UGEC 2690 Lecture 1 - Overview of politics PDF

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Class 1 UGEC 2690, Spring 2018 An Overview - What is politics Anarchy <---> Democracy <---> Authoritarianism/Totalitarianism And so Machiavellianism reigns. ** HOME POLITICS 1. Beijing tightens grips: (Gradual) Loss of rule OF law（法治精神）. So...

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Class 1 UGEC 2690, Spring 2018 An Overview - What is politics Anarchy Democracy Authoritarianism/Totalitarianism And so Machiavellianism reigns. ** HOME POLITICS 1. Beijing tightens grips: (Gradual) Loss of rule OF law（法治精神）. Some say it's not even rule BY law（依法而治）, it's rule by decree (人治）. 2. The unseating/DQ of 6 democrat legislators and the “co-location” controversy: One country, two system promise a sham? 3. Carrie Lam’s new tenure and her apparent problem governance: - “Castrating” local legislature 閹割議會 - Article 23 legislation 反 23 條 - Inconsiderate town planning 粗暴規劃 - Political prosecution and persecution 政治打壓 - “Co-location” 割地兩檢 - Oligopoly 財團壟斷 - Unfair society 社會不公 ** INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 1. China Rises’ Vs ‘China Containment’ – détente. The Trump factor. 2. Islam Vs Christianity 3. Climate change – Consensus or NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) ---------A few Western schools: ** NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI 馬契維尼 (1469-1527, "Italian", "Father of political pragmatism". 1. The end justifies the means. Skills and tactics acquire power. After seizing power the only sin is failure. To succeed one can use any means. Thus politics is AMORAL. 2. But still one must put on the appearance of virtue, since it is always better to appear governing by "goodwill" than by force - - not because it's morally better but because the government is safer with the goodwill of the governed. ** JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU 盧梭 (1712-1778, French): "Man was born free". The most inspiring force behind the French Revolution. 1. Morality's decline is due to civilisation's advance: Men are originally simple and natural, but

"the arts, letters, and sciences are spread like garlands of flowers round the iron chains by which men are weighed down." (Opposite of Voltaire's opinion: Joining virtue to knowledge bringing improved human conduct, leading to political reform.) 2. Unequal distribution of private property-> inequality -> wealth -> foundations of our arts and sciences-> government->oppressors armed with law. 3. Book : In the past our ancestors gave up their liberty by legitimising inequality, the true social contract must realise our liberty and equality together. Although without a government man is free, yet that would also reduce man to animal state. Thus need for a government, one of LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY. We bind ourselves collectively to act as we choose. - Leads to modern controversies over equality and FAIRNESS. ** ADAM SMITH (1723-1790, Scot): First bourgeois political economist, father of FREE MARKET thought. Seen as Newton of philosophy of society. 1. Advocate of maintenance of justice, which is "the first and chief design of every system of government". Though his definition of justice is narrow, like not doing another man harm in person, property or reputation. Main idea is to secure to each individual what is already his own. 2. Free market economy: A means to an end – For economic growth -- despite inequality -ultimate greater wealth for all. ("Trickle-down effect" 滴漏效應). (Deng Xiaoping says, "Let a small group of people get rich first"「先讓一小撮人富起來」) - Stages of society: hunters, shepherds vs commerce and agriculture. But development of appropriate levels of justice and government not automatic vis-a-vis economic advance. Problems to tackle at each stage. (Leading to modern thinking: A free market still needs to fight against monopoly, predatory pricing and oligopoly by introducing FAIR COMPETITION LAWS, 公平競爭法). 3. Capitalists' rate of profit tends to decline as wealth of society grows. Capitalists thus have "AN INTEREST TO DECEIVE AND EVEN TO OPPRESS THE PUBLIC". Ends...