First published 1986, The Perversity of Politics talks about the perverse nature of political behaviour. Highly paradoxical, the seeking of advantage is of dual character, consisting not only in the spoils of conquest but in the rewards of co-operation. These two facets of politics pose the perennial question of why co-operation’s inviting prospects have never yet immunized politics- domestic and international- against the perils and sacrifices of conflict.
The book finds an answer in the notion of the power overtone. Quest for security, more than immediate gratification, involves maneuver by individuals and groups for future freedom of action. The perversity of politics is heightened by sources of conflict that defy ultimate solution. Of ancient vintage is the uneasy relationship of attraction and repulsion between religion and state, each side uncertain as to where advantage lies. Nor is perversity dispelled by the social sciences, themselves caught in the dogmatics of nature versus nature, typified in the fundamentally different approaches to governance by James Madison and Karl Marx. Citing the American experience in particular the final chapter contends that democratic government is best designed to abate the power overtone and to mitigate conflict. This is a must read for students of political studies and political sociology.