What is the difference between normative political theory and normative political knowledge?
Lets start with “normative.” Normative (or “subjective”) political science is that which involves the use of value judgments to access the performance of political systems or public policies. Normative propositions cannot be tested, confirmed, or refuted. For example, the proposition “the voter participation rate is too low” is a value judgment and not something that can be verified by checking electoral data. Now lets move to “political knowledge.” Political knowledge is accurate information (facts, truths, or principles) derived from systematic study of the political world. Normative political knowledge is that which is obtained from logic, intuition, and historical interpretation. When Thomas Jefferson tells us “we hold these truths to be self evident …” he is using intuition. Political theory is a body of thought that seeks to evaluate, explain, and predict political phenomena. When the issues it deals with are normative, questions like what is the “best” or most “just” system or
