Tarzan and Politics

I like history. I don't like war. Yet historians seem to be preoccupied with war. As if that's all people were doing and thinking of in (I’ll go back to that later with economics). That has somehow spilled into political analysis and international relations theory excessively focusing on power and by power usually understanding something related to violence an oppression which somehow become justified if they have the label of political or international attached to them.
To get things straight I strongly believe that oppression and violence are always wrong. Using force for self-defense though is legitimate.
Politics is not about power, much less about violence and oppression. If that was so then the Mafiosi are the best politicians.
Politics is about cooperation.
And cooperation and society is that what makes us human. Sure bees and wolfs cooperate and that’s their way to survive but wit us people it is a bit different. We can survive on our own. A healthy human can probably survive in the wild gathering fruit and hunting with sticks and stones but that will be a life, natural for sure, but not far removed from the monkeys.
Civilization implies cooperation. Not coercion. Violence shows failure of civilization it's not a prerequisite or even a by product of it.
If coercion civilization was about coercion Hitler's concentration camps would have been celebrated as the epitome of civilization.
Civilization is about cooperation and that's where polices comes in. We the people want a lot; we see our happiness as more than being fed and warm. We want more and that more is only possible in cooperation that makes the pursuit of happiness possible.

Personal Political Philosophy

Political Philosophy can only be personal. To paraphrase the crook quotation Ask not what you can do for your country but ask what your country can do for you, because if your county doesn't do anything for you yet you are forced to do more and more for your country without getting anything in return then your country is probably called the Peopl'es Democratic Republic of North Korea or any other People's Democratic Republic which usually has nothing to do with the peoples or the demos or the public except trying to extract as much as possible and stash it away into foreign bank accounts away from harm. Also if you hear a politician asking you to sacrifice for society or the future they most probably equate society with themselves and have in mind the security of their future not yours. But if you live in a country which states that we the people ... and the people means you and me so let's paraphrase it more properly to: I have certain inalienable rights like life liberty and the pursuit of happiness and if the government is not up to its task of protecting and supporting my rights I have the right to denounce it. That's the basis of politics. It's not about power Its about finding a way to help each other protect and enhance our rights mostly by cooperation against those who think that politics is about power and exploitation. And if they succeed it's not their fault that they get their way its my fault that I let them encroach on my life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
If knowledge is our most powerful and only tool to achieve happiness in fact knowledge and thinking as the only thing that distinguishes us from animals. (I know there are people who consider animals better than people and very often I can see why but still these people cling to our society instead of practicing what they preach and fade into the jungle to lead a life of Tarzan or Mowgli :-) So if knowledge is our most powerful weapon in the fight for freedom and good life and society is the most important amplifier of both our knowledge and efforts then politics should be the most important knowledge that we can ever have. Consequently as I proved that I am the most important subject and object of politics and politics is all about me then studying myself must be the starting point for studying politics.
Since philosophy is about creating good life then political philosophy should start and end with me: my needs, my desires, my aspirations and my plans to get there.
Ethics
Getting there must be moral. Because morality ensures the cooperation of society and society or simply said other people can be our greatest help or obstacle in achieving our goals following our dreams. That's why politics is important. You can always steal and get away with it but probably not for long and that's why it's not wise.
To finish.
You can't sign away your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They are not yours because they the were in that well know declaration. It stated a fact, not a claim. You have them no matter what but to make them real you must fight for them, defend them enhance them. Without that they are like an empty bowl you have to work to put the soup in.