Quote by W. H. Auden
The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a science, because in politics theory and practice cannot be separated, and the sciences depend upon their separation. Empirical politics must be kept in bounds by democratic institutions, which leave it up to the subjects of the experiment to say whether it shall be tried, and to stop it if they dislike it, because, in politics, there is a distinction, unknown to science, between Truth and Justice.
Summary
The quote suggests that viewing politics as a scientific discipline is problematic because politics lacks the clear separation between theory and practice that exists in the sciences. It argues that empirical politics must be constrained by democratic institutions, where the subjects have the power to decide if a certain approach should be implemented and can stop it if they disagree. The distinction between truth (what the evidence suggests) and justice (what is morally right) exists in politics but not in science. Therefore, the quote suggests that political systems should prioritize democratic decision-making rather than attempting to apply a scientific approach to politics, as that may lead to tyrannical outcomes.
Topics
Politics
By W. H. Auden
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