What Is Political Science and What Should It Be?

Abstract

United States political science has been heavily subsidized and steered by foundations and the national security state. It has been disseminated all over the world, marginalizing diverse and foreign perspectives. However, the purpose of political science, as defined by Aristotle, its originator, was to find out how to attain the good life for all in a self-governing community. This is still where political science should aim. We can attempt to learn from history and current practices how to embody our ideals in institutions and foster desirable social change. This had been a major purpose of the Caucus for New Political Science (CNPS); other collectives and organizations should join in this task.

Keywords:

• political science
• foundations
• social justice
• Caucus for New Political Science

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Joan Roelofs is Professor Emerita of Political Science, Keene State College, New Hampshire. She is the translator of Victor Considerant's Principles of Socialism: Manifesto of Nineteenth Century Democracy (Maisonneuve Press, 2006), and author of Foundations and Public Policy: The Mask of Pluralism (State University of New York Press, 2003) and Greening Cities (Rowman and Littlefield, 1996). She has translated, with Shawn Wilbur, Charles Fourier's “World War of Small Pastries” (Autonomedia, forthcoming). Roelofs is an anti-war and red-green activist, and an editor of Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. Her website is www.joanroelofs.wordpress.com.