“MAN IS BY NATURE A POLITICAL ANIMAL” [ARISTOTLE 384-322 BCE]

Why Intellectual ignorance is killing our country and not peasants?

18662_100269166674505_3396472_n
Sometimes when you look at our country, what goes on and what people talk you are made to believe mediocrity is the rule and that is why the selfish and their illusions have successfully seized power in Uganda. Intellectuals and the less educated alike we have sunk in the politics of convenience, greed and deceptions allowing the triumphs of permanent lies at all levels: social, cultural, economic and ideological level.
1POLITICS IS THE ART OF ASSOCIATING MEN”
One of the common lies said over and over by the greedy and those avoiding civic responsibility is that either: politics is a “dirty game” or “it should not be mixed “with some spheres of society activities.
But according Aristotle (384-322 BCE) one of the founders of political philosophy and its education, therefore, “man is by nature a political animal”. From his introductory chapters I have in the figure below adopted from, Amy Osborne (2014) illustrated what this definition means.
In a closely related explanation Johannes Althusius (1557-1638) explains that; “POLITICS IS THE ART OF ASSOCIATING MEN” there when you divide or disintegrate people you are actually anti-politics.
Johannes explains that politics is:
• The mutual communication, or common enterprise involving things, services and common rights;
• It is the balance of power between government, communities and individuals;
• Humans associate in groups at different levels; families, clans, schools, guilds, cities, districts, provinces, regions, towns, city-states , countries;
• The purpose of the state is to protect members of its association (residents or citizens) and their communication (freedom of expression and association);
• Elected state representatives must reflect the many views of these differing associations.
That is how and what politics is and works like. It is not about cooperation all the time not because that is “love” or conflicts all the time not because that is war. Not fault finding all the time that subjectivity. Politics about policies (measures) to find solutions solve our problems.

MY GLOSSARY FOR TODAY:

Poly: many (people and issues) Civic: Public (civil society-concerned with public affairs is being political) Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) as just like all other interest groups or CSOs hence political. All public goods and services are products of “public policy” hence it is all politics.
Republic: Res (affairs) Publica (public). Citizen: a member of the civil society (public that is organised and performs “civic duties” and has public responsibility or civic responsibility; you are not a citizen when you fail those duties.
Culture: From German “Kultur” for civilisation. It covers the entire superstructure (things that are intangible or non-material subjects-education, religion, customs, manners, ideologies/ politics etc) and the substructure-all material objects that form our economic base-roads, houses, our homesteads, estates etc
So when we are talking of not being politicians or political but doctors or teachers or priests or professors. And saying “ebyo byabu binkwatireli” and you went to school who is our greatest enemy. The one scorning civic duty or those in political offices then school didn’t really help us I am sorry to say. That is why it is not Arts or sciences killing the country but “intellectual ignorance.”Hon Steven Birija Former LC5 Masindi (UK Exile)