How can politics be defined?

Politics has not one meaning, but rather a number of different ones depending on how different perspectives analyse it, however, all different descriptions agree – politics is a social animal, one born out of the interactions between different indeviduals and groups, and how decitions are made.   Politics can be seen to be one of two categorys: conflict resolution or control of power.  The former being that politics is a process of removing conflict to produce harmony, and the latter being the ability to control and direct authority.

Consensus theory holds the view that politics is the art of conflict resolution.  As members of society live together and interact, conflict of interests and values are produced.  It takes politics, then, to ensure that conflict is resolved and harmony is in place to allow people to live together and for the conflicts not to become agrivated.  Politics allows a channel for views to be aired, expressed and discussed, ultimatly leading to a general concensus over what people want and what they beleve to be right.

It is two things which lead to such conflict – people’s values and people’s interests – and these can stem from a number of different aspects, religion and gender being only two.  Everyone has interests which affect themseleves, and so want certain aspects to be improved.  This type of view on how decitions should be taken is mainly based on selfish views, however, some arguments based around interests can benifit others also.  Interests that one science teacher may hold as to how the education system would be best improved could be to invest in better equipment for the sciences, while a member of senior staff may feel that this same money would be better spent on more teaching staff.  While both means of improvement would no doubt help to increace overall educational attainment, they would also help that particular person directly.  In such a situation a decition has to be made one way or another, and it is the necessity of making such choices which leads to conflict.  Values can affect people’s oppinions on things which may not affect them directly.  Self-interest may not play a part in the way someone beleves a decition should be taken, but their views my be developed from what they beleve to be the best course of action.  Equally, the resolution of conflict may be more based on the decition maker’s values rather than than their personal interests.

Another way of seeing politics is the ability to control power.  Sociologists Dowse and Huges argue, ‘politics occurs when there is differentials in power’, that when you get different levels of power, control and authority, you get politics.

It is those who have power who influence the behaviour of those with less power, through different forms of authority.  Max Weber identified three types of authority – Traditional, Charismatic and Rational-Legal.  Traditional authority is built upon traditions and customs  which have been establiched though time, that acceptence of such authority is expected.  Charismatic authority is dependent on the qualities of a leader.  People are drawn to follow such a leader because they believe that they have qualities which will be benificial.  Rational-legal authority requires a set of rules which give those who hold authority power to direct and command others.  This is only created through citizens passing such power on to others on their behalf.

However decition making is enforced, Lukes identified it as having three ‘faces’ – those of decision making, non-decision making, and manipulating desires.  With this final face, Lukes claims that power can be exercised through manipulation, and that people with power can perswade others that what they are offering is what is desired.  The non-decision making face is a secretive one.  Lukes claimed that power is exercised behind closed doors – those who have power also have the power to set the discussion points, and what should not be discussed as well as those which should be discussed.  The public side of power is the decision making face.  Power is exercised when a desision is taken.  This public face, however, deals with decision making – with resolving conflict.

Politics results from human social interaction, and the conflicting ideas which are present in such situations – wherever there are groups of people there is a need for decition making about, or control over, any number of things.  Therefore, in all situations, both the definitions of politics are correct – politics is the art of conflict resolution, as well as the control of power.

Rather than fulfilling its expectations as a place for education and communication, the Internet has become one big advertising channel.

The media hailed the birth of the Internet as a revolution in the way information and education was distributed and shared. A feeling that the Internet was nothing more than a big advertising, moneymaking, opportunity for big business soon superseded this initial reaction.

It can not be denied that the nature of the ‘World Wide Web’ makes it ideal for multinational companies to use as a marketing tool cheaply and cost-effectively, and it has done so to a great extent, but the international, and indeed the world wide, coverage of the internet makes it a more and more vital way of sharing knowledge and international communications, thus fulfilling the initial hopes of the media and indeed the public.

There cannot be any disputing that e-mail has completely changed the way it is possible to communicate over long distances – an e-mail sent in the UK can reach someone in Australia in a matter on minutes. Prior to this technology the only communication was by air mail and the telephone, the first takes a long time to reach such distant places around the globe, and the second cannot hold the same content, nor be as functional as the letter even though it is also an instant means of contact. E-mail makes the best of both worlds with the content of a letter arriving at its destination almost immediately. However, even long distance communications via the web can be used for advertising – the use of bulk mailing lists and mail shots throughout the world at the touch of one button can be an attractive prospect for business that want to make money from advertising over the net. This does not outweigh the uses and bonuses of being able to share information throughout the world though, the opportunity of being able to share new knowledge and discoveries with the rest of the interested world instantaneously is still evident and used.

But e-mail is not the only means of communication which has become commonplace with the birth of the Internet. Instant messaging systems such as IRC (internet relay communication) chat rooms and whole chat sites and servers (like dalnet.com), as well as ISP specific systems such as AOL’s AIM service means that the online community can converse, using text, in real time over the net. This type of facility, as well as being used for its original purpose of friendly chat between friends from the ‘real’ world and new friends in ‘cyber space’, it has been adapted and used for net conferencing and meetings. It has been used by universities in different countries (notable in the UK with London City university and the Washington State university in the US) to allow their students to share ideas and discuss matters as on the telephone, but at a significantly lower cost. Because of this type of communication the Internet is more than meets the eye – more than just a giant commercial outlet, or advertising channel. There are so many different applications for the technology behind the Internet that what is seen as the ‘Net’, is only a front to a wider medium.

Although much emphasis is put on the big failures in e-commerce, such as the collapse of the on-line fashion chain ‘boo.com’, the Internet is much more than a giant shopping precinct. It has a wealth of information available to all users free of charge and to anyone who cares to look for it. There are many not-for-profit organisations and educational organisations that have a noticeable Internet presence and supply educational resources to, and from, all over the world.

Dedicated educational sites are not the only places that have used the Internet as a free way for users to gain access to the information they provide and the services they offer. For example, as the internet has become more readily available in homes around the world, more and more international news sites have begun to be created to satisfy the need for instant global news, extensions to existing news services in the media – in areas such as television – such as the CNN.com site which reports the stories covered in the programs in more detail, and the Guardian Unlimited website (guardian.co.uk), an online extension to the newspaper service. Most of this new pool information is provided to the end user free of charge, however the use of the Internet is not free, and sites of this size and daily traffic do not come cheap. The costs involved need to met somehow on the sites that provide the free, educational, productive information. These costs are met, by the commercial sector, through the use of banner impressions – advertising.

The Internet can be compared to a large city – it has many buildings that house many organisations. When a person visits the city they head for the city centre – the most populated area, and the area with most to see. Advertisers see this area of a city, to be the most affective area to promote their product or service, the reason being is that this is the area that most people visit and more people are likely to see the advert. However, the area that is the busiest is due to this, the area in need of most up keep and the most money spending on it. The web is the same – the busier a site is, the more people want to advertise there, but also the more upkeep it needs, and ultimately, the more money needs spending on it. Like in a city the funding has to come from somewhere, and where better than from the advertising. So the money to support an area, or site, comes from the mass of advertisers wanting to advertise there.

This is why, to the average consumer, the net might seem to be nothing but a large advertising channel, and on the surface, to some extent, it is; but only on the surface. The balance between the ‘useful’ content and the advertising, which gives the revenue to continue to provide the funds to allow for it to exist, is a fine one.

So the internet provides a base for stand alone advertising and e-shops to build up a market, it also provides an extension to the advertising campaigns in other medium, such as print based publications and television, but it also is home to huge archives of information which can be accessed throughout the world. Without the ‘useful’ content the advertising would not be affective as the consumer would not feel a need to use the web, and without the advertising the money to support of the ‘useful’ content would not be there so it would not be possible for it to be available in this form.

It is this inter-dependency which makes the web a unique medium – encompassing the need to communicate on a global scale, with the requirements of business to advertise to the widest possible audience. The internet as it is seen by the user, a network of websites, is only a front to the technology used behind it – a wider scale of communications via electronic mail, direct computer connections, intranets, business and educational networks, databases accessible throughout the world, web meetings, banking and finance systems, control systems, and the list goes on.

To this end, the consumer side of the internet is an advertising-dominated medium with small amounts of obscure information dotted around, however, look further into the medium and you will see a huge diverse encyclopaedia of information on everything known to human kind waiting to be uncovered, and for all the willing world to see.

Who or what is Inspector Goole, and what is his role in the play?

The character of Inspector Goole can be explained in many ways.  It is thought, that he could be a ghost, an angel (sent from God to deliver the truth), a psychic (able to see the future), or simply just a socialist “Crank” – this is what, in fact, the characters in the play believe towards the end, as Mr. Birling says, “That fellow obviously didn’t like us.  He was prejudiced against us from the start.  Probably a socialist or some sort of crank – he talked like one.”

Each and every one of the different explanations of who Goole could be can be explained; those who say that he is a ghost, believe that this is what Priestley wanted us to think.  At the end of the play it is discovered that Inspector Goole does not actually exist, that if he is a real person he does not work for the police, and the fact that he knew how each member of the family had been in contact with Eva seems a little unreal, or supernatural – like a ghost.  Also by giving him the name of Goole, he suggests it from the first time he enters.  It is thought that he never actually existed, but is supposed to be ‘the voice of their conscience’ and by asking each one of them about their relationship with Eva Smith he is making them think of how each one of them is to blame for her death – The inspector says to Mrs. Birling, “She came to you for help…And you not only refused it yourself, but you saw to it that others refused it too”.  It is thought that following Mr. Birling’s capitalist speech at the start of the play, each character is set off thinking of how, fundamentally, this is not true.

Another explanation given is that Goole is an angel sent from God to deliver the truth about the Birlings’ lives.  It could be said that he has been sent to this family to make them realize their wrong doings and to make them change their lives before it is too late.  This idea is supported by the fact that Mr. Birling is in the middle of his capitalist speech when Goole first arrives, and that this timing is ideal for the maximum impact upon the family – that by giving the news of Eva Smiths’ death at this time would make them think about their situation.  It is argued that if he was simply a “Crank” he would not have been able to arrive at that exact time, so therefore he must have been sent from God, or be a Supernatural spirit.  This timing is also very symbolic of the lesson Goole is trying to teach to the Birlings’, and the lesson which Priestley is trying to teach the audience – that we all have a shared moral and social responsibility.  He interrupts at the height of the Mr. Birling’s capitalist speech showing that the outside world affects him too.

Those who do not believe that the inspector is actually sent from god, but believe he has a religious connection think he may be someone who believed the family should be taught a religious message.  Both these arguments can be backed up by one of Gooles’ closing lines, “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men do not learn that lesson, they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish.”  This is biblical hyperbole, he says it in such a way as to make you think it is taken straight from the book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Bible.

Another idea about who Goole could have been is if he is some sort of psychic, or someone able to see the future.  This is thought because at the end of the play the family receive a phone call from the police about a girl who has just committed suicide by swallowing disinfectant, exactly what the inspector had said only half an hour ago.

The final view on who Goole could be, is that he could be simply a Socialist “Crank” who was trying to get the family to change their ways.  This is the most supported of the explanations, and indeed the one which Mr. Birling himself believes, “That fellow obviously didn’t like us.  He was prejudiced against us from the start.  Probably a socialist or some sort of crank – he talked like one.”  He also goes on to say “Somebody put that fellow up to coming here and hoaxing us.  There are people in this town who dislike me enough to do that.”  The Birling family were in the upper class and had reputation of not treating the lower classes very well, as can be seen by how Mr. Birling had treated the people striking to get higher wages and the way in which Shela had had Eva sacked from here job at Milwards.  This could easily be the reason why somebody put the ‘Inspector’ up to visit the family.

It is important, however, that the inspector remains believable in his role as a police officer and a bit mysterious over all because he needs to carry out certain roles for the writer.  During the whole play he is perfectly believable as an inspector up until near the end, when he stops questioning the family and begins to almost preach to them, “Just remember this.  One Eva Smith has gone, but there are millions and millions of other Eva Smiths and John Smiths…”  His main job is present the plays main theme – to teach us that we all have a shared moral and social responsibility to each other.  This can be said to be a political message, a socialist view which is stressed most in Gooles’ final speech “We don’t live alone.  We are members of one body.  We are responsible for each other.”  But it can also be seen as a religious one, and a much wider message – he is speaking to and about everyone, not just the one family in the play.

As well as teaching the main theme of the play Goole has an important part in the way the play works and flows – he is in control of the flow of the play and reveals certain facts at the best point to keep the audience interested.  During the play he drops hints as to who else has been involved in Eva Smiths’ life, and holds information back to build up the suspense of the play.  When Goole seems to reach the end of one line of inquiry, he will bring around another set of revelations with the hope that the family will reveal more of their past, as he did with Gerald, “Now she had to try something else.  So she first changed her name to Daisy Renton”, a name which Gerald a shock, as he knew the someone with that name, making him act surprised.  Having been shocked by what the inspector already knows, it also keeps the audience interested in the play.  The play is structured so that each member of the family is interviewed individually and they tell their own part of the story in chronological order, so as it makes sense to both the characters in the play and the audience.  This is all controlled by the inspector, who decides who to interview next so he has control over the flow of the whole play, he begins the interview with Mrs. Birling by saying “Yes.  And I think you’d better look at it [photo of Eva]”

The inspectors role is a symbolic one, he arrives when Mr. Birling is at the peak of his capitalist speech, and is interrupted by the inspector telling them how Eva Smith died in such pain,

I’ve learnt in the good hard school of experience – that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and -

We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell

He also does not go until he is sure that all the members of the family are sorry for their behavior in the past, and that they would not do it again,

Inspector    You can’t even say ‘I’m sorry, Eva Smith.’
Sheila        (who is crying quietly) That’s the worst of it.

The play was written in 1945, following the second world war, but was set back in 1912, before the general strike, the first world war and the sinking of the Titanic.  All of these things affected the lower classes worse than the middle and upper classes; during the first world war hundreds of lower class soldiers were sent to fight and to die in the trenches.  It is significant that it is set then as it increases the impact of the main theme, that we all have a shared social and moral responsibility for each other.

Priestley gives the stage directions of, The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder.  This is used to symbolize the inspectors interrogation of the situation, it begins as soft to symbolize an upper-class home, but becomes ‘Brighter and harder’, when the inspector joins to symbolize both how he is inspecting the family and also to show how he intrudes into the family breaking it up and bringing the hard truth into their home, showing that they are connected to the goings on in other people’s lives.

The lighting is just one of the dramatic techniques Priestley has used to set the play – others being the fact that the whole play happens on stage in the time it would take to in real life, this is known as realism and is used to make the audience feel more involved in the play, another is the sudden turn of events at the end of the play, or coup de théâtre, when the family believe that they have got off the hook, and the phone rings telling them “A girl has just died…a police inspector is on his way here to ask some questions.“

Following Gooles’ visit some members of the family do realize that what he is trying to teach is true, both Eric and Shela are affected by his visit right to the end of the play, where as the older members of the family, Mr. and Mrs. Birling, do not seem too bothered by his visit once they realize that he was not really a police inspector, they even end up joking about it and making fun of the inspector, Mr. Birling says, “You all helped to kill her. (pointing at Sheila and Eric, and laughing) And I wish you could have seen the look on your faces when he said that.”  The older members of the family do not seem to have learnt anything and when he is gone all they seem to care about is their reputation, “I was almost certain of a Knighthood in the next Honors list - “  It is the younger end of the family who he affects most, who he seems able to teach his views to.

Whoever Goole was he managed to get a socialist, and perhaps religious, message across to some members of the family – Sheila and Eric.

Priestley manages to get his message to the audience too, by using the one family as an example of just one situation where each individual action, however small at the time, have ruined another persons life – even just the small things which seem unimportant at the time, can affect another life to such an extent.

Given I’m unlikely to find any use for these things in the future, and that there’s a tiny chance they might help someone somewhere along the line, I thought I would post them here.  There’s work from English, Expressive Arts, Geography, German, Media Studies, and Physics at GCSE and Politics and Sociology at A-level.  I’ll put them up over time and add them to the ‘School Work‘ category.

While I can’t promise any of them are any good (bear in mind I was between 15 and 18 when they were written), I’m happy for people to use any information or ideas contained in them for non-commercial purposes so long as they credit this blog.  Therefore, I’ve chosen to release everything under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales Licence (similar to the daily photo, but with the non-commercial clause).  Finally, while I hope it goes without saying I’ll say this anyway: don’t just submit my work as your own — it’s plagiarism, a breach of the licence terms, and will most likely mean you get no marks at all when you’re found out!