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1)Carl Von Clausewitz was a major general in both the Prussian and Russian armies, born on the 1st of June 1780 in Burg Bei Magdeburg, Prussia (modern day central Germany), Clausewitz was also a prominent military theorist. Born into wealthy educated family he entered the Prussian army at the tender age of 12. From there he went on to study at kriegsakademie, a prominent military school designed to create the future generals of the Prussian army. He died on the 16th of November 1831 in Warsaw after a spout of cholera which ironically he was a heavy campaigner in terms of its prevalence and deadliness.

2)In 1916 he began writing his most famous book, ‘On War’, in which he draws influence from Fredrick the Great to Napoleon to establish the key idea that “War is a continuation of Politics”. He came upon this theory after 39 years of prolonged military service, whilst also becoming a key political figure in the Prussian elite. His theory was based around the belief that war is ‘an act of violence intended to compel our opponents to fulfil our will’ and that it is a necessary evil as it can establish all political goals a nation can have. The idea that war is a continuation of politics was not taken lightly by Clausewitz as he ensured all military campaigns were under the viewpoint of a purely political goal and not that of unnecessary death and destruction. His aim was not to criticize those who went to war but only to ensure they understand the overriding political goal. He was keen on emphasizing how politicised war should be compared to the current viewpoint during the early 19th century.

3) Clausewitz’s theory of war being a continuation of politics shows state action civic power in action as the process of war in Clausewitz’s view is a purely political action that is a means to political end. The use of an army to establish power is clear form hard power as the actor is not using attraction in order to co-opt others to achieve its aims, rather they are using force in order to coerce others to achieve its aims.

Samuel Tomlinson

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*Note* Son Tzu is a individual who’s work nowadays is well known and heavily discussed among his areas of expertise, however during the time in which he was alive, little information is known about him… such as where he grew up, where he was born etc…

Son Tzu, Originally Son Wu, was an expert Chinese military strategist, Author of the ‘Art of war’ and lives up to the books title himself. Little is known about Son Tzu, however it was believed that he grew up in the Ch’I state and served under the King 🤬-lu Wu. His skill as a military specialist was at its peak when he worked for the Chou dynasty. Son was always influenced and intrigued by how the enemy could be destroyed from not physical but psychological power. Son always believed

The Art of War, Famously written by Son Tzu is a philosophy of Son’s experience, strategies and tactics in war. The book presents solutions to managing conflicts and most importantly winning battles and overall, wars! It is accepted as a masterpiece on strategy and has been frequently praised and referred to by generals and theorists since it was first published, translated, and distributed internationally.

Taken from the art of war:  Son Tzu believed that the key to achieving power, most of the time was with subtlety and spies. To use subtlety to achieve ones desire the least amount of force required will prove to be most effective. Son believed that to truly obtain power and information from not just your enemies but also your allies. He believed that everyone had aspirations that they would shelter from their allies so they can stay dormant until the time is right. This way of thinking and understanding of your allies and enemies helped Son Tzu shape the Chou Dynasty.

Noah Crusi

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1)Johanna Cohn Arendt was born on the 14thof October 1906 in Linden, Prussian, Hanover, To a family of secular Jews. Shew grew up in Konigsberg and Berlin and studied at the University of Marburg. during the 🤬 regime she fled to Paris, she lived there during the time of the student riots. She later moved to the US and was there during the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin-Luther King.  In both the US and Paris she became part of a lively intellectual circle. She published many highly influential books and essays.  She died in 1975 of a heart attack.

2) In her 1967 essay “Truth and Politics” she writes about how historical facts often become distorted when politicized- they are used as tools in order to justify particular political decisions. This distortion of historical facts was not new in political domain. Where lies have always played an important part in foreign diplomacy and security. This can be supported by the US “distortion of facts” During the war in Vietnam, were the US government supplied misinformation to the public, in order to justify their involvement in violent political interventions.

3)Arendt discusses how people obtaining power, have the capacity to distort facts. This is a very prominent issue with the age of “fake news”. Where News channels have the power to misshape truths to act in their favour. Another example is the Chinese government where they have the power to filter their countries internet and dictate what they can access online. Arendt’s arguments might also be used by Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, to justify the release of secret documents that contradict the official version of events given by governments around the world, highlighting the power Governments have on our society and the idea that very known and established fact can be denied.

melisa guoga

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1) Hannah Arendt was born in Hanover, Germany in 1906. She was born into a Jewish family and for most of her early life she lived comfortably, studied at several universities and later married. However, she lived through the Holocaust period, the Vietnam war and the assassination of both JFK and Martin Luther King. she was fascinated by the rise of the anti-semitism movement and often found herself under scrutiny by the 🤬's for researching their regime. She was interested in the mundane jobs and daily routines of the fascist movement. This inspired her to write her proclaimed novel 'Eichmann in Jerusalem'. This led her to her research into the corruption of power.

2) Hannah Arendt wrote the essay 'Truth and Politics' on he philosophical idea that history becomes distorted once politicised. Originally, Arendt looked at how totalitarianism regimes would manipulate facts or even erase and 'reconstruct' them in order to justify their political decisions, for instance, the 🤬 of around 6 million Jewish people. However, she then delved deeper by arguing that liberal democracy, particularly that of the USA, were also purposefully misinforming the nation and keeping state-secrets in order to persuade the people. for instance, during the Vietnam war, america distorted the facts of the conditions and involvement of the US army in order to keep the support of the nation. This manipulation of historical fact and miscommunication was, and still is, a kind of propaganda within a modernised political system.

3) Hannah Arendt represents the power of ideas. She spent a lifetime building philosophical theories and was able to share it with the world through her novels and essays. Through this, she then began to have influence over social norms and how society reacted to democratic governments and totalitarian movements. This was a kind od soft power as Arendt was able to persuade her students to take notice of society and the similarities between political powers through her teachings.

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1)        Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian and writer, who lived in the turbulent political landscape of the beginning of the renaissance period in Italy. He is most notable for his political work ‘The Prince’ and his work as an official in the Florentine Republic. His theories and works have led to the use of the term ‘Machiavellian’ which is generally used to describe manipulative, deceitful and/or self-serving behaviour of politicians. He lived in a tumultuous time, in which Christian influence waned in Italy which lead to powerful and wealthy families such as the Medici’s seeking to gain power and influence in the newly republican Italian city-states.

2)        Machiavelli was a realist who believed in utility above morality. In his political thinking and works he replaced right and wrong with usefulness, necessity, success, danger and harm. He identified the best qualities in a successful leader to be effectiveness and prudence. He thought that instead of searching for a moral high ground (as many evangelical leaders may have), leaders could manipulate human-nature, particularly negative human behaviours for the common good. This was enforced through the idea that the end justifies the means.

3)        Machiavelli’s ideas relate to power as he sought out ways in which the whole spectrum of human behaviour and inherent nature could be harnessed into influence. He not only considered the moral quality of people but their whole and how this could be manipulated. He also thought power could be used in a host of different ways, just if it was justified by the solution at the end.

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Ayn Rand was born in 1905 in Saint Petersburg, Russia where she was educated and spent most of her early years. In 1926, Ayn moved to the United States where she wrote her two best selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and developed a philosophical system which she named objectivism.

Rand's first published novel, the semi-autobiographical We the Living, was published in 1936. Her novella Anthem, presents a dystopian future world in which totalitarian collectivism has triumphed.
She achieved fame with her 1943 novel, The Fountainhead about Howard Roark, an individualistic young architect who designs modernist buildings and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. In 1957, Rand published her best-known work, the novel Atlas Shrugged about a dystopian United States in which private businesses suffer under increasingly oppressive laws and regulations. The main characters, Dagny and Hank discover that a mysterious figure called John Galt is persuading other business leaders to abandon their companies. Afterward, she turned to publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays until her death in 1982.

2.
Ayn Rand was twelve at the time of the Russian Revolutions of 1917. During the October Revolution, her father's business was confiscated, and the family fled to Ukraine. While in high school, she realised that she was an atheist and advocated reason as the only means of acquiring knowledge. After graduating from high school in Ukraine, she returned with her family to Saint Petersburg where they faced desperate conditions, on occasion nearly starving. After the Russian Revolution, universities were opened to women, and Ayn enrolled at Petrograd State University. At the age of 16, she began her studies in the department of social pedagogy, majoring in history. At the university she was introduced to the writings of Aristotle, Plato and Friedrich Nietzsche, who would become her greatest influences. She then studied for a year at the State Technicum for Screen Arts in Leningrad.

3.

Objectivism is the philosophy of rational individualism founded by Ayn Rand.“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. - Ayn Rand, Appendix to Atlas Shrugged. Objectivism maintains the idea that there is no greater moral goal than achieving happiness but one cannot achieve happiness by wish or whim and requires that one live by objective principles, including moral integrity and respect for the rights of others.
By Alex Roe

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by gabe menuel
1. the life and times of carl von Clausewitz

Carl von Clausewitz was born on 1 June 1780 in Burg bei Magdeburg in the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg, he died of cholera in 1831 on November 17th. He was a hardened soldier that saw many battles throughout his life including, waterloo where his army of Prussian soldiers came onto the right flank of napoleon’s army to support the anglo-dutch-belgian forces. He also left the Prussian army after the army aligned itself with napoleon, going to join the Russian imperial forces for the next 2 years. His experiences on the battlefield going up against such large armies commanded by some of the most powerful men in Europe would’ve influences his thinking.

2. key ideas he introduced.

He came up with the idea that war is simply “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means”, which basically outlines that war is a way of getting your policy across by force. He also introduced systematic philosophical contemplation into Western military thinking, which was uncommon at the time since most of the conversation revolving around war was more to do with how to beat your enemy in the most effective way. He rejected the enlightenment’s view that war was nothing but a chaotic muddle and instead goes into detail about its drawn out operations by the technology and economy of the age. In on war, Clausewitz sees all wars as the sum of decisions, actions, and reactions in an uncertain and dangerous context, and also as a socio-political phenomenon.

3. how their ideas relate to power as a key concept

Clausewitz’s ideas around military force relate to the concept of obtaining power by force, as it’s “merely the continuation of policy by other means”. He suggests that war is simply this alternative method to getting your policy into place. He considers military power be a very key concept to keeping a country strong and to ensure that it holds onto its power.

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Karl Marx lived from 1818 to 1883 in Western Europe. The events that influenced and most inspired his thinking was the exploitation of the newfound middle class (the proletariat, as he refers to them as in his works) by the upper class (the bourgeoisie) during the Industrial Revolution. Seeing the clear disparities of wealth and the immense power over the masses that came with this wealth inspired him to write his two most famous works, Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto.

A key idea that Marx introduced was the notion that societies wealth should be evenly distributed across the population, and not rest in the hands of an elite few, as they would (as they had been during his time) use this to exploit the lower classes to make their wealth greater still. Contrary to popular belief, the Communist Manifesto does not actually contain very many details of his imagined utopian society. His most famous work (and arguably the most influential political manuscript of all time) mostly comprised of reasons why the economic system of the time didn’t work, and was littered with predictions and recommendations that the working class could and should overthrow the upper class and establish their own society. His work mostly left others who came after him to decide how society (in particular it’s economy) should be ran after convincing them the current situation did not work.

Marx’s ideas relate to power chiefly in the economic sense. An economist himself, Marx’s visions of a communist society centred around the distribution of wealth and empowering the masses by giving society control of the means of production to ensure that people weren’t taken advantage of. His ideas were highly influential and spread fast, as at the time there were millions of suffering European workers who relished the concept that there could be a society where they could be treated better.

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Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a middle class jewish famliy. Known for his Anarcho-Syndicalism/Libertarian Socialist philosophies and a theoretical linguist.

In his view, political realities and the general truth are being systematically suppress by corporate interests through media, advertising and political think tanks to promote and assert their power not only political individuals but the general public at large and the way promotes to block out those false message is self thought and critical thinking.

His thinkings derived age of enlightenment and humanitarianism, is strongly against americas imperialistic foreign policy of destabilisation of fragile regions for resource gain.

"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state"- Chomsky, 'Media Controls'

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Max Taylor

1. The life of Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu was a writer, general, military strategist and philosopher who lived from 544 BC to 496 BC. His book the 'Art of War' was influenced by the constant fighting in China between many nation-states at the time of his life. His name means Great Sun in Chinese.

2.Key Ideas he introduced

Sun Tzu was one of the first to notice that the best war is the one that isn't fought, he came across this idea after a costly battle at Boju where many men were lost on both sides of the battle. He introduced many military stratagems that are still relevant in the modern age of warfare because he focuses on the human element of war which allows his strategies to not obsolete with technological advancement. He also believed in the strong and fair leadership of a king or emperor and he created China's first standing army.

3.  How his ideas relate to power as a key concept

Sun Tzu related his idea of