Book Review: International Politics and Economics: Expectant Peoples
| Date | 01 June 1964 |
| Published date | 01 June 1964 |
| Author | Nathan Keyfitz |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900215 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWs
237
At
the
core
of de
Jouvenal's thesis
is
the
identification
of
the
pheno-
menon
"man
moves
man"
(A
tells
B
to
do
H) as
the smallest
component
of
any
political
action
(p.
10).
Using
Greek
and
Roman
authors
and
Shakespeare
as
primary
sources
for
illustrations
he
describes
this pro-
cess
in
great
detail.
He
is
able,
therefore,
to
point
to
several
rather
crucial elements
of
his
concept
of
politics:
"instigation"
and
"response"
(Part
III);
formal
and
informal
authority
(Part
IV);
decision-"judi-
cial"
vs.
"political"
(Part
V);
and
"attitudes"
distinguishing
between
"intention"
and
"attention"
(Part
VI).
Since
de
Jouvenal
is
only
describ-
ing
these
processes-although
in
Part
VI
he
seems
to
have
lost
the
detached
attitude
of
the
observer and
to
have
adopted some of
the
characteristics
of
an
advocate-he
successfully
develops some
important
and
relevant
distinctions
which
could
be
quite
useful
in
political
analysis.
Most
of
these,
however,
are
unfortunately
neither
new
nor
pathbreaking,
despite
the
fact
that
they
are
expressed
in
relatively
unusual
terms.
(On
p.
113,
for
instance,
he
identifies
"three
features fundamental
to
any
political
system"
which
are nothing but
the
well-known
functional
distinctions
of
powers.
Moreover,
the earlier
formulations
surpass
de
Jouvenal's
in
clarity
and
analytical
usefulness.
Compare,
for
example,
his section
on
authority
with
Weber's
classical
treatment.)
A
much
more
serious
question
has
to
be
raised
with respect
to
the
validity
of
de
Jouvenal's
basic
assumption. Is
the
act
of
"man
moves
man"
indeed
the
essential element
of politics?
Unfortunately
the
author
fails
to
submit
conclusive
proof.
In
addition,
he
is
himself
rather
confused
about
it
(compare
p.
10
and
p.
110).
The
act
"man
moves
man"
undoubtedly
has, under
certain
conditions
elementary
political
qualities.
But
these
conditions
have
to
be
clearly
defined
as,
generally
speaking,
all
human relationships
can
be
expressed in
the
formula
"man
moves
man."
A
scientific
theory
of
politics
could
possibly
be
based
on
a
careful
analysis of
these
clearly
defined
conditions, employing
a
rigorous
analytical
method.
As
it
is,
the
book
neither
clarifies
the
boundaries
of
politics
nor
does
it
establish a
framework
for
analysis
within
the
discipline
of
Political
Science.
To
develop
a
scientific
theory
of
politics is
a
difficult
task,
and
the
reason
it
has
not
yet
been
accomplished
is
a
much
more
serious
one
than
the
implicit
danger
of
its
misuse
(p.
29
ff.).
The
book
is
not
without
merit,
however.
It
is
a
challenge
to
the
reader
to
concern
himself
with
this
important
problem,
and
above
all
it
contains many elements
that
will
eventually
have
to
be
incorporated
into a
scientific
theory
of
politics.
Carleton
University
GUENTHER
F.
SCHAEFER
EXPECTANT
PEOPLES.
Nationalism
and
Development. Under
the editorship
of
K.
H.
Silvert.
1963.
(New York:
Toronto:
Random
House.
xxi,
489pp.
$7.65)
To
those
of
us
who
see
nationalism
as
the
major
social
force
of
our
day
this
book
will
be
welcome
as
giving
the
special
flavour
and
colour
which
nationalism
takes
in
its
particular
manifestations
around
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