Political Realism and Wisdom

This book brings the idea of realism back to the focus of political science. Contrary to current mainstream thought, the author contributes to the recently renewed interest in political realism by suggesting we return to the basics understanding of politics: power and political action.

In European-American culture the tension between "what there is" and "what there should be" has been a constant source of political action. In the interest of becoming more "scientific," modern political science increasingly fails to recognize that power is interpersonal, not institutional. Arguing against the current mainstream thought, András Lánczi contributes to the recently renewed interest in political realism by suggesting we return to the basic understanding of politics: power and political action. The modern bias towards democracy has become fundamental, or to put it differently, democracy is a political religion today. This result from the confusion of two different realms of life: the realm of manners, the written and unwritten rules how we should live our lives, and the methods we apply when we wish to understand political matters scientifically. Lánczi shows how the distinction must be sharply drawn between norms of morals and manners, and those of scholarly inquiries.