Political Science and Political Education

Abstract

Much of this essay falls within the realm of speculative thought. Since it is in the nature of speculation that one's words may appear immodest and his conclusions often eccentric, I shall state my arguments at the outset without pausing to elaborate them. The arguments themselves are quite simple. Each of them will reappear later on clothed, I hope, in more attractive dress.Two varieties of political thought contended for the allegiance of the American people at the founding of the new nation. The two seem irreconcilable in certain crucial respects.One was notable for its expression of friendship and brotherhood, for its insistence upon individual spontaneity and uniqueness, and for its disdain for material concerns; it was intuitive and unsystematic in temper. The other displayed a preoccupation with social order, procedural rationality, and the material bases of political association and division; it was abstract and systematic in temper.The exponents of the latter point of view, having put their opponents to rout, assumed the responsibility for organizing the government and politics of the country. They enacted their psychological, social, economic, and political theories into fundamental law, then erected insititutions designed to train generations of citizens to prefer certain goods and conduct over all others.

A Conceptual History of the Emergence of Bounded Rationality

“…"Procedural rationality" first appears in our corpus in 1963 (Jacobson 1963) and all of its occurrences (Hammond 1968;Pfaff 1970;Thompson 1969) are within the discipline of political science, to which we return in the following section. Simon picks up the concept in his Richard T. Ely Lecture (Simon 1978) as well as several other publications, after which the concept experiences a path of modest growth.…”

“Teaching as if Citizens Would Seek Their Counsel”: Pedagogy in the Berkeley School

“…The inclusion of literature in their teaching and understanding of the project of political theory (see especially Jacobson 1978; Schaar 1981; and Rogin 1983) simultaneously points to their interdisciplinary approach to political theory (before it was in vogue) along with an old-fashioned humanism in much of their work. Theirs was not a pedantic humanism, in which classic works speak to timeless values, but rather a humanism that stands in opposition to what Jacobson and Schaar wrote of as the sterile, parched, and overly abstract conceptions of politics being taught in most other subdisciplines of political science at the time (Jacobson 1963; Schaar 1981). Literature attended to the inner life, allowing students and readers alike to see the connections between inner and outer worlds, and it presented an understanding of politics that brought home the embeddedness of the political within themselves and their local communities.…”

“…Almost 20 years earlier, Jacobson wrote in his legendary 1963 American Political Science Review ( APSR) essay, “Political Science and Political Education,”: “Two varieties of political thought contended for the allegiance of the American people at the founding of the new nation. The two seem irreconcilable in certain crucial respects” (Jacobson 1963). Jacobson drew a sharp contrast between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, distinguishing between the documents’ tones, moods, purposes, and theories.…”

“…“The Articles of Confederation read like the work of a band of hopeful amateurs. But the Constitution is the product of a group of sophisticated professionals, men well versed in the day-to-day practice of a craft” (Jacobson 1963). Wolin made use of this same distinction, similarly throwing his lot in with the vanquished “hopeful amateurs” rather than the victorious “sophisticated professionals.” Schaar shared Jacobson’s and Wolin’s trait of siding with the losers, judging the value of political acts independently of their success or failure in the world.Jacobson, Wolin, and Schaar argued and taught that the road not taken of the “band of hopeful amateurs” and of the local, participatory, and egalitarian vision of the Anti-Federalists and Tom Paine need not be completely lost to us if we read closely enough, thought carefully enough, and took courage and inspiration from our submerged democratic tradition.…”

Can Political Science History be Neutral?

“…I cannot imagine that Dryzek and Leonard would dispute the importance of this topic-had they written at greater length they doubtless would have discussed it. Raising it, however, requires that we pay attention not only to the research programs and the theories of political science but also to its educational practices and public functions (and if Jacobson [1963] is right, this takes us beyond our own national borders, as well). Here the postempiridst concerns with contextualized problem-solving capacities may have some place.…”