THE POLITICS OF POLITICS:

A Phenomenology on Politics in the Social Context

 A lot of people, if not all, are exposed to the very idea of politics. It seems like it goes
hand-in-hand with every organizational entity: councils, firms, government everywhere. It
is made known to us in different forms, relative to where it is present. It is a social construct,
however, it is also naturally occurring in the societal arena given the individual differences of
human beings co-existing in the world.

Politics is a dirty business.

One cannot deny the fact that politics is generally viewed as a construct unfavorable
to the person being affected by it. For instance, in the work setting, when a high position is
vacant and people are up for this promotional opportunity, the person who was not selected
for the job may attribute his/her loss to politics favoring his/her competitor. The individual
who was not able to get the promotion may say that the one who got the position was able to
do so because his/her boss prefers this person more than him/her, neglecting other pertinent
factors such as credentials and competencies. In this sense, there is politics in an intra-
organizational level, as perceived by the person receiving it, whereas this is most probably
not the idea of the one who got the job.
Moving on to a bigger scale, government politics is one of the most prevalent
phenomena affecting the entirety of a state. Although it is a good thing that people have the
democracy to choose a leader in some countries, this system creates politics among
individuals vying for a specific seat. In more practical terms, it seems to be a competition
among political candidates wherein the best wins the elections. Because of this, these
candidates resort to all kinds of strategies to be able to persuade the people and earn their
vote. Devastatingly, these tactical repertoires do not exempt even stepping on other people,
on other candidates, just to raise themselves and put themselves on a pedestal. Here surfaces
the negative notion on politics that it is a dirty business a survival of the fittest through
means that include inflicting social damages on others.
In relation to the existence of politics in the context of the government, this construct
is stained by the practice of corruption. Since corruption is rampant in many different
governments, people tend to associate politics to corruption, even worse, some tend to equate
politics to corruption a belief that deviates from the very essence of it. The perception on
politics becomes influenced by the multitude of workings related to it, even attributing them
to its existence in the social environment.
Evident in the aforementioned examples, politics is seen as a quest for power over
others. In addition to this, there is a connotation that a pursuit for personal gain underpins the
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very idea of politics. It is perceived as self-directed, especially in the context of the
government. For the most part, politics is viewed as a construct built on the foundation of
inequality a collective aspiration of individuals to be in a position higher than that of the
other.

The essence of politics

Politics is something shared within an institution. Since it is socially constructed, the
emergence of it is caused by an interaction of a human person with the other in relation to the
context in which it exists. There will be no politics in an entity if there is no social interaction
transpiring among individuals in a particular group. Politics cannot reside within an
individual himself/herself, instead, it has to be shared with others it is formed with others. It
is a communal idea.
Going back to the example of the workplace, it is easy to say that politics existed
simply because there is a community of people working with each other, hence there are
people interacting with each other. If this was a business run solely by one person, then, the
emergence of politics would not be possible. Who would he/she share it with? Interaction
with the other would not happen, therefore, the formation of politics cannot take place. There
is an utmost need for co-existence for politics to be present.
In a similar manner, if the government was a one-man institution, then the very idea
of politics is impossible. Although politics is often perceived as something partnered with the
government, meaning, they always come after the other, no interaction with another human
entity can transpire, hence, politics would not exist. It is a construct that should be shared to
another to be able to emerge, as it is a product of connecting to another human entity in a
societal context.
However, politics is not merely a shared condition; it is incorporated with beliefs and
principles relating to status and power. In all settings wherein politics is present, it is always
an issue of possession of power and being in a particular status. As a matter of fact, politics is
a certain form of power. It is imposed by a human person on another, to achieve a specific
status relative to the other. It is, therefore, a construct that affects the behavior of another.
The government, which has been consistently used to show the existence of politics,
being a classic political entity is the perfect manifestation of this political characteristic.
Candidates vying for a position impose a certain power on each other in an attempt to achieve
a desired status the ability to control the sovereignty of a nation. Politics is used in this

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context as a way to exercise power over the other, to be able to have a status that is higher
than that of the other. This is where politics becomes competitive in nature.
Politics being about power and status is also evident in daily situations. Whenever a
student competes with other students in class recitation for a chance of having a better grade
relative to that of the rest of the class, he/she is imposing power on another for a certain
status. Politics here emerges as a result of relating to other students in a way that power is
utilized to be able to improve ones position. The same goes with businesses working their
way to the top in the midst of continuous change and innovations. Businesses use their power
to compete with other businesses for a better revenue and reputation. The communality of
politics as a shared social construct is embedded on the imposition of power of an entity
towards another to be able to have a better spot in the social hierarchy, which may be
consciously or unconsciously formed because of competing forces in the society.
Lastly, given that politics is communal and is operating through power and status,
politics as a human condition affects the jurisdiction of its context. Politics in the government
affects the state. Politics at work affects the whole corporation. Inter-organizational politics
of businesses affects the market economy. Even in smaller scales such as in school, politics
of students in the classroom affects the overall dynamic of the class. Because it is a shared
condition, it influences not only the people involved in it, but also the entirety of the
jurisdiction where it is functioning.
It is funny how even in reality television shows, politics is very observable. In the
widely-franchised show Survivor, forming alliances plays a vital role in surviving until the
last day as a castaway in the island. These alliances help the castaway in tasks, in
conceptualizing techniques to basic living and satisfying basic needs, and most importantly to
strategize in the tribal council, to prevent being eliminated. Because of this system, other
castaways with weaker alliances are affected by the bigger and stronger alliances. They all
compete to be the last man standing in the island. The emergence of politics here is seen as a
social force influencing the entire group because of competing alliances.
Politics, therefore, is a social condition shared to the other, making use of power to be
of a certain status, and influences the jurisdiction where it is operating. These characteristics
essentially comprise the universality of it; in all situations, if these determined markers are
observable, then it can be indeed identified that politics is functioning as a social force in a
particular context.

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Being within the functioning of politics
Given its communality and prevalence in all sorts of contexts, even I have
experienced politics in many ways. Being in the student government since grade school, I had
the experience of imposing power on my competitors in vying for the position I was a
candidate for. I had to work for it through different means (creating platforms, campaigning,
establishing interpersonal relations with the constituents) that will give me the edge over
others running for the same position. I had to exercise power to outsmart them, making this
activity political given the utilization of power from different sources towards different
receivers, in this case, the student government candidates towards each other.
In this experience, politics was presented to me as a condition wherein the best
should standout, uphold excellence and not just merely be at par with others. I did not view it
as a communal construct very much, instead, I had the prejudicial notion on it that it is
merely a competition. When I was fortunate enough to get elected for the post I vied for,
thats when I realized that politics does not end in the competitive part of governing i.e. in
running for a position, instead, it is a continuous activity produced by the perpetual
exchanges of power by different forces within an organizational entity.
During those times that I was in the student government, believing in my own
principles and ideologies, it was inevitable to utilize power so that the programs that we
would implement were of my ideas. However, it is not only me who had this mentality
everyone. Everyone did. Everyone had their own sets of beliefs about the system and our
constituents. Everyone wanted their ideas to be implemented. Because of this, politics to me
was already in a different form: I was not only imposing power on the other, but the other
was also imposing power on me. I was both a source and a receiver of power.
That being said, being at the receiving end of power in the political paradigm seemed
to be a different dimension. It was a two-way thing: I had to exercise power in the midst of
other individuals exercising their own power towards me, and these exchanges are what made
working in the student government more challenging. I felt like it was a never-ending race
and the strongest one will emerge victorious. It was indeed communal, given that it is a
product of the interactions and transactions people make with each other, but I didnt know
that it was also individualistic (until I have experienced it) because as aforementioned,
clashing forces come into play in this human condition. It comes from the human person and
goes back to him/her, because of the active social participation of the people we co-exist
with.

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 I, like probably most of us, have been an audience of politics. Residing in a
democratic territory that is the Philippines, governmental politics is not very new to us. From
the smallest government position up to the highest, politics is very much evident in the
system. The Philippines has a lot of political parties, some of which merge into coalitions for
stronger alliances, and it is saddening to see that although elections should be a clean battle
through means of presentations of plans for the country, embodying a character that is the
fittest for the leadership seats, and strengthening of individual integrity, these alliances step
on each other, mock each other, and the like, to be able to argue that they are the best
candidates qualified for the electoral posts. This experience of politics in the third-person
view made me realize that people do not really understand the very core of politics and why
and how it is essential in the life of a human person in relation to others.

What now
There is a myriad of long-standing issues involving politics the world is facing. Here
goes business politics, organizational politics, even politics in gender, governmental politics
of course, and a lot more societal sectors that involve human interaction. Throughout the
operation of politics in these entities, it is manifested communally as power is both given and
experienced by the human person in a group. Therefore, politics is a social power that is
functioning both inward and outward shaping the wholeness of the human being in relation
to the social other. It may impinge or improve the individuality of a human person through its
entrance and exit to and from his/her personhood, but this possibility depends on how politics
is used to influence others.
Politics should function in a way that it is not controlled or manipulated to destroy or
damage an entity, instead, it should be used as a strong agency towards the betterment of the
social environment and the beings co-existing in this space. Since it is a condition emerging
from exchanges of power by human beings, why dont we use this additive power to create a
world conducive for everyone, and not form dichotomies with contradicting beliefs and
practices perpetuating division of nations, races, and peoples? We, especially those who are
engaged in the commanding human condition that is politics, should use it to influence a
more dynamic society to be concerned not solely with their personal and self-centered gains,
but also to the collective good of humanity and the world.

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