by Miguel S. Zanella

  1. Etymology: Philosophical and Lexicographical Perspectives

The term “politics” originates from the Greek politiká, meaning “affairs of the city” (polis). Aristotle, in his work Politics, conceptualizes politics as the activity that seeks the common good within the community. The ancient Greek word politeia refers to the constitution or form of government of a city-state and is the root of terms like “policy” and “polity” in English.​

  • Policy: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “policy” refers to a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual. Its etymology traces back to the Greek politeia, through Latin politia and Old French policie.​
  • Polity: This term denotes a form of political organization or an organized political entity. It also derives from politeia, emphasizing the structure or system of government.​

Hannah Arendt, in her work The Human Condition, redefines politics as the space of appearance where individuals, through action and speech, reveal their identity and participate in the construction of the common world. For Arendt, politics is not merely an institutional activity but the manifestation of human plurality and the capacity to initiate something new.​

  1. Historical Context: Postmodernity and the Dissolution of the Political Individual

In the postmodern era, characterized by globalization, digitalization, and economic interconnection, a growing discrepancy is observed among different political systems: liberal democracies, autocracies, and dictatorships coexist and collaborate in the commercial sphere. Examples such as the European Union, China, and various Latin American countries illustrate how divergent political structures interact in a globalized market.​

However, in this context, the individual has lost centrality as a political agent. Politics has become more technocratic and less participatory, with decisions made by elites or algorithms, and a citizenry that often feels disconnected from the economy and political process.​

Jürgen Habermas, in his Theory of Communicative Action, argues that communicative rationality is essential for democratic legitimacy. He proposes that communicative action, based on mutual understanding and deliberation free from coercion, is fundamental for a democratic society. However, in postmodernity, this form of interaction is threatened by social fragmentation and the loss of public spaces for deliberation.​

  1. Path to the Current Problem and Conceptual Output from Etymology

The etymological evolution of “politics” reflects a transition from the organization of the city-state to more complex structures and, in postmodernity, to systems where the individual feels increasingly alienated. The need to reorganize politics from the individual’s perspective becomes evident.​

Habermas offers a conceptual bridge by emphasizing the importance of communicative action for democratic legitimacy. Axel Honneth, in turn, develops the theory of recognition, highlighting that individual identity is formed in social interaction and that mutual recognition is essential for personal development and social justice. Francis Fukuyama, in his work Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Recognition, examines how the need for recognition drives contemporary politics and how the lack of this recognition can lead to conflict and polarization.​

In this context, politics must go beyond the mere organization of society; it must address the individual’s selfish need to syllogize their existence and be recognized by other spheres and conditions of their humanity.​

  1. Conceptual Proposal

We propose redefining politics as:​

“The process by which the individual has the selfish need to syllogize their existence through spheres of communication, given their human condition. Their recognition and level of inclusion determine their inclusion and respect for their human condition in society.”​

This definition acknowledges that, in postmodernity, politics must focus on the individual as an active agent seeking meaning and recognition in a complex and fragmented world. Communicative action becomes the means for the individual to articulate their existence and participate in the construction of a society that recognizes them in their entirety.​

 

Bibliography Entries:

Footnote Examples:

  1. Aristotle, Politics (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905).​Search UW-Madison Libraries
  2. Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958).​SCIRP
  3. Jürgen Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action: Reason and the Rationalization of Society, vol. 1 (Boston: Beacon Press, 1984).​Taylor & Francis Online+2SAGE Journals+2H.F. Tan Library+2
  4. Axel Honneth, The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts, trans. Joel Anderson (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995).​Chicago Journals+3PhilPapers+3cristianorodriguesdotcom.files.wordpress.com+3
  5. Francis Fukuyama, Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Recognition (London: Profile Books, 2018).​e-Library Universitas Pertamina
  6. ChatGPT 4.0 Processing. CTO (Context, Task: Format/research, and Output) Prompting Method & Guidance.

 

About the Author

Miguel Sánchez Zanella is an emerging scholar of political theory with academic roots in political science and business. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, where he first cultivated his fascination with political theory and focus on Postmodernism & Development. Over the past decade, he pursued a career in business development and corporate finance, honing his strategic and analytical skills. He is now refocusing some of his efforts into his career on political theory, leveraging insights from his corporate experience to inform his scholarly pursuits. Forward-looking and intellectually driven, he aims to bridge practical insights with theoretical frameworks, bringing a fresh perspective to contemporary political discourse.

Connect with me: Linkedin —> https://bit.ly/4iycpXi