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Why political science matters?

The meaning of political science is often restricted to the state, government, and everyday politics. However, it goes beyond that. We as humans share various relationships. What do we do when conflicts arise in these relationships? How do we resolve them? The Socratic dialectical method or Habermas’ idea of deliberation provides a solution. It says conflicts are better resolved through dialogue rather than domination. Hence, it tells us how to talk in a dialectical manner. It is the process of reasoning together. For instance, when your father asks you to aim for a government job, but you want to become a content creator, you do not totally oppose each other. Instead, you engage rationally: Why is a government job important? Maybe because it provides security and financial stability. But being a content creator might give you creative freedom. So you decide to take a government job but also start your creator journey simultaneously — maybe by vlogging your day as a government employee...
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Political Economy: The Interplay of Economics and Politics

The mobile phone on which you are reading this piece is manufactured by some company. In reality, the company hired workers, workers manufactured the phone. By selling the phone company made some profit. This makes it a purely economic activity. 
However, how many hours the workers will work or what the minimum wage they are entitled to get is decided by the government. Not only this, but how much tax will be levied on the product, e.g., 5% or 12% GST or the income tax on the employees, is also decided by the government. This makes it a political activity. 

Now, suppose China, a major producer of rare earth elements, limits its imports, making it vulnerable to international politics also. It will raise the cost of production. 


So the phone or any product that you use is a result of political and economic activity. 


Therefore, politics and economics are interrelated, and the political economy approach aims to understand and explain this relationship. Adam Smith is known as the father of the Political economy approach. 


Some see this relationship between politics and economics as positive, whereas others as exploitative. 


Liberals say that this relationship, if restricted to limited interference of the government in the economy, leads to innovation, modernisation, and a better standard of living. Meaning that if the companies are free to produce what they want and licenses are acquired quickly, etc. 


Marxists would say that the relationship between politics and economics actually favors the rich(bourgeois) who have the resources to produce something. These rich people then influence the policies of the government in their favour so as to constantly maintain their supremacy. For instance, Britain colonized India for their selfish interest. The Industrial Revolution in Britain necessitated the demand for raw materials. To fulfill that demand, a whole set of political and administrative structures, such as the Governor General and his council, was created. 


Hence, the political economy approach aims to understand economics by using a political lens and politics by using an economic lens. 
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