Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each use of the word "politics" by the sense it carries.
Groups: Politics as arena · Politics as process · Politics as power
- Compromise between two wings
- Politics in the family
- Left politics for business
- Housing bill politics
- Political career
- Workplace deference dynamic
Hints
- One sense names a place, one an activity, one a relation.
- Anything about a family or a workplace is using the broadest sense.
Show the answer
Politics as arena: Political career, Left politics for business
Politics as process: Housing bill politics, Compromise between two wings
Politics as power: Politics in the family, Workplace deference dynamic
Why
The same word does three jobs in ordinary speech and the discipline inherits all three. Being able to say which one a claim is using resolves a surprising number of apparent disagreements, two people arguing about whether something is "political" are usually agreeing about the facts and using different senses.
Practise Politics, and the Science of It
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