Three theories of political science, Pluralism, Elite theory and Marxist theory.

Politics is concerned with "the activities of cooperation and conflict, within and between societies, whereby the human species goes about organising the use, production and distribution of human, natural and other resources in the course of the production and reproduction of its biological and social life." Therefore the discipline of Political Science involves the systematic study of this aspect of our social existence so that we may be able to explain and understand it; it …

…It contends that the Marxist analysis provides the greatest insight into the role and function of the liberal democratic state in which we live. This is due to its realisation of the significance of capitalism in determining the underlying power structures of the state and civil society and also of the importance of hegemony in promoting social cohesion. It used the examples of privatisation and the MAI to illustrate the explanatory power of this theory.