UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PLC1501: Politics as Social Activity
Assignment 2 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PLC1501
Module Code:
Politics as Social Activity
Module Name:
Assignment 2
Assignment Number:
10 April 2026
Due Date:
50
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for PLC1501 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | PLC1501 Assignment 2 – Politics as Social Activity
Question 1: The Rationalistic Theory and the Origin of Politics
Scholars have long wrestled with a deceptively simple question: why do human beings end
up in political arrangements at all? One of the most enduring answers comes from what the
study guide calls rationalistic theory, which locates the origin of politics not in instinct or
divine command but in deliberate human reasoning (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:31–32).
1.1 The Core Argument
Rationalistic theory holds that politics is a product of conscious human thought. People,
according to this view, are rational beings who recognised quite early that living alone was
both dangerous and impractical. The individual, when left entirely to their own devices, is too
exposed to the unpredictability of nature and the aggression of other individuals. Reason,
then, pushed people toward one another. They concluded, through deliberate calculation, that
cooperation offered better prospects for survival, security, and the satisfaction of basic needs
than isolation ever could (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:31).
This calculation is what gives rise to political organisation. The moment individuals agree
to submit certain freedoms and decisions to a shared authority or communal arrangement,
politics begins. It is not an accident or an evolutionary inevitability; it is the outcome of people
reasoning their way toward a solution to a problem they all shared. That is a fairly significant
claim. It means politics is not something that was done to human beings; they effectively
chose it, at least in the sense that reason made the case and people followed.
1.2 Connection to Social Contract Thinking
Rationalistic theory is closely associated with social contract ideas. Thinkers like Thomas
Hobbes described pre-political life as chaotic and violent, a condition so unpleasant that
rational people would willingly surrender some personal freedom in exchange for the order
and protection a political authority could provide. The logic is straightforward: the costs of
political life (giving up total independence) are lower than the costs of no political life at all
(vulnerability, conflict, and insecurity). Politics, therefore, is the rational bargain people strike
with one another (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:32).
This also explains why political arrangements tend to come with rules, contracts, constitu-
tions, and laws. If politics arises from reason, it makes sense that it would also be governed
Page 2 of 12
College of Human Sciences
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PLC1501: Politics as Social Activity
Assignment 2 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
PLC1501
Module Code:
Politics as Social Activity
Module Name:
Assignment 2
Assignment Number:
10 April 2026
Due Date:
50
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for PLC1501 — UNISA 2026
, UNISA | PLC1501 Assignment 2 – Politics as Social Activity
Question 1: The Rationalistic Theory and the Origin of Politics
Scholars have long wrestled with a deceptively simple question: why do human beings end
up in political arrangements at all? One of the most enduring answers comes from what the
study guide calls rationalistic theory, which locates the origin of politics not in instinct or
divine command but in deliberate human reasoning (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:31–32).
1.1 The Core Argument
Rationalistic theory holds that politics is a product of conscious human thought. People,
according to this view, are rational beings who recognised quite early that living alone was
both dangerous and impractical. The individual, when left entirely to their own devices, is too
exposed to the unpredictability of nature and the aggression of other individuals. Reason,
then, pushed people toward one another. They concluded, through deliberate calculation, that
cooperation offered better prospects for survival, security, and the satisfaction of basic needs
than isolation ever could (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:31).
This calculation is what gives rise to political organisation. The moment individuals agree
to submit certain freedoms and decisions to a shared authority or communal arrangement,
politics begins. It is not an accident or an evolutionary inevitability; it is the outcome of people
reasoning their way toward a solution to a problem they all shared. That is a fairly significant
claim. It means politics is not something that was done to human beings; they effectively
chose it, at least in the sense that reason made the case and people followed.
1.2 Connection to Social Contract Thinking
Rationalistic theory is closely associated with social contract ideas. Thinkers like Thomas
Hobbes described pre-political life as chaotic and violent, a condition so unpleasant that
rational people would willingly surrender some personal freedom in exchange for the order
and protection a political authority could provide. The logic is straightforward: the costs of
political life (giving up total independence) are lower than the costs of no political life at all
(vulnerability, conflict, and insecurity). Politics, therefore, is the rational bargain people strike
with one another (PLC1501 Study Guide, 2002:32).
This also explains why political arrangements tend to come with rules, contracts, constitu-
tions, and laws. If politics arises from reason, it makes sense that it would also be governed
Page 2 of 12
