Political philosophy begins by asking what kind of political institutions fit human nature.

Political philosophy begins by looking at people, what they want, what they do, why they want and do these things. Politics is meaningless without a premise, a sense of people, politics is just the way we interact as people.

There are many ways to begin.

Cobra: Discerning human nature is looking at people,what they want, what they do, why they want and do these things. I think that premise is included in the claim.

Jim, I see your point, but I feel like the look at human nature is inherently a look at a deeper question. My look starts with "is everyone fed?" The most basic questions in politics are the absolutely shallowest in my humble opinion. You can ask the deeper questions later.

I think the corollary is more appropriate: that human nature determines the types of political institutions and philosophies are out there. For example, communism wasn't created out of an attempt to fill the human desire for fairness, but was rather created OUT of that condition. It's just a difference between bottom-up and top-down.

David: Will you elaborate on the condition of fairness from which communism emerged? I need help in understanding.

Well, for the purposes of not having Marx around to defend himself, I'll make no judgment on the argument that communism was created as an attempt to keep the people in line and depressed while high-powered government officials reaped the benefits (you know, the way it became in reality).

Basically, humans have a desire for equality of some sort. On the bell curve of life, the only people who really feel equal are those at the top. Everybody else feels disenfranchised somehow, because they aren't on top. It's not within the human condition to accept a subservient place in life with peace and humility. Every revolution in history proves this, even the corrupt ones.

That said, while Marx himself might not have been part of the working class (as I recall he was a scholar, and while not rich, was not poor either), I would say the first communist thought came from a poor man, wondering if it would ever be possible to just have everyone be equal. Now, that comes from both a greed and fairness standpoint, as his first thought was likely to become rich, and then he tempered that by realizing if he were rich, he would then also be targeted by thieves and the working class. If we believe all men are created equal, then why do we still have a class system? So on, and so forth.

It's really kind of a chicken/egg egg/chicken question. Without the human condition to spark such desires, such political institutions would never rise up or be thought of. It's really up to whether you believe the people create their own political institutions out of their inner motivations, or whether you believe that our scholars examine the current human condition and formulate it into political philosophy.

In reality, it's a hand-in-hand process; without Marx to solidify common desires into a political structure, communism would have never taken root. And without the people to have an innate desire for equality (mixed with greed), the revolutions that brought communism to power would have never taken place, leaving it as merely an abstract concept and not an institution (though I would of course argue that in its pure form its still an abstract concept that cannot be obtained).