Political Theory: Why It Seems Universal, but Isn’t Really
Author(s)
Lummis, C. Douglas
Abstract
With its claim to be the Master Science, political theory gives the appearance of being a universal discipline. Yet, there are few academic disciplines as stubbornly Eurocentric as this one, both in its unwillingness to accept non-Westerners into its canon of theorists, and its unwillingness to take up non-Western subject matter. Of course, to some extent this is based on simple prejudice. But also there are structural reasons for it. Western political theory is not simply a collection of the best books on the subject. It is a dialogue, and as such it is a story; its key ideas take their meaning in the context of that story. Thus the exclusion of political works that played no role in that story is no judgment on their intrinsic worth. At the same time, Western political theory is the theory (the explanation, the justification, and the critique) of the political form that has hegemony in the world today: the sovereign state. Thus while Western political theory is by no means universal in principle, it contains much that is relevant to the actual situation of anyone who lives under a sovereign state, that is, just about everybody. But it is important not to confuse this “wide applicability” (hegemony) with “universality”.
