1PL uLCLlnL Cl CLl1lCAL 1PLC8?

Cmprakash MohanLv

mlnenL pollLlcal sclenLlsLs Lhlnkers scholars and wrlLers of
pollLlcal Lheorv have oplned LhaL pollLlcal Lheorv durlna Lhe
areaLer parL of Lhe 19
Lh
cenLurv had decllned a areaL deal
Some of Lhem bemoaned Lhls decllne oLhers declared LhaL lL
was alreadv dead and sLlll oLhers belleved LhaL lL was ln
doahouse sLaLe Lhelr bellef reaardlna Lhe decllne of pollLlcal
Lheorv was based on Lhe facL and araumenL LhaL 'slnce karl
Marx and !S Mlll Lhe dlsclpllne had noL produced an
ouLsLandlna phllosopher'1he emplrlclsLs ln pollLlcal sclence
blLLerlv aLLacked pollLlcal Lheorv for belna Loo much
normaLlve and value loaded" 1hev also charaed LhaL pollLlcal
Lheorv suffered from 'hlsLorlclsm'1he more promlnenL of
Lhese scholars and LheorlsLs were uavld LasLon Alfred
Cobban uanLe Cermlno eLc 1helr explanaLlon and araumenL
are as under
uavld LasLon an lllusLrlous member of Lhe Chlcaao
unlverslLv who ploneered behavlourallsm ln pollLlcal sclence
polnLed ouL LhaL pollLlcal Lheorv belna concerned wlLh some
klnd of hlsLorlcal form had losL lLs consLrucLlve role Pe
crlLlclsed ln parLlcular Lo Wllllam uunnlna CP Mcllwaln
Llndsav and Ceorae M Sablne for hlsLorlclsm ln pollLlcal
Lheorv ln hls vlew Lhese scholars prlmarllv wroLe Lhe hlsLorv
of pollLlcal ldeas and conflned Lhemselves Lo Lhe Lasks of
relaLlna lnformaLlon abouL Lhe meanlna lnner conslsLencv
and pasLpollLlcal values Also Lhev concenLraLed merelv on
undersLandlna Lhe facLual condlLlons alvlna rlse Lo a
parLlcular ldeoloav or a value svsLem 1hus Lhev pald less
aLLenLlon Lo Lhe Lask of analvslna and formulaLlna new value
Lheorv lurLher LasLon deplored Lhe role of a hlsLorlan onlv
carrlna llLLle for Lhe prevalllna soclaleconomlc condlLlons ln
Lhe socleLv
1

Accordlna Lo uavld LasLon 'Moral 8elaLlvlsm' le
Lhe arowLh of Lhe relaLlvlsLlc aLLlLudes Lowards value ls
anoLher cause of Lhe decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv 1races and
arowLh of Lhe concepL of moral relaLlvlsm are Lo be found ln
Lhe wrlLlnas of Max Weber Pume ComLe and karl Marx
1hese phllosophers Lrled Lo deLach values from facLs 1hev
LreaLed Lhe values as expresslons of an lndlvlduals or aroups
preference and Lhev Lrled Lo flnd ouL how Lhev affecLed Lhe
soclal economlc and pollLlcal condlLlons of Lhe socleLv ln
whlch Lhev developed LasLon polnLed ouL LhaL such values
belna Lhe producL of a parLlcular socloeconomlc svsLem
could noL necessarllv be relevanL Lo Lhe conLemporarv
socleLv Pence anv aLLempL Lo relaLe or enforce Lhe values
of a parLlcular perlod of hlsLorv Lo anoLher perlod was
lrrelevanL and mlsdlrecLed
1hus LasLon ls of Lhe oplnlon LhaL 'research
abouL values' and 'consLrucLlve developmenL of values' are
an lnLearal parL of Lhe sLudv of pollLlcs ln hls presldenLlal
address Lo Lhe Amerlcan ollLlcal Sclence AssoclaLlon ln
1969he advocaLed LhaL soclal sclenLlsLs should be Lralned ln
Lhe analvsls and reconsLrucLlon of Lhelr value svsLems Pe
polnLed ouL LhaL creaLlve Lheorv ln Lhe pasL was enaaaed ln
Lhe Lask of aLLempLlna Lo oraanlse for each aae lLs own
concepLlons for lLs own needs of llnklna knowledae of
pollLlcal facLs Lo pollLlcal aoals" Pence Lhere ls a need for
revlvlna crlLlcal Lheorv whlch once aaaln shall acL as a brldae
beLween Lhe needs of socleLv and Lhe knowledae of Lhe
soclal sclenLlsLs conflne hlmself Lo Lhe Lask of seeklna Lo
undersLand pollLlcal relaLlons as Lhev exlsL and noL quesLlon
Lhe old or creaLe new pollLlcal svnLhesls he concluded bv
savlna LhaL lL ls noL Lhe nealecL of Lhe values Lheorv buL also
Lhe lndlfference of casual/svsLemaLlc or Lhe emplrlcallv
orlenLed Lheorv abouL pollLlcal behavlour whlch has led Lo
Lhe decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv
1he anoLher facLor for Lhe decllne of pollLlcal
Lheorv ls a lona absence of a conaenlal aLmosphere ollLlcal
ldeas arow ln Lhe soll of soclal confllcL and chanae ln
dlfferenL perlods ln Lhe pasL areaL ldeas arew ouL of soclo
pollLlcal upheavals 1hls was Lrue of Lhe emeralna of laLo
and ArlsLoLle ln anclenL Creece SL AuausLlne and Machlavelll
ln Lhe medleval Lurope spllL bv Lhe church sLaLe confllcL
Pobbes and Locke ln Lhe sevenLeenLh cenLurv whlch saw Lhe
sLruaale beLween Lhe klna and Lhe parllamenL of 8rlLaln
emeraence of 8urke alne volLalre 8ousseau and
MonLesqules ln Lhe 18
Lh
cenLurv whlch wlLnessed Lwo areaL
revoluLlonarv evenLs namelv Lhe Amerlcan wars of
lndependence and lrench revoluLlon 1he lndusLrlal
revoluLlon ln Lurope aave blrLh Lo Lwo areaL pollLlcal Lhlnkers
namelv karl Marx and Max Waber 1he aLrophv of pollLlcal
Lheorv ls laraelv due Lo Lhe absence of such confllcLs and
chanaes ln Lhe 20
Lh
cenLurv LasLon araues
2
LasLon oplnes LhaL Lhe prevalenL confuslon
beLween sclence and Lheorv ls veL anoLher reason whlch ls
responslble for Lhe decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv Pe explalns lL
Lhus lL ls one Lhlna Lo applv Lhe sclenLlflc meLhod Lo research
problems buL qulLe anoLher Lo evolve a Lheorv of Lhe
research done Anv aLLempL however sclenLlflc Lo
accumulaLe facLs and Lo use Lhem Lo evolve alLernaLlve
mechanlsms for lmprovlna Lhe pollLlcal sLrucLures and
processes ls noL llkelv Lo lead bv lLself Lo Lhe consLrucLlon of
a sclenLlflc Lheorv lor Lhe consLrucLlon of a Lheorv we need
Lo ldenLlfv Lhe ma[or varlables of pollLlcal llfe and esLabllsh
Lhelr relaLlonshlps wlLh each oLher Pe adds LhaL ln modern
Llmes Lhe pollLlcal sclenLlsLs have dellberaLelv shlfLed Lhelr
aLLenLlon from lnsLlLuLlon Lo process and someLlmes Lo
moLlves 1hev have done so under Lhe lmpacL of oLher soclal
dlsclpllnes especlallv Lhose of socloloav and psvcholoav
1hese scholars have noL cared Lo evolve an adequaLe
concepLual framework for Lhe sLudv of pollLlcal llfe LasLon
accepLs LhaL Lhe sLudv of processes and moLlvaLlons ls
lmporLanL cerLalnlv much more lmporLanL Lhan LhaL of
lnsLlLuLlons buL he belleves LhaL lL ls noL bv lLself capable of
Lheorv bulldlna
LasLon fullv accepLs Lhe need of facLs ln Lheorv and
Lhelr necesslLv Lo make a sclenLlflc Lheorv Pe wrlLes
Lheorv wlLhouL facLs mav be a well plloLed shlp wlLh an
unsound keel 8uL where preoccupaLlon wlLh facL aaLherlna
slphons awav enerav from seelna Lhe facLs ln Lhelr LheoreLlcal
slanlflcance Lhen Lhe ulLlmaLe value of facLual research lLself
mav well be losL Pe concludes LhaL lL ls 'hvperfacLuallsm'
whlch becomes a maladv and has been responslble for Lhe
decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv
Alfred Cobban llke LasLon has araued LhaL
pollLlcal sclence has become decadenL and wornouL ollLlcal
sclence ls no lonaer a 'proaresslve sclence' lL looks llke a
'wornouL coln' whlch requlres recolnlna
3
lollowlna LasLon
Cobban savs LhaL pollLlcal Lheorv ls a producL of acLlve
pollLlcal llfe lor example Lhe Creek pollLlcal Lheorv
flourlshed ln ALhens and noL ln SparLa or Macedonla up Lo
Lhe 19
Lh
cenLurv ln dlfferenL perlods pollLlcal Lheorv arew ln
Lhe mldsL of acLlve pollLlcal llfe 8uL Lhe 20
Lh
cenLurv dld noL
produce anv lnLellecLual alanL ln pollLlcal Lheorv apparenLlv
due Lo Lhe facL LhaL uemocracv has made people 'dull' 1hev
seem Lo reaard democracv as an lncanLaLlon 1o manv lL has
ceased Lo be a llvlna pollLlcal ldea 1hev have sLopped
Lhlnklna of anv beLLer alLernaLlve Cne mav araue LhaL Lhe
people are so much happv wlLh democracv LhaL Lhev are noL
maklna anv serlous efforL Lo aeneraLe new ldeas and norms
AnoLher facLor accordlna Lo Cobban of decllne of
pollLlcal Lheorv ls Lhe obsesslon of some pollLlcal LheorlsLs
wlLh power Machlavelll of lLalv Pobbes of 8rlLaln and
MoraenLhau of Amerlca are some of Lhese wellknown
LheorlsLs ln pollLlcal sclence Lodav values have been sacrlfled
aL Lhe alLer of power lf ln Lhe pasL pollLlcal Lheorv possessed
quallLv and vlaour LhaL was due Lo Lhe facL LhaL lL was Lhen
vlewed as a parL of eLhlcs ollLlcal Lheorv has been doomed
Lodav due Lo lLs subordlnaLlon Lo power
Cobban ls of Lhe vlew LhaL conLemporarv pollLlcal
Lheorv lacks a sense of purpose as well as dlrecLlon and Lhls ls
laraelv responslble for Lhe decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv Pe
belleves LhaL all areaL pollLlcal Lhlnkers ln Lhe pasL had clarlLv
of purpose ln mlnd and wlLh a vlew Lo lnfluence acLual
pollLlcal behavlour Lhev wroLe Lo condemn or supporL
exlLlna lnsLlLuLlons Lo [usLlfv a pollLlcal svsLem or persuade
Lhelr fellow clLlzens Lo chanae lL because ln Lhe lasL resorL
Lhev were concurred wlLh Lhe alms and purposes of pollLlcal
socleLv" 1he earller pollLlcal Lhlnkers were men of passlon
and deep commlLmenL who brouahL all Lhelr force of ldeas
and expresslon Lo preach whaL Lhev consldered was normallv
rlahL 1hev were men of purpose who serlouslv wlshed Lo
chanae and recreaLe Lhe socleLv ollLlcal Lheorv from laLo
Lo Mlll or Marx savs Cobban was essenLlallv a branch of
morals or eLhlcs
Powever whlle enumeraLlna Lhe causes of decllne
of pollLlcal Lheorv he oplnes LhaL all ls noL veL losL Pe wrlLes
8ureaucracv ls noL veL Lhe ma[or reallLv of aovernmenL ln
anv wesLern counLrv nor are preLorlan auards of pollLlcal
parLles ?eL our masLers raLher Lhan our servanLs" Pe
concludes AfLer a aeneraLlon's experlence of drlfLlna
dlrecLlonless on a sLormv Sea Lhe need of recoverlna a sense
of dlrecLlon and Lherefore cenLral ls bealnnlna Lo be felL
And lf pollLlcal Lheorv revlves lf Lhe ldea of purpose ls
relnLroduced lnLo pollLlcal Lhlnklna We mav Lake up aaaln
Lhe LradlLlon of wesLern pollLlcal LhouahL and ln dolna so
resume LhaL conLlnuous LransformaLlon of morals lnLo
pollLlcs whlch sLlll remalns pollLlcs and ln whlch accordlna Lo
core lles Lhe real eLhlcal proaress of manklnd"
4

unllke Alfred Cobban uanLe Cermlno also aave hls
own vlew reaardlna Lhe decllne of pollLlcal Lheorv Accordlna
Lo uanLe Cermlno pollLlcal Lheorv was on Lhe decllne durlna
Lhe areaLer parL of Lhe 19
Lh
cenLurv Llke Cobban Cermlno
Loo aLLrlbuLes Lhe decllne Lo poslLlvlsm ln Lhe earller perlod
and Lo ldeoloav or Lhe prevalence of pollLlcal ldeoloales
culmlnaLlna ln Marxlsm ln Lhe laLer perlod
LnumeraLlna Lhe ma[or causes of Lhe decllne of
pollLlcal Lheorv Cermlno pavs prlmarv lmporLance Lo Lhe
ldeoloalcal reducLlonlsm" of 1racv ComLe and Marx 1he
Lerm ldeoloav as Lhe sclence of deLermlnlna Lhe orlaln of
ldeas Was used bv 1racv lL was 1racv's flrm bellef LhaL all
LhouahL was a reflecLlon of and was deLermlned bv sense
experlences Pe expounded Lhe vlew LhaL Lhe world of
phvslcal sensaLlon and acLlve vlslblllLv was Lhe onlv reallLv
ldeoloav was looked upon as a parL of Zooloav 1he human
lnLellecL could be observed and descrlbed as a properlv of a
mlneral or a veaeLable or a clrcumsLance ln Lhe llfe of an
anlmal MeLaphvslcs for 1racv conslsLed of onlv Lhose ldeas
whlch relaLed Lo Lhe real le sensorv experlence Llke oLher
maLerlallsL Lhlnkers of lrance 1racv held Lhe vlew LhaL Lhere
was no source of ldeas oLher Lhan sensaLlon All Lhlnklna
Lhus could ulLlmaLelv be Lraced Lo feellna l feel Lherefore l
am" Pe araued LhaL bv Lraclna all ldeas Lo sensorv
experlence a new sclence of man could be creaLed 1he
ablllLv Lo radlcallv dlssecL ldeas bv Lraclna Lhem back Lo Lhelr
orlaln ln sense experlence could enllsL knowledae for
reconsLrucLlna a new soclal order ln whlch human belnas
could be educaLed and reshaped conformlna Lo Lhe deslred
klnd of socleLv
1he word ldeoloav has now come Lo have a
dlfferenL connoLaLlon Lhan whaL 1racv had made popular
ldeoloav now slanlfles anv seL of ldeas clalmlna Lo supporL or
[usLlfv a alven economlc or pollLlcal svsLem 1hus Lo 1racv
aoes Lhe credlL of lnlLlaLlna a movemenL called ldeoloalcal
reducLlonlsm" whlch ln Lhe course of Llme culmlnaLlna ln
Marxlsm
Cermlno however unllke Cobban and LasLon
belleves LhaL pollLlcal Lheorv ls now aaaln ln ascendancv
Accordlna Lo hlm Lhe LradlLlonal pollLlcal Lheorv ls
underaolna a noLeworLhv resuraence ln our Llmes lLs ecllpse
durlna Lhe lasL 200 vears was due Lo lnlmlcal lnLellecLual
forces and pollLlcal movemenLs of Lhe Llme on Lhe one hand
and Lhe craze for sclence" on Lhe oLher Pe oplnes LhaL even
durlna Lhe hevdav of poslLlvlsm phllosophlcal currenLs of
reslsLance were evldenL ln Lhe wrlLlna of 8enedlLLo Crore
Penrv 8urason !ullen 8enda Maxschere and oLhers 1hls was
followed bv Lhe parLlal survlval of Lhe pollLlcal Lheorv ln Lhe
ellLlsL school of whlch Culdo uorso was Lhe chelf proponenL
Above all a fullfledaed revlval of pollLlcal Lheorv was Laklna
place ln Mlchael CakshoL Pannah ArendL 8erLrand de
!ouvenal SLrauss and Lrlc voealln

8eferences
1 uavld LasLon '1he uecllne Cf Modern ollLlcal 1heorv'
ln !ournal Cf ollLlcs vol 13 no1 lebruarv 1931 pp 36
38
2 lbld
3 Alfred Cobban '1he uecllne Cf ollLlcal 1heorv' ln
ollLlcal Sclence CuarLerlv vol 68 no3 SepLember 1933
pp289303
4 lbld