Politics (Gr. polis, 'city' or 'state'), that branch of ethics which has for its subject the proper mode of governing a state, so as to secure its prosperity, peace, and safety, and to attain, as perfectly as possible, the ends of civil society. Among the subjects which political science embraces are the principles on which government is founded, the hands in which the supreme power may be most advantageously placed, the duties and obligation of the governing and governed portions of society, the development and increase of the resources of the state, the protection of the rights and liberties of the citizens, the preservation of their morals, and the defence of the independence of the state against foreign control or conquest. While the philosophy of governing constitutes the science of politics, the art of politics consists in the application of that science to the individual circumstances of particular states. The ancient Greek writers treated politics with reference to an ideal perfect state, which each propounded according to his own speculative views, pointing out the variation of every existing government from his standard. The 'politics of a country' implies the course of its government, more especially in its relations with foreign powers.
In the articles on the several countries a sketch of the constitution is in most cases given. See also AMBASSADOR, ANARCHISM, ANTHROPOLOGY, ARISTOCRACY, BALANCE OF POWER, CABINET, CONGRESS, DEMOCRACY, ENGLAND (HISTORY OF), FAMILY, FEUDALISM, GOVERNMENT, INTERNATIONAL LAW, NIHILISM, PARLIAMENT, REPUBLIC, REPRESENTATION, SOCIALISM, TRIBE, WHIGS AND TORIES, &c.; and the articles on the expounders of famous political theories—Plato, Aristotle, More, Machiavelli, Bentham, Lassalle, Marx, &c.