Remember the difference between normative view and positive view of politics
Understand politics from both views
The history and development of the empirical study of politics can be rooted in the debate between “what should be” versus “what is”. When individuals, including political scientists, ask “what should be?” they are asking a normative question. On the other hand, when individuals ask, “what is?” they are asking a positive question.
For example, a national government expends resources. These resources can be expended domestically or internationally. Domestic spending includes constructing infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and paying for public employees to work, like engineers and construction workers who design and build infrastructure. International spending includes foreign aid to governmental or non-governmental entities. When individuals, including political scientists, ask “what should be?” they are asking a normative question. On the other hand, when individuals ask, “what is?” they are asking a positive question. For example, who is paying membership dues to an international organization, providing aid to foreign governments, or supporting non-profit organizations working in foreign countries?
Now, let’s assume a national government spends 100% of its resources domestically. From a positive view, “what is” is that the government is spending all its resources domestically and none of its resources overseas. A positive view could expand by staying how much is spent on infrastructure versus salaries, say 75% for infrastructure and 25% for salaries. However, a positive view would not argue that 100% should not be spent on domestic priorities, or that the split in allocating between infrastructure versus salaries should be different.
On the other hand, a normative view, “what should be”, would argue that less than 100% should be spent on domestic priorities, while a percentage greater than 0% should be spent on foreign priorities. Now, let’s assume that the government changes its expenditures so that its 90% domestic and 10% foreign. With 10% allocated to overseas efforts, a normative view would argue that some portion of the 10% should go towards membership dues while the remainder should go to providing aid to foreign governments.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Visual comparison of positive view and normative view
Why differentiate between positive and normative perspectives? When reading a journal article, book, or news article, we generally expect there to be a focus on what is and not on what should be. On the other hand, when we read a newspaper editorial or watch a television program, we would expect to see and hear opinions and speculations. Our ability to discern between fact and opinion is essential to engaging in political science. Politics, by its nature, is strewn with opinions from individuals, organizations, and leaders. However, an opinion shouldn’t stand for fact and should not replace an objective reality. Therefore, the ability to acknowledge, identify, and categorize information helps us build our understanding of the world around us.
