Der »Sinn« der Wissenschaft als Beruf

Rationalisierung, Fortschritt und Entzauberung der Welt
Der wissenschaftliche Fortschritt ist ein Bruchteil, und zwar der wichtigste Bruchteil, jenes Intellektualisierungsprozesses, dem wir seit Jahrtausenden unterliegen, und zu dem heute üblicherweise in so außerordentlich negativer Art Stellung genommen wird.
Machen wir uns zunächst klar, was denn eigentlich diese intellektualistische Rationalisierung durch Wissenschaft und wissenschaftlich orientierte Technik praktisch bedeutet. Etwa, dass wir heute, jeder z.B., der hier im Saale sitzt, eine größere Kenntnis der Lebensbedingungen hat, unter denen er existiert, als ein Indianer oder ein Hottentotte? Schwerlich. Wer von uns auf der Straßenbahn fährt, hat – wenn er nicht Fachphysiker ist – keine Ahnung, wie sie das macht, sich in Bewegung zu setzen. Er braucht auch nichts davon zu wissen. Es genügt ihm, dass er auf das Verhalten des Straßenbahnwagens »rechnen« kann, er orientiert sein Verhalten daran; aber wie man eine Trambahn so herstellt, dass sie sich bewegt, davon weiß er nichts. Der Wilde weiß das von seinen Werkzeugen ungleich besser. Wenn wir heute Geld ausgeben, so wette ich, dass, sogar wenn nationalökonomische Fachkollegen im Saale sind, fast jeder eine andere Antwort bereit halten wird auf die Frage: Wie macht das Geld es, dass man dafür etwas – bald viel, bald wenig – kaufen kann? Wie der Wilde es macht, um zu seiner täglichen Nahrung zu kommen, und welche Institutionen ihm dabei dienen, das weiß er. Die zunehmende Intellektualisierung und Rationalisierung bedeutet also nicht eine zunehmende allgemeine Kenntnis der Lebensbedingungen, unter denen man steht. Sondern sie bedeutet etwas anderes: das Wissen davon oder den Glauben daran: dass man, wenn man nur wollte, es jederzeit erfahren könnte, dass es also prinzipiell keine geheimnisvollen unberechenbaren Mächte gebe, die da hineinspielen, dass man vielmehr alle Dinge – im Prinzip – durch Berechnen beherrschen könne. Das aber bedeutet: die Entzauberung der Welt. Nicht mehr, wie der Wilde, für den es solche Mächte gab, muss man zu magischen Mitteln greifen, um die Geister zu beherrschen oder zu erbitten. Sondern technische Mittel und Berechnung leisten das. Dies vor allem bedeutet die Intellektualisierung als solche.
Hat denn aber nun dieser in der okzidentalen Kultur durch Jahrtausende fortgesetzte Entzauberungsprozess und überhaupt: dieser »Fortschritt«, dem die Wissenschaft als Glied und Triebkraft mit angehört, irgendeinen über dies rein Praktische und Technische hinausgehenden Sinn? Aufgeworfen finden Sie diese Frage am prinzipiellsten in den Werken Leo Tolstojs. Auf einem eigentümlichen Wege kam er dazu. Das ganze Problem seines Grübelns drehte sich zunehmend um die Frage: ob der Tod eine sinnvolle Erscheinung sei oder nicht. Und die Antwort lautet bei ihm: für den Kulturmenschen – nein. Und zwar deshalb nicht, weil ja das zivilisierte, in den »Fortschritt«, in das Unendliche hineingestellte einzelne Leben seinem eigenen immanenten Sinn nach kein Ende haben dürfte. Denn es liegt ja immer noch ein weiterer Fortschritt vor dem, der darin steht; niemand, der stirbt, steht auf der Höhe, welche in der Unendlichkeit liegt. Abraham oder irgendein Bauer der alten Zeit starb »alt und lebensgesättigt«, weil er im organischen Kreislauf des Lebens stand, weil sein Leben auch seinem Sinn nach ihm am Abend seiner Tage gebracht hatte, was es bieten konnte, weil für ihn keine Rätsel, die er zu lösen wünschte, übrig blieben und er deshalb »genug« daran haben konnte. Ein Kulturmensch aber, hineingestellt in die fortwährende Anreicherung der Zivilisation mit Gedanken, Wissen, Problemen, der kann »lebensmüde« werden, aber nicht: lebensgesättigt. Denn er erhascht von dem, was das Leben des Geistes stets neu gebiert, ja nur den winzigsten Teil, und immer nur etwas Vorläufiges, nichts Endgültiges, und deshalb ist der Tod für ihn eine sinnlose Begebenheit. Und weil der Tod sinnlos ist, ist es auch das Kulturleben als solches, welches ja eben durch seine sinnlose »Fortschrittlichkeit« den Tod zur Sinnlosigkeit stempelt. Überall in seinen späten Romanen findet sich dieser Gedanke als Grundton der Tolstojschen Kunst.
Wie stellt man sich dazu? Hat der »Fortschritt« als solcher einen erkennbaren, über das Technische hinausreichenden Sinn, so dass dadurch der Dienst an ihm ein sinnvoller Beruf würde? Die Frage muss aufgeworfen werden. Das ist nun aber nicht mehr

Pjese nga "Shkenca si Profesion"

Leidenschaft als persönliche Vorraussetzung des Wissenschaftlers
Ich glaube nun aber, Sie wollen in Wirklichkeit von etwas anderem: von dem inneren Berufe zur Wissenschaft, hören. In der heutigen Zeit ist die innere Lage gegenüber dem Betrieb der Wissenschaft als Beruf bedingt zunächst dadurch, dass die Wissenschaft in ein Stadium der Spezialisierung eingetreten ist, wie es früher unbekannt war, und dass dies in alle Zukunft so bleiben wird. Nicht nur äußerlich, nein, gerade innerlich liegt die Sache so: dass der Einzelne das sichere Bewusstsein, etwas wirklich ganz Vollkommenes auf wissenschaftlichem Gebiet zu leisten, nur im Falle strengster Spezialisierung sich verschaffen kann. Alle Arbeiten, welche auf Nachbargebiete übergreifen, wie wir sie gelegentlich machen, wie gerade z.B. die Soziologen sie notwendig immer wieder machen müssen, sind mit dem resignierten Bewusstsein belastet: dass man allenfalls dem Fachmann nützliche Fragestellungen liefert, auf die dieser von seinen Fachgesichtspunkten aus nicht so leicht verfällt, dass aber die eigene Arbeit unvermeidlich höchst unvollkommen bleiben muss. Nur durch strenge Spezialisierung kann der wissenschaftliche Arbeiter tatsächlich das Vollgefühl, einmal und vielleicht nie wieder im Leben, sich zu eigen machen: hier habe ich etwas geleistet, was dauern wird. Eine wirklich endgültige und tüchtige Leistung ist heute stets: eine spezialistische Leistung. Und wer also nicht die Fähigkeit besitzt, sich einmal sozusagen Scheuklappen anzuziehen und sich hineinzusteigern in die Vorstellung, dass das Schicksal seiner Seele davon abhängt: ob er diese, gerade diese Konjektur an dieser Stelle dieser Handschrift richtig macht, der bleibe der Wissenschaft nur ja fern. Niemals wird er in sich das durchmachen, was man das »Erlebnis« der Wissenschaft nennen kann. Ohne diesen seltsamen, von jedem Draußenstehenden belächelten Rausch, diese Leidenschaft, dieses: »Jahrtausende mussten vergehen, ehe du ins Leben tratest, und andere Jahrtausende warten schweigend«: – darauf, ob dir diese Konjektur gelingt, hat einer den Beruf zur Wissenschaft nicht und tue etwas anderes. Denn nichts ist für den Menschen als Menschen etwas wert, was er nicht mit Leidenschaft tun kann.

Ekonomia dhe Shoqeria - Kultura Politike

CHAPTER 9: THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
Economic systems as forms of organisation through which goods and services are produced, distributed and exchanged (pp. 178-9).
Enterprise capitalism as a form of capitalism based on the untrammelled workings of market competition (pp. 180-1).
Social capitalism as an attempt to marry the disciplines of market competition with the need for social cohesion and solidarity (p. 182).
Collective capitalism as a form of capitalism that emphasises cooperative long-term relationships (pp. 182-3).
Arguments for and against economic management within a capitalist context (pp. 183-5).
State socialism as an economic system based on state collectivization and central planning (p. 187).
Market socialism as a self-managing enterprises operating in a context of market competition (p. 188).
Economic third ways as attempts to construct market models that conform to neither a capitalist or socialist template (pp. 188-90).
Social class as a social cleavage based on the unequal distribution of income, wealth and social status (pp. 191-2).
The decline of class politics linked to the deradicalization of the working class and the general process of de-industrialization (pp. 192-3).
The underclass as a group of people who suffer from multiple deprivation and disadvantage (pp. 193-4).
Race as a source of social and political division which supposedly has a physical or genetic basis (pp. 194-5).
Gender as a social or political division between women and men that is rooted either in biology or cultural differences (pp. 195-6).
CHAPTER 10: POLITICAL CULTURE, COMMUNICATION AND LEGITIMACY
Civic culture as a political culture that helps to support stable, democratic government (pp. 200-1).
Ideological hegemony as the theory that ruling-class ideas help to sustain class oppression because they have a decisive advantage over rival ideas in capitalist societies (pp. 201-2).
The mass media as societal institutions concerned with the production and distribution of knowledge, information and entertainment (pp. 202-6).
Political communication as techniques for the control and dissemination of information, based on closer links between government and the media (pp. 206-7).
Social capital as norms of trust and civic engagement that underpin successful communities and good governance (pp. 207-10).
Means of legitimizing power, particularly through the exercise of different forms of authority (pp. 211-3).
Tendencies within industrialized societies towards legitimation crises stemming from tensions between capitalism and democracy (pp. 213-5).
Marxist theories of revolution as attempts to explain revolutions by reference to contradictions that exist at a socio-economic level (pp. 215-7).
Non-Marxist theories of revolution as explanations of revolutions based on systemic imbalance, frustrated rising expectations or the weaknesses of the state (pp. 217-9).

Politika Globale dhe Regjionale

CHAPTER 7: GLOBAL POLITICS
Idealism as a view of international politics based on the perspective of moral values and legal norms (pp. 126-8).
Realism as a view of international politics that stresses the role of power and the importance of states as international actors (pp. 128-9).
Pluralism as a view of international politics that emphasises the diffusion of power amongst a number of competing bodies or groups (pp. 129-30).
Marxism as a view of international politics that stresses economic power and the role played by international capital (pp. 130-1).
The cold war as a period during which a bipolar model of world order was widely accepted (pp. 131-3).
Rival unipolar and multipolar versions of twenty-first century world order (pp. 133-7).
Globalization as a complex web of interconnectedness that has important economic, cultural and political dimensions (pp. 137-9).
Rival theories of globalization that associate it either with opportunity, prosperity and the spread of democracy, or with inequality, uncertainty and corporate hegemony (pp. 140-3).
Regionalization as the tendency for nation-states confronted by globalizing trends to collaborate more closely with neighbouring and geographically proximate states (pp. 143-6).
The European Union as the most advanced example of regional integration at an economic and political level (pp. 146-50).
The emergence of global governance as a means of ensuring international order or managing the global economy (pp. 150-2).
The United Nations as the most significant attempt to establish world governance (pp. 152-5).
CHAPTER 8: SUBNATIONAL POLITICS
The nature and respective advantages of centralization and decentralization (pp. 158-9).
Confederations as the loosest and most decentralized type of political union that vests sovereign power in peripheral bodies (pp. 159-60).
Federal systems as a means of sharing sovereignty between central and peripheral institutions (pp. 160-1).
Federalism as a response to nation-building, external threat, geographical size or cultural diversity (pp. 161-2).
The political and institutional features of federal systems (pp. 162-3).
The strengths and weaknesses of federal systems in dealing with centralizing and centrifugal pressures (pp. 164-5).
Unitary systems as systems in which sovereign power is vested in a single, national institution (pp. 165-6).
Local government as government that is specific to a particular locality but has no share in sovereignty (pp. 166-7).
Devolution as the transfer of power from central government to subordinate regional or provincial institutions (pp. 167-9).
The rise of ethnic politics as a response to the decline of nationalism and the emergence of multicultural societies (pp. 169-72).
The rise of community politics as a search for stronger community identities in the face of growing individualism and social fragmentation (pp. 172-3).

Shteti- Kombi dhe Nacionalizmi

CHAPTER 5: THE STATE

The state as a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial borders (pp. 86-8).
The pluralist state as a neutral arbiter between or amongst the competing groups in society (pp. 88-90).
The capitalist state as an instrument of class rule or a means of arbitrating between competing classes so as to perpetuate a system of unequal class power (pp. 90-2).
The leviathan state as a state pursuing its own interests rather than those of civil society (and bent on expansion and aggrandisement) (pp. 92-5).
Minimal states as protective bodies which provide merely a framework of peace and social order within which citizens can conduct their lives as they think best (pp. 95-6).
Developmental states as states that intervene in economic life for the specific purpose of promoting industrial growth and economical development (pp. 96-7).
Social-democratic states as states that practise economic and social interventionism to rectify the imbalances and injustices of a market economy (p. 97).
Collectivised states as states that extend control over the entirety of economic life, usually through a system of central planning (pp. 97-8).
Totalitarian states as all-encompassing states whose influence penetrates every aspect of human existence, thus abolishing the distinction between the state and civil society (p. 98).
The state has been 'hollowed out' by the impact of globalization, which has significantly weakened the state's control over economic life and constrained social-democratic interventionism (pp. 99-100).
States have been restructured through privatization and the introduction of market reforms in the public services (p. 100).
States have been weakened by the growth of substate governance, reflected in the transfer of responsibilities from national or central bodies to a regional, local or community level (pp. 100-1).

CHAPTER 6: NATIONS AND NATIONALISM
Nations as complex phenomena that are shaped by a collection of cultural, political and psychological factors (p. 106).
Nations as cultural communities that are shaped by language, religious, ethnic or other cultural similarities (pp. 107-8).
Nations as political communities that are shaped by civic loyalties and political allegiances, ultimately by the quest to establish or maintain sovereign statehood (pp. 109-11).
Liberal nationalism as a principled form of nationalism based on the nation-state ideal (pp. 111-4).
Conservative nationalism as an inward-looking or insular form of nationalism associated with the promise of social cohesion and public order, generated through national patriotism (pp. 114-5).
Expansionist nationalism as an aggressive and militaristic form of nationalism that is underpinned by chauvinist, and often racialist, assumptions (pp. 115-7).
Anticolonial nationalism as a fusion between traditional ideas of self-determination and doctrines of economic and social emancipation, united through the idea of 'national liberation' (pp. 117-9).
Multiculturalism as a positive endorsement of communal diversity based on the 'politics of difference' (pp. 119-21). The nation-state under threat from globalization and an upsurge in ethnic and regional politics (pp. 121-3).

Ideologjite Politike dhe Demokracia

CHAPTER 3: POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Political ideology as a more or less coherent set of ideas that provide a basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing power system (pp. 42-3).
Liberalism as an ideology rooted in the core principle of individualism and reflecting commitment to individual freedom, reason, equality, toleration, consent and constitutionalism (pp. 42-5).
Classical liberalism as characterised by belief in 'possessive' individualism, 'negative' liberty, a minimal or 'nightwatchman' state and free-market economics (p. 45).
Modern liberalism as characterised by an acceptance of economic and social interventionism based on a belief in 'developmental' individualism and 'positive' freedom (pp. 45-6).
Conservatism as an ideology characterised by a desire to conserve, based on respect for tradition, social duty, authority and a recognition of human imperfection (pp. 46-8).
Paternalistic conservatism as a recognition of the need for social reform based on a pragmatic fear of revolution and a belief in duty and moral responsibility (pp. 48-9).
The New Right as an ideological trend within conservatism that embraces a blend of market individualism and social authoritarianism, represented, respectively, by neoliberalism and neoconservatism (pp. 49-50).
Socialism as an ideology rooted in opposition to capitalism and characterised by a belief in community, co-operation, social equality and common ownership (pp. 51-2).
Marxism as the theoretical system devised by Karl Marx, characterised by a belief in historical materialism, dialectical change and the use of class analysis; the theoretical basis of twentieth-century communism (pp. 52-5).
Orthodox communism as 'Marxism in practice', influenced by Leninism (particularly the theory of the party) and Stalinism (particularly state collectivisation and central planning) (pp. 55-6).
Modern Marxism as 'western Marxism', a more complex and subtle form of Marxism influenced by Hegelian and other ideas (pp. 56-7).
Social democracy as an ideological stance reflecting a compromise between an acceptance of capitalism as the only reliable mechanism for generating wealth and desire to distribute wealth in accordance with moral, rather than market, principles (pp. 57-8).
The 'third way' as the idea of an alternative to both capitalism and socialism, based, in its modern version, on the values of opportunity, responsibility and community (pp. 58-9).
Fascism as an ideology characterised by a belief in anti-rationalism, struggle, absolute leadership, elitism and extreme nationalism; fascism encompasses Nazism as a form of 'fascism plus racialism' (pp. 59-60).
Anarchism as an ideology committed to the abolition of the state and the outright rejection of political authority, based on an unqualified belief in liberty and equality (pp. 60-1).
Feminism as an ideology committed to promoting the social role of women and, in most cases, dedicated to the goal of gender equality (pp. 61-2).
Environmentalism as a concern with protecting or conserving nature; as an ideology, in the form of ecologism, it is based on an anthropocentric or human-centred perspective (pp. 62-3).
Religious fundamentalism as the belief that political and social life should be organised on the basis of essential or original religious principles, commonly supported by a belief in the literal truth of sacred texts (pp. 63-4).
The idea of an end of ideology as the belief that the stock of political ideas has been exhausted; more recently revived in the idea of an 'end of history' (pp. 64-5).
CHAPTER 4: DEMOCRACY
Democracy as government of the people, by people and for the people, although 'the people' have been conceived in different ways (pp. 68-9).
Direct democracy as popular self-government, distinguished from representative democracy as indirect democracy operating through election (pp. 69-71).
Classical democracy, or Athenian democracy, as a system of government by mass meetings (pp. 72-3).
Protective democracy as a form of democracy in which consent is used to protect citizens from the encroachment of government (pp. 73-4).
Developmental democracy as a form of democracy which aims to broaden popular participation for both individual and wider social benefit (pp. 74-6).
People's democracy as a class-based form of democracy which aims to articulate the interests of the proletariat, often through the vehicle of a revolutionary party (pp. 76-77).
Liberal democracy as the dominant real-world democratic model, based on electoral competition and a clear distinction between the state and civil society (pp. 77-8).
The pluralist view of liberal democracy as open competition amongst competing groups, ensuring a wide dispersal of political power (pp. 78-9).
The elitist view of liberal democracy as rule by the few, whether a coherent or a fractured elite (pp. 79-80).
The corporatist view of liberal democracy as the incorporation of major interests and particularly key economic groups into the processes of government (pp. 80-2).
The New Right view of liberal democracy as a warning against 'democratic overload': the paralysis of a political system subjected to unrestrained group and electoral pressures (p. 82).
The Marxist view of liberal democracy as a sham that protects bourgeois class interests behind a facade of popular control and political equality (pp. 82-3).

Hyrje ne Shkencat Politike nga Andrew Heywood

Kjo eshte nje prezantim i shkurte te bazave te shkencave politike, marre nga libri:
Andrew Heywood:POLITICS. 2nd edition, Palgrave, 2002

CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS POLITICS?
Politics, in its broadest sense, as the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live (pp. 4-5).
The traditional view of politics as 'what concerns the state', restricting the study of politics to a focus on the personnel and machinery of government (pp. 5-7).
Politics associated more broadly with 'public' life as opposed to 'private' life (pp. 7-9).
Politics conceived as a particular means of resolving conflict: that is, by compromise, conciliation and negotiation (pp. 9-10).
The radical definition of politics as the production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence, implying that politics is about power and stems from the unequal distribution of resources (pp. 10-2).
The philosophical tradition of political analysis as a preoccupation with essentially ethical or normative questions about how society 'should' be organised (pp. 13-4).
The empirical tradition of political analysis as the attempt to describe or explain political processes, usually by reference to institutional structures (p. 14).
The scientific tradition of political analysis as the attempt to disclose political knowledge through the application of scientific method, as in the case of behaviouralism (pp. 14-5)
Recent developments in the study of politics have included the growth of rational-choice theory, feminism, 'new' institutionalism, green politics, critical theory and postmodernism (pp. 15-7).
Difficulties in construction a science of politics, including the problem of deriving data from human behaviour, the existing of hidden values, and the myth of neutrality in the social sciences (pp. 17-8).
The role of concepts, models and theories in imposing meaning on political information or data, and the problems and pitfalls of concepts and theories (pp. 18-21).
CHAPTER 2: GOVERNMENTS, SYSTEMS AND REGIMES
Government, in its broadest sense, as the mechanism through which ordered rule is maintained, its central features being the ability to make and enforce collective decisions (p. 26).
The benefit of classifying political systems as an essential aid to the understanding of politics in government, and as a means of evaluating the adequacy of effectiveness of institutional structures (pp. 26-7).
The classical typology devised by Aristotle, based on the answers to two questions: 'Who rules?' (one person, the few or the many), and 'Who benefits from rule?' (the rulers or all citizens) (pp. 27-9).
The 'three worlds typology' as the attempt to distinguish between a capitalist 'first world', a communist 'second world' and a developing 'third world'; a system of classification that has been increasingly difficult to sustain since the 1970s (pp. 29-30).
The main approaches to regime classification as the constitutional-institutional approach, the structural-functional approach and the economic-ideological approach (pp. 30-2).
Western polyarchies as regimes in which there is, first, a relatively high tolerance of opposition, sufficient at least to prevent arbitrary government, and second, a reliable level of popular responsiveness based on regular, fair and competitive elections (pp. 32-4).
New democracies as regimes in which the process of democratic consolidation is incomplete, as opposed to semi-democracies in which democratic and authoritarian features operate in tandem (pp. 34-6).
East Asian regimes as ones characterised by the predominance of economic rather than political goals, broad support for 'strong' government, respect for leaders and an overriding emphasis on community and social cohesion (pp. 36-7).
Islamic regimes as ones constructed or reconstructed on Islamic lines, either fundamentalist or pluralist in orientation (pp. 37-8).
Military regimes as ones that survive through the exercise, above all, of military power and systematic repression (pp. 38-9).