The Political System: An Inquiry into the State of Political Science.
An appraisal of David Easton ' s contribution to political science must come to terms with the self-assessment that emerges in his own writings. If we consider what Easton says, first, about the relation of the behavioral movement to earlier political science and, second, about the standing of his systems approach among behavioral approaches generally, we are led to the conclusion that his systems theory is the towering achievement of an effort, now almost 2500 years old, to develop a philosophical or scientific understanding of political life. While I shall call this high assessment into question, my estimate of Easton ' s work is by no means wholly unfavorable. His theory of the political system, developed in great detail over the course of two decades, stands as the most imposing theoretical structure yet to emerge from the behavioral movement in political science. No other behavioral theorist has spoken to so broad a range of issues, both methodological and theoretical. I intend to show, however, that there are fundamental difficulties in Easton ' s methodology and theory which undercut his claim to have advanced decisively beyond traditional political philosophy.