Political Thought / Edition 1

by Michael Rosen, Jonathan Wolff, Catriona McKinnon

Overview

Human beings live together in societies which, by their very nature, give rise to institutions governing the behavior and freedom of individuals. This raises important questions about how these institutions ought to function, and the extent to which actual systems of government succeed or fail in meeting these ideals.

This Oxford Reader contains 140 key writings on political thought, covering issues about human nature and its relation to society, the extent to which the powers of the State are justified, the tension between liberty and rights, and the way resources should be distributed. Topics such as international relations, minority rights, democracy, socialism, and conservatism are also discussed by contributors ranging from Plato and Aristotle to Foucault, Isaiah Berlin, and Martin Luther King.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192892782
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/16/1999
Series:	Oxford Readers
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	9.17(w) x 6.13(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Wolff is Reader in Philosophy at University College London and author of An Introduction to Political Philosophy (OUP, 1996) and Robert Nozick (1991). Michael Rosen is a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, coeditor of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant, and author of Hegel's Dialectic and its Criticism (OUP, 1982) and The Need for Interpretation (Abalone, 1987).

Table of Contents

PrefaceIntroductionChapter 1: Human NatureIntroduction, 1a: The Natural State of Mankind1. Aristotle: The State Exists By Nature2. Thomas Hobbes: The Misery of the Natural Condition ofMankind3. John Locke: The State of Nature and the State of War4. Baron de Montesquieu: Fear and Peace5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Noble Savage6. Robert Owen: Man's Character is Formed For Him7. Karl Marx and FriedrichEngels: Man as a Productive Being8. Charles Darwin: Natural Selection9. Charles Darwin: The Advantage of Morality10. Peter Kropotkin: Mutual Aid, 1b: Man's Nature and Woman's Nature11. Plato: Women as Weaker Partners12. Aristotle: Separate Spheres13. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Likeness and Unlikeness of the Sexes14. Mary Wollstonecraft: The Rights of Women15. John Stuart Mill: The Subjection of Women16. Carol Gilligan: In a Different Voice17. Alison M Jaggar: Socialist Feminism and The Standpoint of WomenChapter 2: The Justification of the State, 2a What is the State?18. John Locke: Political Power19. Max Weber: The State and Coercion, 2b The Social Contract20. Thomas Hobbes: Creating Leviathan21. John Locke: Express and Tacit Consent22. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Natural Freedom and the Freedom of the Citizen23. Immanuel Kant: The Hypothetical Contract, 2c Against The Social Contract24. David Hume: The Irrelevance of Consent25. Jeremy Bentham: Utility as the True Foundation26. G.W.F Hegel: The Priority of the State over The Individual27. H.L.A. Hart: The Principle of Fairness, 2d: The Anarchist Response28. Michael Bakunin: Science and the People29. Robert Paul Wolff: The Conflict of Autonomy and Authority, 2e: Civil Disobedience30. Plato: The Duty of Obedience31. Henry David Thoreau: The Duty of Disobedience32. Martin Luther King: An Unjust Law is No Law33. John Rawls: Civil DisobedienceChapter 3: Democracy and Its Difficulties, 3a: Against Democracy34. Plato: Ruling as a Skill35. Frederick the Great: The Enlightened Despot, 3b: Democratic Ideals36. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The General Will37. Immanuel Kant: Freedom and Equality38. John Stuart Mill: The Democratic Citizen39. John Rawls: Majority Rule, 3c True and False Democracy40. V.I. Lenin: Bourgeois and Proletarian Democracy41. Carole Pateman: Participatory Democracy, 3d Dangers in Democracy42. Aristotle: Rule of the People and Rule of Law43. James Madison: The Danger of Faction44. Alexis de Tocqueville: Tyranny of the Majority, 3e Democracy and Bureaucracy45. Max Weber: Bureaucratic Administration46. Vilfedo Pareto: Rule By Oligarchy, 3f: Separation of Powers47. John Locke: Legislative, Executive, and Federative Powers48. Baron de Montesquieu: The Ideal ConstitutionChapter 4: Liberty and Rights, 4a: What is Liberty?49. Benjamin Constant: The Liberty of the Ancients and the Liberty of the Moderns50. Isaiah Berlin: Two Concepts of Liberty51. Charles Taylor: In Defence of Positive Freedom52. Ronald Dworkin: No Right to Liberty, 4b: Law and Morality53. John Stuart Mill: One Simple Principle54. James Fitzjames Stephen: The Consequences of Liberty55. Partick Devlin: The Enforcement of Morals56. H.L.A. Hart: The Changing Sense of Morality., 4c: Toleration and Free Expression57. John Locke: The Futility of Intolerance58. Thomas Scanlon: Free Expression and the Authority of the State59. Jeremy Waldron: The Satanic Verses60. Catherine MacKinnon: Only Words, 4d: Virtue and Citizenship61. Pericles: The Democratic Citizen62. Aristotle: The Requirements of Citizenship63. Niccolo Machiavelli: The Servility of the Moderns64. Alexis de Tocqueville: The Nature of Modern Servitude65. Quentin Skinner: The Republican Ideal of Political Liberty, 4e: Rights66. Jeremy Bentham: Nonsense on Stilts67. Karl Marx: The Rights of Egoistic Man68. Robert Nozick: Rights as Side-Constraints69. Ronald Dworkin: Taking Rights Seriously, 4f: Punishment70. John Stuart Mill: In Favour of Capital Punishment71. H.L.A. Hart: Punishment and Responsibility72. Robert Nozick: Where Deterrence Theory Goes WrongChapter 5: Economic Justice, 5a: Private Property73. John Locke: Labour as the Basis of Property74. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Earth Belongs to Nobody75. G.W.F Hegel: Property as Expression76. Herbert Spencer: The Right to the Use of the Earth77. Karl Marx: Money, the Universal Whore78. Karl Marx: The True Foundation of Private Property79. Sigmund Freud: Property and Aggression80. R.H. Tawney: Reaping Without Sowing81. Robert Nozick: Difficulties With Mixing Labour, 5b: The Market82. Adam Smith: The Dangers of Government Interference83. Karl Marx: Appearance and Reality84. F.A. Hayek: Prices as A Code85. Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman: The Tyranny of Controls86. G.A. Cohen: Poverty as Lack of Freedom, 5c: Theories of Distributive Justice87. Aesop: The Grasshopper and the Ants88. Aristotle: Reciprocity89. Aristotle: Equality and Inequality90. Gerald Winstanley: The Common Stock91. David Hume: The Impossibility of Equality92. Karl Marx: From Each According to His Abilities, To Each According to His Needs93. Edward Bellamy: Looking Backward94. F.A. Hayek: The Impossibility of Planning95. John Rawls: Two Principles of Justice96. Robert Nozick: The Entitlement Theory97. Ronald Dworkin: Equality of ResourcesChapter 6: Justice Between Groups, 6a: Peace and War98. Immanuel Kant: Perpetual Peace99. Richard Cobden: The Civilizing Influence of Commerce100. Michael Walzer: Just and Unjust War101. Thomas Nagel: The Limits of Warfare, 6b: Nationalism102. Isaiah Berlin: National Sentiment103. Alasdair MacIntyre: Is Patriotism a Virtue?, 6c: Minority Rights104. Thomas Hill: The Message of Affirmative Action105. Avishai Margalit and Joseph Raz: National Self-Determination, 6d: Intergenerational Justice106. Brian Barry: Justice Between Generations', 6e: International Justice107. Peter Singer: Famine, Affluence and Morality108. Onora O'Neill: Lifeboat EarthChapter 7: Alternatives to Liberalism, 7a: Liberal Theory Under Strain109. Jurgen Habermas: Legitimation Crisis110. Michael Walzer: Liberalism in Retreat111. Michael Walzer: The Artificiality of Liberalism, 7b: Conservatism112. Edmund Burke: Eternal Society113. T.S. Eliot: The Transmission of Culture114. Michael Oakeshott: On Being Conservative, 7c: Communitarianism115. Charles Taylor: Identificiation and Subjectivity116. Alasdair MacIntyre: Tradition and the Unity of a Life117. Michael Sandel: Conceptions of Community, 7d: Socialism118. Karl Marx: Work in Communist Society119. Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto120. Karl Marx: The Realm of Freedom121. Oscar Wilde: The Soul of Man Under Socialism122. Ernest Mandel: Productive Activity123. G.A. Cohen: Socialism and Equality of Opportunity, 7e: Post-Modernism124. Friedrich Nietzsche:The Impulse Towards Justice125. Michel Foucault: Power/Knowledge126. Richard Rorty: The Priority of Democracy to PhilosophyChapter 8: Progress and Civilization127. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Effect of the Arts and Sciences128. Adam Smith: Division of Labour129. Friedrich Schiller: Fragmentation and Aesthetic Education130. Karl Marx: Development of the Productive Forces131. Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Our Self-Destructive Impulse132. Friedrich Engels: Transition to Communism133. Max Weber: Disenchantment134. Karl Popper: The Utopian Method135. Francis Fukuyama: The End of HistoryAppendix: Fundamental Political Documents136. U.S. Declaration of Independence 1776137. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen 1789138. The Bill of Rights 1789139. The Gettysburg Address 1863140. United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948