civic nature: Is politics necessarily about power?

Jacques Ranci?re. Source: egs.edu

I'm starting to think that my understanding of politics may be unfounded. I don't mean the art and science of government, or the methods people use to advance their interests, as a distinct category of human relations. I mean a broad notion of power relations and governance that includes non-humans (as explained in comparison with "the social" here: Thoughts on How Cities Change). The part I'm currently most unsure about is whether power is an essential component.

There's so much literature on the nature of politics and "the political" that I haven't read. My only recent taste has been in urban political ecology and fairly recent articles by Erik Swyngedouw and Mustafa Dike?. I remember the following quote from Jacques Ranci?re in Dike?'s "Space, Politics and the Political": "Politics is not made up of power relationships; it is made up of relationships between worlds" (1999). If I basically understood the first time I read it, I can't say that I've retained that understanding. It definitely appears to contradict my working definition of politics as power relations and governance. As I prepare to clearly explain how my current research contributes to urban political ecology, I've returned to the etymology and basic definitions of politics before moving on to more extensive readings if necessary.

Merriam-Webster includes the following?definitions of politics: "competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power" and "the total complex of relations between people living in society." Dictionary.com?adds "especially those relationships involving authority or power" to the latter, and includes "any activity concerned with the acquisition of power." Die.net includes "social relations involving authority or power" and a great quote from "The Devil's Dictionary (1911, republished in 1993):

POLITICS, n.? A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

The inclusion of power in each of these places is interesting, because when I double-checked the etymology I didn't find a direct root meaning power:

politics (n.)
1520s, "science of government," from politic (adj.), modeled on Aristotle's ta politika "affairs of state," the name of his book on governing and governments

politic (adj.)
early 15c., from M.Fr. politique (14c.) "political," from L. politicus "of citizens or the state, civil, civic," from Gk. politikos "of citizens or the state," from polites "citizen," from polis "city" (see policy (1)). Replaced in most adj. senses by political.

political
1550s, "pertaining to a polity, civil affairs, or government;" from L. politicus (see politic (adj.)).

polis
?ancient Greek city-state,? 1894; see policy.

policy
"way of management, government, administration," late 14c., from O.Fr. policie (14c.) "civil administration," from L. politia "the state," from Gk. politeia "state, administration, government, citizenship," from polites "citizen," from polis "city, state," from PIE *p(o)lH- "enclosed space, often on high ground" (cf. Skt. pur, puram "city, citadel," Lith. pilis "fortress"). Meaning "plan of action, way of management" first recorded c.1406.

The closest seems to be the Lithuanian pilis, meaning "fortress." However, if Aristotle's ta politika?means?"affairs of state," that would carry an association with power. I find the PIE [Proto-Indo European] *p(o)lH- "enclosed space, often on high ground" very interesting, also that "the supreme civil power" of a country is a temporary circumstance:

state?(n.2)
"political organization of a country, supreme civil power, government," 1530s, from state (n.1); this sense grew out of the meaning "condition of a country" with regard to government, prosperity, etc. (late 13c.), from L. phrases such as status rei public? "condition of the republic."

state?(n.1)
early 13c., "circumstances, temporary attributes of a person or thing, conditions," from L. status "manner of standing, position, condition," noun of action from pp. stem of stare "to stand" from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Some M.E. senses are via O.Fr. estat (Fr. ?tat; see estate).

As for social,?Merriam-Webster includes the following definitions:

involving allies or confederates

the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society"

tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others

And according to Etymology Online:

social (adj.)
c.1500 (implied in socially), "characterized by friendliness or geniality," also "allied, associated," from M.Fr. social (14c.), from L. socialis "united, living with others," from socius "companion," probably originally "follower," and related to sequi "to follow" (cf. O.E. secg, O.N. seggr "companion," which seem to have been formed on the same notion; see sequel). Meaning "living or liking to live with others, disposed to friendly intercourse" is attested from 1729. Meaning "pertaining to society as a natural condition of human life" first attested 1695, in Locke.

Wikipedia touches on some interesting ways in which "social" is used today:

In contemporary society, "social" often refers to the redistributive policies of the government which aim to apply resources in the public interest, for example, social security. Policy concerns then include the problems of social exclusion and social cohesion. Here, "social" contrasts with "private" and to the distinction between the public and the private (or privatised) spheres, where ownership relations define access to resources and attention.

The social domain is often also contrasted with that of physical nature, but in sociobiology analogies are drawn between humans and other living species in order to explain social behavior in terms of biological factors.

Society, in Merriam-Webster, includes the following:

a voluntary association of individuals for common ends

an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another

And?sociology?includes:

the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships; specifically: the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings

That seems kind of similar to ecology?("a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments" and "the totality or pattern of relations between organisms and their environment"), only less inclusive. From Etymology Online:

ecology
1873, "branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments, coined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) as Okologie, from Gk. oikos "house, dwelling place, habitation" (see villa) + -logia "study of" (see -logy).

The quote from Ranci?re makes sense with regard to relationships, but I'll have to find out what he means by "between worlds." Even though many dictionary definitions of politics contain some reference to power, the etymology suggests that it's more implicit. It refers to the affairs of those who constitute a "state" (from Aristotle's text on government and governing), or those who presently hold power. Expanded governance/politics ? or democracy ? empowers a greater constituency, expanding our collective power. At this point, I would say that politics is about power.

Source: http://www.civicnature.net/2012/02/is-politics-necessarily-about-power.html

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