Politics the term used to describe the way that groups of people come to decisions about the actions they will undertake collaboratively. Politics is derived from the Greek word politika. The Greek is taken from the name of a book of theory by Aristotle of the same name. It is used to mean “affairs of state.” Although the word is generally used to refer to the actions and the forces involved in civil governments, religious, social, corporate, and academic institutions all employ tactics that are politic. The word politic is related to the idea of very prudent and careful decision making. Politic is rarely used in current conversations of writings. The use of the word politic as an adjective related to politics has been largely supplanted by the word political. The only common appearance of the word is to describe a “body politic,” which refers to the collective body of a country’s organized citizens.
As an area of study, politics primary examines group dynamics between large groups of people and how these interactions form policy and influence decisions. People who engage in the study of politics are referred to as political scientists. Students of politics have two equally viable areas to which they can devote their attention. Both areas of study require a grasp of political theory, however. The first method to study politics examines the historic development of governments. The other method to study politics examines how political factions interact.
Politics examines the various attempts by the different sides to convince the other to pass laws which suit their preference. These sides are often organized into different political parties. While the United States has only two dominant parties, the Republican party and the Democratic party, politics in other countries may consist of many political parties. There are two major conflicts between political theories. The first is the conflict between the left and the right. The left is generally seen as more progressive and seeking to irradiate social inequalities, while the right is generally conservative and sees social inequalities and an intrinsic part of human existence. The other major arguments in politics take place between libertarians and authoritarians. Libertarians value a strong individual and a weak state. Authoritarian politics support a weak individual and an empowered state. Libertarian politics support as great a reduction in the size, scope and authority of the government as feasible, while authoritarian politics support a further consolidation of governmental control. There are various degrees of left, right, libertarian, and authoritarian view. Some individuals may, for example, support libertarian social policy and authoritarian economic policy.
There are many different expressions of politics in different forms of government. These expressions include anarchy, which is a system of politics in which no one is in charge, as well as autocracy, a version of politics where one person is in charge. Two other competing political view points are oligarchy, which is when politics are managed by few people, and democracy, where a country politics are governed by the majority. An alternative expression of politics is a republic, where politics is determined by law.