Personal Statement:Politics, Philosophy and Economics PPE 9

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Politics, Philosophy and Economics PPE Personal Statement

It was Keynes that said: “the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else.” With this in mind, the PPE course offers a chance to scrutinise the modes of social organisation - as a historical and scientific activity: considering changes in the working of society over time, and how a society should normatively behave – via three routes of economics, politics and philosophy. Through reading Adam Swift’s Political Philosophy I have recognised that political themes often incur broader economic and philosophical issues (measurement and management, semantic and ethical concerns) in addition to clarity of definition – often distinctly absent in contemporary discussion.

At present, there is tremendous pressure on the state to remedy the financial crisis in the face of a seemingly faltering market mechanism. Having studied the business cycle, fiscal and monetary policy and microeconomic government intervention as part of my AS economics course, the current global recession provides a topical and ubiquitous application of such economic theory. Does government intervention achieve its aims, or cause greater instability than market allocation? How does economic stability even benefit the individual? The success of state economic policy is contingent on accurate economic forecasting – I will be following this process and the outcomes of economic modelling in practise in the near future, having secured a placement at the Economic Intelligence Unit in early 2010. However, is economic intervention of the state, clearly non-neutral in its advocacy of certain ways of life via taxation and subsidy, an infringement of individual autonomy? Assuming the government endorses a ‘correct’ view at odds with popular will, who should cast the ultimate decision? Even if a policy is determined by referendum, are the outvoted minority thus dictated by the ‘tyranny’ of majority rule? I have explored such questions concerning democracy, amongst other themes, in lieu of reading Swift. Having read only extracts from the traditional ‘canon’ of political philosophy, Swift’s introduction has made fundamental social concepts more intelligible. For instance, Hobbes’ interprets the state as a mighty sovereign that embodies its people in artificial unity in pursuit of the common good, yet in the authoritarian Leviathan individual rights are sacrificed for peace and the state holds total power in political decision-making. Similarly in the UK, although representatives are elected every 5 years they subsequently obtain free reign of governing the country and each of its citizens. Thus, are we really as democratic as we think? Regardless, the UK’s operation of frequent, organised parliamentary debate utilises its representatives. In the public forum, opposing parties contest existing preferences, circulating information and creating an environment in which the standard of political judgement – and political decision-making - can be raised. However, it was during work experience at the House of Commons that the discrepancies between theoretical political philosophy and politics in practise became apparent to me; the tendency of politicians to use the public forum as a means of inter-party ridicule and self promotion often detracted from ‘deliberative democracy’ itself. The value of debate is an epistemic one and having read a transcript of Kolakowski’s The Death of Utopia Reconsidered, I find epistemology’s quest for the ultimate certainty highly enticing. Fundamentally, what is knowledge? How is it acquired? Is it even possible to ever discover the “foundation of foundations”?

Beyond study, I enjoy practising the arts: I have been committed to grade 8 level piano, and grade 6 level ballet over the years and have humoured a love of amateur dramatics through dominant roles in local and school productions. I am an St John Ambulance cadet, was elected prefect in upper school and have since founded an in-school Current Affairs society, of which I am chairwoman. More recently, I completed my DofE gold expedition as a further conquest to add to my collection of novel, challenging experiences - including skiing and scuba diving. Furthermore, I foster a keen interest in my own cultural heritage, and relish exploring Chinese history, language and literature.

My existing studies have equipped me well for PPE. The sciences employ sound logical and empirical approaches while English literature promotes analytical, argumentative and essay writing skills that I see as vital to the course. Although cognizant of the fact that my current ideas on the three disciplines are susceptible to change, I believe that my skills and broad academic base combined will enable me to pursue new avenues of intellectual interest.

Universities Applied to:

• University of Oxford (PPE)
• London School of Economics (Government & Economics)
• Durham University (PPE)
• University of Warwick (PPE)
• University of York (PPE)

Grades Achieved:

• Unknown

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