The Myth of Policy (The Social Construction of Political Fact)

This article draws upon a sociological doctrine. The doctrine regards the political level of Iranian mind as an appearance of the social fact. The social fact has several levels, and its essence is hidden. The article challenges the above-mentioned doctrine with a genealogical approach. The first part deals theoretically with the constructed fact on the one hand, the fact being constructed on the other, and the dual face of the social fact with the two corresponding discourses in sociology. The second part explains the objective aspect of Iranian despotism in the light of Marx and Witfogel’s approaches. The next part regards the political mind as a subjective aspect of this fact. The final part formulates a problem: The paradoxical fact of recent political phenomenon. The objective aspect of this fact has prepared conditions for democracy in Iran, while it’s subjective aspect tends towards despotism.