Political science studies the political life of society and is the basis for the development and further implementation of scientific developments in real politics. Political scientists consider ways of organizing society, real-life political systems, types of regimes, activities of public organizations and political parties, patterns of political behavior, and so on. One of the prominent American political scientists David Easton de alt with these issues.
Short biographical note
One of the leading political scientists in the US was born June 24, 1917 in Toronto, Canada. In 1939 he graduated from the Faculty of Humanities at the university in his native city, and in 1943 received a master's degree. In 1947, David Easton received a Ph. D. from Harvard and immediately began his career at the University of Chicago. He worked as an assistant at the Department of Political Science. He was a graduate student-teacher, since 1981 he becameprofessor at the University of California (Irvine, California).
In 1968-1969, a well-known American political scientist served as president of the American Political Science Association. It is a professional association of students and political scientists that organizes conferences, publishes three academic journals, sponsors seminars and other events for political scientists with the participation of politicians, the media and the general public. In 1970, Davil Easton received his J. D. from McMaster State University of Canada, and attended lectures at Kalamazoo College in 1972.
In 1984, Easton was elected Vice President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He remained in this position until 1990. Actively engaged in scientific activities until 1995. In 1995, the last significant work was published (it was not widely distributed in Russia). Later he wrote individual works on the development and current state of political science and the political socialization of children, taught courses on political theory, the basics of political science and empirical political theory. D. Easton was married to Victoria Johnstone. One son was born in this marriage. Biography of David Easton ended on July 19, 2014.
Scientific activity of the American political scientist
The main contribution of a political scientist to science is associated with the application of the principles of system analysis to the consideration of the functioning of modern political systems andthe study of the processes of political socialization. The emphasis of the scientist's attention is on the dynamism of political systems, the role of various structures in maintaining the continuity of the system's functioning. David Easton was the first to offer a systematic exposition of the theory of the political system in his works The Political System (1953), The Structure of Political Analysis (1965) and others.
In recent years, David Easton turned to structural constraints - the second main element that underlies political systems, wrote a book about the influence of political structure on various aspects of socio-political life. At the University of California, Easton worked on a project (organized and chaired a group of political scientists from many countries) to study the current state of political science, as part of another project, he examined the impact that differences in the structure and organization of political systems in different countries of the world have on public policy..
Easton's definition of political system
The theory of political science, which D. Easton was interested in, was developed by many scientists, but it was he who most successfully applied the principles and methods of analysis to the study of political systems. The political scientist defines the political system as a certain interaction of power structures and political institutions that authoritatively distribute spiritual and material values in society. This helps to prevent conflicts between social groups and individual members of society.
Viewing the political system from this point of view, it is possible to determine the main functions of the system: the ability to distribute values in the most optimal way and convince people that this distribution is mandatory. Based on these statements, David Easton proposed a model of the political system, which consists of three elements: input, conversion, output.
Method benefits
The method of system analysis proposed by the American political scientist has two main advantages. Firstly, it allows us to unequivocally state that any political system does not remain static, but is constantly changing, dynamically developing and functioning according to its own laws. Secondly, D. Easton reveals the role of the structure of the political system in maintaining its continuous functioning, deeply analyzes the ongoing processes.
Political system model: entry, conversion, exit
According to the political theory of D. Easton, the needs and demands of society, the demands of citizens are concentrated at the entrance of any political system. Requirements are divided into external and internal. External ones come from an individual, a specific social group, and internal ones come from the political system itself. Specific simple requirements reflect indignation, dissatisfaction with certain phenomena in society, real problems that require specific solutions. At the output of the political system, specific decisions are made and actions are taken that have the status of being binding on all citizens.
David Easton divides the demands of citizens and social groups into distributive, regulatory, communicative. Distributive issues include wages, organization, problems of education, social security, and he alth protection. Regulatory requirements include solving public safety problems, controlling the production and distribution of goods, and fighting crime. Communication - protection of rights and freedoms, possession of information.
To the very nature of demands, different political systems treat differently. Thus, totalitarian regimes suppress impulses and deliberately manipulate them. But a prerequisite for the existence of such a system is the effectiveness of actions. Efficiency in such conditions is achieved through the introduction of a policy of equal distribution of goods and services. This makes it possible to ensure a certain (usually low) level of well-being of the population and stable support, confidence in the future.
Ways to respond to the current situation
The ways of responding in Easton's concept are the initial factors, that is, needs, requirements and requests. This is not the final transformation of requests into real actions, but only a fragment of the action cycle. This fragment David Easton called "feedback loop". This is a way of adapting the social institutions of power to specific situations, searching for connections, the consequences of the reaction of political structures. Thus, communication is a fundamental mechanism for eliminating social tension. But this function is only executed inif the government responds to impulses in a timely manner.
Flaws of the political system model
That being said, the model is an important aspect of study for political science students and is not untenable. The disadvantages of the political system developed in the writings of D. Easton are:
- certain conservatism, which is focused on maintaining the stability of the system, stability;
- insufficient consideration of personal and psychological factors in political interaction;
- too strong dependence on the demands of the population, underestimation of the independence of the political system.
David Easton's contribution to theoretical political science is considered significant.
