Politics exists because people disagree. They disagree about how they should live (moral questions), about who should get what (resource questions) and about who should make decisions (power questions). Politics therefore seeks to establish the general rules under which we live and it is those rules that make orderly existence possible. As such, politics is the most basic and necessary of social activities — without orderly existence, society will degenerate into a civil war of each against all.

All members of society should have a better understanding of the general rules under which they live. For these rules to be effective, as many people as possible should actively participate in making them, upholding them and maybe, changing them. This is what is meant by ‘active citizenship’.

Politics is likely to suit students who have an interest in the world around them, who want to know more about the society they live in and how it works. Students must enjoy debate, discussion and argument. Students will need to be comfortable with the fact that in politics there are no simple ‘rights’ or ‘wrongs’ and must like to think for themselves, and want to develop their own views, rather than accept the views of others.