Political system and social relations

What is a political system? The present chapter is organized around this question and deals with both the relationship between the political system and the rest of the social structure, and the analysis of the internal mechanisms of such a system. One should note that everything. I will say refers to the analytical levels of social reality, not to a concrete society. It is extremely important not to confuse a system, which is a conceptual construct and an analytical tool, with the empirical reality of a society, which comprises superimposed, multiple historical and geographical features within itself which are analytically distinct from one another. Therefore, when addressing a political system, what we refer to is an analytical structure and a specific type of social relations.

Analytically, I define a political system as that level of the social structure where normative decisions are made. These decisions can be divided into three categories. First, there are decisions over the norms and regulations that govern exchanges among different groups or specific interests in a society. Next, there is the drawing up and adaptation of the rules and procedures that guide the decision-making process itself. Finally, the political system produces decisions which guarantee the maintenance and adaptation of the mode of production and the distribution of social resources.