Marc,
To get my definition of politics, I think you can combine the contents of Plato's Statesman and Hobbes Leviathian. (If you prefer to use Aristotle's Politics to Plato, that should not be too much of a problem. I personally do not see much different between the two of them as far as origin and purpose of politics goes.) BTW, I suspect that 'polite,' 'politics,' and 'police' are probably all derived from the same root, which does not seem too coincidental to me. Politics is a civilized attempt to control conflict. When it fails, folks return to their uncivilized roots and use "knuckles" to try to solve their problems.
Politics is what happens when folks attempt to get agreement in a group that, unlike a family, has little in common besides being humans (in other words, no strong kinship ties). Usually that attempt to get agreement focuses on what their needs and desires are and how best to fulfill them, especially in an environment that is marked by scarcity. By scarcity I mean that each cannot get everything he or she wants without depriving others of the ability to fulfill all of their wants and desires. If nothing else, time will always be scarce. The condition of scarcity is why I evoked Hobbes' rather than Locke's myth of the origin of the political body we usually call government. However, the story in Plato's Republic about the education and lifestyle of the Guardians (AKA Aristotle's "natural leaders") would serve just as well. I think Plato's demand that the Guardians' property be held communally says a lot about the source of conflict.
Bookmarks