Philosophy of Politics

1. Philosophy applied to politics investigates those immutable, universal principles which enable a reflective mind to make a correct judgment about everything capable of influencing civil society for good or evil. I have called these great principles political criteria1 because they guide wise people in evaluating whatever has power to modify the condition of a social body. 2. Everything capable of modifying the social condition for good or harm may be considered as a force moving civil society either towards its legitimate end (by benefiting and improving the social condition), or away from this end (by harming society and bringing it closer to its destruction). The amount of power proper to such a force is relative to its positive or negative political worth, that is, to its capacity for effecting social progress or deterioration. Clearly, the political criteria we are discussing are simply ‘rules according to which we must evaluate the positive or negative value of all the forces acting upon and moving civil society.’ 3. When accurately evaluated, these forces enable us to foresee to some extent the future of civil society. Thus political criteria contain within themselves the important art of political foresight.