Editing Politics (section)

=== Moralism and realism ===
Some perspectives on politics view it empirically as an exercise of power, while others see it as a social function with a [[normative]] basis.<ref>{{harvnb|Morlino|2017|p=2}}.</ref> This distinction has been called the difference between [[Moralism|political ''moralism'']] and [[Realism (international relations)|political ''realism'']]''.''<ref name=":3">{{harvnb|Atkinson|2013|pp=1–5}}.</ref> For moralists, politics is closely linked to [[ethics]], and is at its extreme in [[utopia]]n thinking.<ref name=":3" /> For example, according to [[Hannah Arendt]], the view of [[Aristotle]] was that, "to be political…meant that everything was decided through words and persuasion and not through violence";<ref>{{harvnb|Leftwich|2004|p=73}}.</ref> while according to [[Bernard Crick]], "politics is the way in which free societies are governed. Politics is politics, and other forms of rule are something else."<ref>{{harvnb|Leftwich|2004|p=16}}.</ref> In contrast, for realists, represented by those such as [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], [[Thomas Hobbes]], and [[Harold Lasswell]], politics is based on the use of power, irrespective of the ends being pursued.<ref>{{harvnb|Morlino|2017|p=3}}.</ref><ref name=":3" />