Giessel

Cathy Giessel





Martinson

Ceezar Martinson

One of the interesting aspects of academic political science today and more so the pundit class on our radio waves and television is the lack of the study of statesmanship. There is always a discussion of the latest poll numbers and who is up and who is down and what political maneuver one side is using against another. But all of those conversations are of politics and in particular the actions of politicians to try and shape elections to their favor. There is very rarely a discussion of statesmanship and what it means to pursue virtue in political affairs both as an activist and also as an elected official.

In terms of the academy you would be hard pressed to find a course in political science where there is an attempt to study what statesmanship is. To really understand the true meaning of the term you have to go back to the greatest philosopher in Western history to understand the philosophical foundation of the term. That philosopher would be Aristotle who wrote extensively on the subject and whose work stands the test of time. What can be concluded from reading Aristotle’s writings on statesmanship is that to be a statesman is about pursuing virtue in positions of power for the overall good of the people.



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