Socialist uses of workers' inquiry

Socialist uses of workers' inquiry Translated by Arianna Bove Raniero Panzieri, 1965 The best way to shed light on the question of the 'political aims of inquiry' is to go back to a debate in Marxism. This presents us with the danger of focusing on theoretical issues and even perhaps of not dealing with them productively, a danger we should try to avoid in order for this seminar to have a practical purpose: a definition of a questionnaire, and the organisation and beginning of inquiry. However, the advantage of referring back to Marxism is that it would help us outline the working method of Quaderni Rossi, which some comrades still seem to be perplexed by. Some comrades are still wary of sociology and its tools, which is unjustified and essentially motivated by residues of false consciousness and a dogmatic view of Marxism. The use of sociological tools for the political aims of the working class will certainly reignite this discussion, because the scientific foundation of revolutionary action is historically identified with Marxism. Let me briefly run through some philological points. The Marxism of the mature Marx starts off as a sociology: what is Capital: a critique of political economy, if not an outline of sociology? Marx's critique of political economy is based on a charge of one-sidedness that is amply documented - though not always sufficiently or persuasively

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Power and Politics in Organizations: Public and Private Sector Comparisons

Power and Politics in Organizations: Public and Private Sector Comparisons Joseph LaPalombara Wolfers Professor of Political Science and Management School of Management Yale University A chapter for the "Process of Organizational Learning" section of the Handbook of Organizational Learning, ed. Meinolf Dierkes, A. Berthoin Antal, J. Child & I. Nonaka. Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming. DRAFT: Please do not cite without author's permission. Power and Politics in Organizations: Public and Private Sector Comparisons Joseph LaPalombara Yale University Political Organizations and Their Milieu Organizational learning derives most of its knowledge from research on organizations in the private sector, particularly from the study of the firm. Its rich interdisciplinary quality is reflected in the range of social sciences that have contributed to the field's robust development. The contribution from political science, however, has been minimal (reasons are suggested in the chapter on 'politics' by LaPalombara in this volume). The mutual failure of political scientists to pay more systematic attention to organizational learning and of organizational learning specialists to extend their inquiries into the public/political sphere is unfortunate in at least three senses. First, a general theory of organizational learning is unlikely to emerge unless and until

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Russia's Political Party System as an Obstacle to Democratization

Russia's Political Party System as an Obstacle to Democratization Introduction Political parties play a fundamental role in the representative political systems of northern industrialized democracies. They "connect civil and political society, advance the perceived interests of individuals, groups, and social strata while aiming consciously to develop these constituencies, and provide a link between society and the state, espousing the claims of the one and enforcing the rules of the other" (Sakwa 1995, 169). Political parties provide representation and accountability, electoral pressure for partisan constituencies, and the basis for structuring political choice in the competition of interests in the political arena. In short, they serve as an integral aspect of representative democracies, and thus are perceived as the bedrock for the process of democratization. It is the argument of this article, however, that Russia's transition to democracy actually has been inhibited by the development of a dysfunctional and extremely unstable party system. An important starting point for understanding the woeful state of Russia's contemporary party system is examining the motivations surrounding the choices made by self-interested political elites. The desire of those who already possess power to maintain it and the desire to obtain the "goods" of political office-most notably power

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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The study of international or rather global politics, seeks to provide an account of politics in the broadest domain.

. Introduction The study of international or rather global politics, seeks to provide an account of politics in the broadest domain. The domain of international politics in the twenty-first century is characterised by the increasing number of actors pursuing common and personal interests. It is largely due to the globalised, interdependent nature of the current international political environment that the concepts of sovereignty and power deserve further evaluation. The exercise of authority and power are facts as old as time, throughout the ages men have tried to explain and understand how and why political authority is organised. Sovereignty is a concept used to explain political power, to attempt to understand the complex interactions that take place as man strives towards the most effective and efficient form of societal organisation. The purpose of this discussion is to attempt to provide a clearer interpretation of the terms power and sovereignty and to gain an insight into the relationship between these important concepts which advance our understanding of the organisation of political authority. 2. The emergence of sovereignty Porfessor Hinsley, in his book aptly titled Sovereignty (1986:1), calls sovereignty a concept and not a fact, a theory or assumption applied to political power. He says that the term originally expressed the idea that there is a final and

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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How and why does Locke explain the creation, value and protection of property?

'The great and chief end... of Mens uniting into Commonwealths, and putting themselves under Government, is the preservation of their property' (Second treatise, para.124). How and why does Locke explain the creation, value and protection of property? Locke says that the state has a responsibility to preserve people's private property. He (1688) says "The great and chief end, therefore, of men's uniting into common-wealths, and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property" (p. 262). The state has to set laws which establish the rights of the people to own property. It has to have judges to decide between disputes. And it has to have people to execute the law once it's passed. The reason why people join a society is to get this particular protection for their property, or else they would have remained in a state of nature. For the same reason they have to protect it they can't take it away as well. Since people join a society to preserve their property not to have it taken away. If the state would have the right to take it away it would be as if they wouldn't have any property at all. Since, Locke (1688) says, "I have truly no property in that, which another can by right take from me, when he pleases, against my consent" (p. 266). People would be a lot better off living in a state of nature where at least, they have a right to try to defend

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Gandhi: Patron Saint of the Industrialist.

Gandhi: Patron Saint of the Industrialist Leah Renold[ ] During the years of the Indian independence movement, a leading Indian industrialist, G. D. Birla, was Mahatma Gandhi's most generous financial supporter. While Birla has been described as a devotee of Gandhi, the relationship between the two men was more one of collaboration than of one-sided devotion. Gandhi's campaigns were made possible by drawing from Birla's vast financial resources while Birla benefited not only from the social and religious prestige which his association with Gandhi brought him, but his economic role and position as a wealthy capitalist was strengthened and glorified. Gandhi gave his blessing to the abundant wealth of Birla with his teaching on trusteeship, a concept which asserted the right of the rich to accumulate and maintain wealth, as long as the wealth was used to benefit society. Gandhi apparently borrowed the concept of trusteeship from the writings of the American millionaire, Andrew Carnegie, who had used trusteeship to promote capitalism over socialism. The close relationship between Gandhi and G. D. Birla did not escape scrutiny. B. R. Ambedkar, a leader of the untouchable castes, accused Gandhi of pretending to support the cause of the oppressed while actually supporting the forces of social conservatism.[40] Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India, questioned the Gandhi-Birla

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  • Subject: Politics
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Communism VS Democracy

Communism VS Democracy Communism and Democracy Communism, a concept or system of society in which the major resources and means of production are owned by the community rather than by individuals. In theory, such societies provide for equal sharing of all work, according to ability, and all benefits, according to need. Some conceptions of communist societies assume that, ultimately, coercive government would be unnecessary and therefore that such a society would be without rulers. Until the ultimate stages are reached, however, communism involves the abolition of private property by a revolutionary movement; responsibility for meeting public needs is then vested in the state (Daniels 177). As a concept of an ideal society, communism is derived from ancient sources, including Plato's Republic and the earliest Christian communes. In the early 19th century, the idea of a communist society was a response of the poor and the dislocated to the beginnings of modern capitalism. At that time communism was the basis for a number of utopian settlements; most communistic experiments, however, eventually failed. Most of these small-scale private experiments involved voluntary cooperation, with everyone participating in the governing process (Daniels). Later the term communism was reserved for the philosophy advanced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their Communist Manifesto and the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
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Extent of key political ideas in directly influencing change and development .

Extent of key political ideas in directly influencing change and development . Certainly, to an extent it could be said that key political ideas directly influenced change and development in the period 1848-1939. Clearly, in this period, ideologies such as Nationalism, Liberalism, Fascism, Nazism and Socialism were rife and it is inevitable that such a growth in these doctrines will lead to change. However, it is evident that whilst the rise of nationalism led to the unification's of Italy and Germany, and the rise of the dictatorships of Mussolini and Hitler can be attributed to a growth in popularity of the Fascist doctrine, other factors may have influenced these changes to a greater degree than the ideologies themselves. Indeed, in the short run, the rise of the dictatorships had little to do with the ideology, and more to do with the pragmatic approach of both Hitler and Mussolini. Furthermore, it is evident that ideologies such as Nationalism and Fascism did not affect every country in Europe in the same way; indeed Britain remained comparatively unaffected by both doctrines, unlike Germany and Italy. Indeed, it could be argued that it wasn't key political ideas that influenced change and development, but instead the growing intellectualism of the period, which made pragmatic change necessary. Certainly, to an extent it could be said that key political ideas directly

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Evolution of Democracy and the Athenian Constitution

Kasem Iqbal Evolution of Democracy and the Athenian Constitution Democracy is defined in modern times as government by the people. To put that in perspective and better understand all that democracy entails we must consider its origins. It is surprising indeed that even today tyrannies and dictatorships exist in the world when more than two and a half thousand years ago the ancient Athenians had developed a functional and direct form of democracy. What contributed to this remarkable achievement and how it changed the socio-political scene in Athens is what will be considered in this paper. The paper will have three sections, each detailing the various stages of political development from the kings of Attica to the time of Pericles when, in its golden age, Athens was at the height of its imperial power. The historical sources used are "On Democracy and Oligarchy" attributed to Aristotle and Xenophon, "The Rise and Fall of Athens" by Plutarch and "History of the Peloponnesian War" by Thucydides. The first stage in Athenian history was the time of the monarchs of Attica. Most of this period is shrouded in myth and legend. The ancient kings had absolute authority and sovereignty. In those times the king was the head of the state, chief priest, general and judge. The obvious qualifications for this post were birth, wealth and military power. The king may have been

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T difficult for export orientated economics to sustain the land owning elites much longer. (www.psa.ac.uk/cps/1995/camm.pdf accessed on 1st February 2005)

ESSAY TITLE - ACCOUNT FOR THE FRAGILITY OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY IN ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL PRIOR TO THE 1980s. This discussion is a comparative study that will be a focused comparison, what this means is that the study is going to focus on four specific factors that made liberal democracy difficult to maintain in Argentina and Brazil during this period. The discussion will examine the internal and external factors that contributed to the erosion of liberal democracy. The first section will examine the impact of export orientated economics on politics and society in Argentina and Brazil between 1900 and 1930. This changed after 1930 and a new economic development strategy would emerge to replace export orientated economics, this was state led industrialisation in the form of Import Substitute Industrialisation (ISI) and will be discussed in the second section. The third section will evaluate the similarities and differences in populist thinking under the leadership of Vargas in Brazil (1938 - 1945) and Peron in Argentina (1946 - 1955). This section will also consider the impact the ISI's had on the establishment of the 'populist state' in both countries. The final section of this discussion is going to examine some of the conditions that resulted in a sustained period of military authoritarianism from the mid sixties through to the mid eighties. This will consider some of

  • Word count: 5349
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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