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Chapter 1 — Games Politicians Play Study Chapter Summary At its best, politics can be a civilizing activity. It can preserve the peace, protect human rights, advance economic well-being, and encourage excellence in the arts and sciences. At its worst, however, politics--particularly for those on the losing side of the struggle for power--makes for war, tyranny, economic ruin, and barbarism. In chapter 1 we explore politics at its best and at its worst by examining some classic models in history, literature, and political philosophy. Certain patterns emerge, which we call “political games.” Can the serious business of politics be
called a game? We do not mean to imply a frivolous pastime. We do, however,
mean to suggest that all politics as contests have certain basic elements
commonly found in other kinds of games: players, stakes, rules, and strategies and tactics. To better understand the variety of
political games, we can construct a scheme called the destruction-accommodation-conversion continuum. At one end of the continuum are games aimed at complete
destruction of the opposing player. In the middle of the continuum are games of
accommodation, marked by cooperation, bargaining, and balloting. At the other
end of the continuum are games characterized by the peaceful conversion of the
opponent. This pattern of politics stresses voluntary agreement and emphasizes
free choice. Utilizing these concepts we present
a number of dramatic games drawn from history, literature, and political
theory. The first game is wipeout: the politics of destruction. To illustrate this game, we examine two types of
examples: the brutal takeover of the island of Melos by the Athenians during
the Peloponnesian War, and the more contemporary cases of destructive politics
practiced by Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler in Germany, the
Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia (Kampuchea), and the
terrorism campaign waged by al Qaeda.” The second game we explore is lion and fox: the politics of the
nation-state. The thinking of
Niccolò Machiavelli of Renaissance Italy serves to illustrate this game of
political realism whereby leaders have a responsibility to protect their
community’s vital interests with both force and craft. Above all, ends justify
the means. The contemporary world is filled with domestic and international
examples of lion and fox politics where self-interest and amoral behavior are
prevalent. The third game is strike: the politics of withdrawal, and it is epitomized by Aristophanes’ ribald play Lysistrata, in
which the women of Greece withhold sex from their men to drive them towards
peace and away from war. In modern times of course, the strike has a long
history, particularly in the conflict between labor and management. The final game is civil disobedience: the politics of
morality, and it has a
long history. It is illustrated by Sophocles in Antigone, by Henry David
Thoreau in his writings, by the nonviolent political action of Mohandas Gandhi
in India, and by the civil rights crusade of Martin Luther King Jr. in the
United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be
able to...
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