Philosophy of values in small and big politics: a case study of equal rights

The author of the article analyses the difference between small and big politics. According to the article, small politics has to do with everyday political life, whereas big politics is the founding act of the ideals. The ideal model of democracy and liberty is always utopian as it is ideal in theory. In practice, in small politics, the ideals become devalued. Realpolitik of everyday political life has its purposes and goals, which are often far away from the ideal model of the Founding act. Nevertheless, the author argues that the utopian version of the ideal political model is necessary, since it may serve as an indicator to what degree the ideals have been forgotten. The article provides a case study. It deals with the civil disobedience in the United States in the 1960’s. The case study illustrates how Civil Rights Movement altered small politics of discrimination and moved Realpolitik closer to the ideal model of democracy and equal rightsVytauto Didžiojo universiteta