm and Power (by Downes, Robert P.)
Democratic Ideals and Reality : A Study ... (by Halford John Mackinder)
Conception Control and Its Effects on th... (by Barrett, Florence Elizabeth Perry, Lady)
The Sexual Question : A Scientific, Psyc... (by Auguste Forel)
Criminal Sociology (by Ferri, Enrico)
Catholic and Protestant Countries Compar... (by Young, Alfred)
Young Folks, History of England (by Yonge, Charlotte Mary)

Top 100 books on Economics

Walden Or, Life in the Woods (by Thoreau, Henry David)
The Acquisitive Society (by Tawney, Richard Henry)
The Servile State (by Belloc, Hilaire)
The Cry for Justice; An Anthology of the... (by Sinclair, Upton, Ed)
Communist Manifesto (by Marx, Karl)
Looking Backward from 2000 to 1887 (by Bellamy, Edward)
The Trade Unions : An Appeal to the Work... (by Robert Somers)
In Praise of Poverty
Autobiography of Mother Jones, The (by Jones, Mary Harris)
The Evolution of Modern Capitalism (by John A. Hobson)
The Jungle (by Sinclair, Upton)
Socialism, Utopian and Scientific (by Engels, Friedrich)
Jungle, The (by Sinclair, Upton)
On the Principles of Political Economy, ... (by David Ricardo)
Democracy in America, Vol. 1 (by De Tocqueville, Alexis)

Top 100 books on Law

The Idea of a League of Nations; Prolego... (by League of Nations Union)
Documents on the League of Nations (by League of Nations. Covenant)
The Trial and Death of Socrates (by Plato)
The Prince (by Machiavelli, Niccolò)
Bartleby the Scrivener (by Melville, Herman)
Terrorism, Asylum Issues, And U.S. Immig... (by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee On the ...)
Crime and Punishment (by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor)
Codex Hammurabi (by Hammurabi, King of Balonia)
A Law Dictionary : Adapted to the Consti... (by Bouvier, John)
Bank Secrecy Act : Implementation of the... (by Bonner, Robert C.)
Bleak House (by Dickens, Charles)
Crs Report for Congress Received through... (by Doyle, Charles)
Confucianism (by Anonymous)
Bartleby the Scrivener, A Story of Wall ... (by Melville, Herman)
The Fiscal Threat to U.S. Foreign Policy (by Spiers, Ronald I.)