Among the laws that rule human societies there is one which seems to be more precise and clear than all others. If men are to remain civilized or to become so, the art of associating together must grow and improve in the same ratio in which the equality of conditions is increased. For most of human history the plight of the poor has been easily excluded from the consciousness of those with power to act. Inaction was justified by elaborate theories that the poor were by nature inferior or happy in their condition, or both. Poverty has become salient to the powerful and the implications are far reaching.
Political scientists are no exception.
As social scientists preoccupied with systematic patterns of power, influence, governance, and policy, political scientists seek to positively understand the world of politics and social power, as well as present normative arguments for discrete policy measures or broad, sweeping change. The politics of these countries, and of the international community within which these countries are nested, is interesting and important stuff, for reasons ranging from international terrorism to the decimation of rainforests to the inhumane specter of famine in a world of plenty. We will also, however, engage the normative discourse of the field. In other words, we will wrestle with perspectives and arguments that call for changes in the distribution of power and influence, and advance specific measures to drive these changes. These too are questions we will confront, in ways that exercise our political-science interest in persistent patterns of power, and of ways and reasons for questioning these patterns.