Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.

I believe the university definition of politics is accurate when it describes it as "a way of sharing power and scarce resources." Harold Lasswell also famously defined politics as the art of "who gets what, when, and how." This highlights that, whether or not we are directly involved in formal or public political spheres, issues like power, resource distribution, equity, and justice are relevant to everyone. They affect us all in some way.

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

What do I mean by politics? I mean people advancing their careers or agendas by means other than merit and contribution. There may be other types of politics, but politics of this form seem to be the ones that really bother people.

Politics is not a science of the past; politics is the science of the future. You must use the past as a lever with which to manufacture the future. Politics is not a science, it is not a profession which consists in standing still; it is in this country essentially a science and a profession of progress.

Politics is not an exact science.

Political science is the study of the authoritative allocation of values for a society.

Politics may be defined as: the method adopted in governments for obtaining motivation toward a monopoly. In all political actions, a monopoly of control and method is sought.

For me, politics are a fundamental element of being human. They are the process by which we collectively interact with each other, resolve conflicts and try to solve larger social or environmental problems. There are family politics, neighborhood politics, local politics, national politics and international politics. Humans are political animals and I find those interactions interesting, amusing and important.

...Politics is an activity in which you recognize the simultaneous existence of different groups, interests and opinions. You try to find some way to balance or reconcile or compromise those interests, or at least a majority of them. You follow a set of rules, enshrined in a constitution or in custom, to help you reach these compromises in a way everybody considers legitimate.

The downside of politics is that people never really get everything they want. It’s messy, limited and no issue is ever really settled. Politics is a muddled activity in which people have to recognize restraints and settle for less than they want. Disappointment is normal.

But that’s sort of the beauty of politics, too. It involves an endless conversation in which we learn about other people and see things from their vantage point and try to balance their needs against our own. Plus, it’s better than the alternative: rule by some authoritarian tyrant who tries to govern by clobbering everyone in his way....

Political philosophy was concerned with the best or just order of society which is by nature best or just everywhere or always, while politics is concerned with the being and well-being of this or that particular society (a polis, a nation, an empire) that is in being at a given place for some time.

Politics is a consequence of how a person understands their experience.

Politics is the way we see anything in this world, the way we look at women is our politics, the way we look at minorities is politics, the way we look at people living on the fringes of society is politics, the way we look at the people in power is politics which has to come through.

Politics is the activity by which the framework of human life is sustained; it is not life itself.