Human Nature in Politics: Third Edition

The work critiques contemporary political thought for its neglect of human nature, arguing that understanding political instincts is vital to comprehending and improving democratic systems. The opening of the text sets out Wallas' intentions and acknowledges the intellectual debt he owes to early psychological thinkers. He highlights the distinction between rational political reasoning and the more primal, instinctual nature of human behavior that influences political actions. Through a detailed preface and introduction, Wallas discusses the historical context of democratic governance, the challenges faced by representative democracy, and the inadequacies in current political sciences that fail to account for the emotional and irrational factors at play within politics. This scholarly discourse paves the way for a deeper analysis throughout the work, suggesting that a more nuanced understanding of human impulses could lead to the advancement of democratic processes.

I based my argument on two facts, firstly, that modern psychology offers us a conception of human nature much truer, though more complex, than that which is associated with the traditional English political philosophy; and secondly, that, under the influence and example of the natural sciences, political thinkers are already beginning to use in their discussions and inquiries quantitative rather than merely qualitative words and methods, and are able therefore both to state their problems more fully and to answer them with a greater approximation to accuracy. In this argument it was not necessary to ask how far such an improvement in the science of politics is likely to influence the actual course of political history. Whatever may be the best way of discovering truth will remain the best, whether the mass of mankind choose to follow it or not.