SH1688

Functions of Politics
I. Authoritative allocation of values for a society”
• Popularized by David Easton in his work entitled “A Systems Approach to the Analysis of
Values for a Society” published in 1957
• Easton believes that politics can be viewed as a system which works to distribute values in
the society to main order

Parts of System Model of Easton

1. Input – refers to either demand or support which can be absorbed by the political system
a. Demands – a kind of input that the society wants the existing government to act upon
Ex. A Demand to Stop the Burial of the Marcos in Libingan ng Bayani
b. Support – a kind of input which helps the demands of society to be easily absorbed. It
can be the existing condition when the demand was made or just simply a support
coming from the public.
Ex. Human Right Activist in the Philippine supported the said demand
2. Political System – can be regarded simply as the government or state interacting with
other sectors
Ex. The Supreme Court reviews the previous ruling they made
3. Output – refers to the product or action produced by the political system
Ex. After deliberation, the Supreme Court uphold to their previous ruling
4. Feedback Loop – refers to the opinions or reactions made toward to a certain output. The
feedback loop can cause for a new demand to arise.
Ex. The disappointed Filipino people protested in front the office of the Supreme Court.
Moreover, they demanded the justices to step down to their position.
5. Environment – a part of the model which can directly affect the other parts of the model
a. Internal - the local environment to which the political system exists
Ex. The Philippines
b. External - refers to the influence or forces outside the boundaries of the local
environment which could potentially affect other parts of the system model
Ex. The President of the United States is set to come to the Philippines next week to
talk about human right policy
II. “Who gets what, when, and how”
• the definition of politics by Harold Lasswell in his work entitled Politics: Who gets what,
when and how”
• Lasswell regarded politics as a venue or battlefield for political actors to subdue others to get
what they want.
Political Dynasty – a term to described set of rulers coming from the same family line or clan

References:
De Leon, H. S. (2011). Textbook on the philippine constitution. Quezon City: Rex Printing Company, Inc.
Mendoza, D. J. & Melegrito, M. F. (2016). Politics without borders: Philippine politics and governance. Quezon City:
Phoenix Publishing House.

01 Handout 1 *Property of STI

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