“Why would you want to study politics? Everyone knows what that is.” The case for the teaching of Political Science in the UK

Many subjects within the arts, humanities and social sciences are judged harshly by some within society, particularly those who believe that they lack the heft and intrinsic usefulness of the hard sciences. Rishi Sunak, the former British Prime Minister, implied the primacy of maths within the subject hierarchy when he argued it should be privileged amongst subjects by being taught to all students in the UK in some format until they were 18. He also implied within this that some students were taking other subjects rather than maths and that this was detrimental to British business, although it was not stated so overtly (Sunak, 17th April 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-outlines-his-vision-for-maths-to-18). The necessity of social sciences, particularly Political Science within the UK context will be discussed in this paper. Political Science as a subject area has always been viewed with some suspicion by those who fear the education of individuals on the mechanisms of power within a nation and those who confuse education with indoctrination. This fear has, yet again, become a prevailing concern in many countries and this paper will explore that concern. It will conclude that the social sciences and humanities perform a vital role within society and academia and the elevation or denigration of subjects focusing on contentious issues should not be tolerated when driven by political expediency or the desire of some to close down debate.