Hannah Arendt's Political Realm

Hannah Arendt views the political realm as an arena where actors engage in actions and spectators pass judgments on those actions, emphasizing the importance of disinterest in both activities. For her, political liberty is achieved when actions are pursued for their own sake rather than for economic or other interests, positioning true freedom as rooted in non-instrumental engagement. This perspective distinguishes political action from everyday human behavior, where social scientists can predict outcomes based on human correlations. By centering politics on free actions rather than goal-oriented behavior, Arendt underscores the transformative nature of human agency.