Why study political science?

Political science is concerned with the construction of social systems in order provide sustainability and economic prosperity for a mass populace. Components used to formulate these systems include political activity and human behavior. When acknowledging the question, ‘Why study political science,’ we can appeal to an individual who is known as the father of political science; Aristotle. In his famous book, ‘Nichomachean Ethics’ Aristotle cleverly presents the proper use of political science as a means to improve peoples character and conduct, ultimately giving rise to a fundamentally good world. Political science essentially studies the relationship between human behavior and political activity so scientists can develop societal systems in a manner that allows the citizens to act ethically and morally. It is in this line of inquiry that we can see that political science is simply a means to make the world a better place. Since we have built a type of conceptual cornerstone, we can now tackle this question.
‘Why should anyone study political science?’ The answer to this question is the following: Political science should be studied in order to make the world a better place. The are those who walk the earth with a burning passion. This burning passion sets them apart from other people, for these people are a type of sacred gatekeeper. They see the destruction & suffering in the world and renounce their material desires and financial aspirations all simply for one grand goal, which is to create a better world. Now we can see, political science should be studied because our species seeks improvement from that which causes harm and suffering and we all strive to live in a beautiful world.
Further resources:
“Aristotle’s Ethics of Virtue” Radio Free Philosophy #28 [Internet Archive]
“Roger Crisp on Aristotle’s Ethics” from Interviews with Philosophers podcast [Oxford]
Koturski, Jospeh “The Ethics of Aristotle” The Teaching Company: The Great Courses
Meikle, Scott Aristotle’s Economic Thought Oxford University Press, 1997=

Studying political science can help one understand and critically analyze the world around us in relation to how humans interact with each other, other non-human animals, and the planet as a whole. Specifically, political science seeks to analyze and understand systems of governments and centralized power within human relations. Given that so much of human and non-human suffering directly stems from how power is concentrated into the hands of a few and how most people in our world are unable to have direct control of their own lives, studying these systems can be incredibly important to imagine another way of living and relating to one another.
For instance, the United States was founded on genocide, slavery, and the destruction of the environment. These acts were cemented and legalized through, originally, the colonial governments of England, Spain, and France, and then later through the American government. Through the hierarchical nature of governments and their ability to maintain power through use of violence and coercion (military and police), people without access to that hierarchical power are unable to fully control their own lives or fight their oppression without facing state repression.
This is how plantation slavery existed for so long in the United States, as the government and powerful individuals in society were able to maintain concentrated power that allowed them to enforce slavery through laws that were then enforced through state and vigilante violence (slave catchers, police, militias). As such, political science can simply be understood as the study of power and how power is concentrated and maintained by certain individuals/states. In order to imagine a world in which power is not concentrated through states or in the hands of a few individuals, one must study the current systems and thoroughly understand how they are fundamentally oppressive.
If one can study how power concentrates, then one can imagine a world in which power is not used hierarchically. Through this understanding, people can participate in resisting state oppression and can participate in building another world. For instance, the Zapatistas in Mexico have been working for 25+ years on building an alternative society that is rooted in respecting all forms of life, the planet, and Indigenous ways of relating to the Earth and one another in a non-hierarchical manner.