These foundational works span more than two millennia, from antiquity with each of the selected works contributing to the overall development of Political Theory and Philosophy. The views expressed run the political gamut, with a dose of religiosity thrown in. The path through these important works ultimately leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the development and evolution of the Political theories that inform our contemporary views and perspectives.
Greek and Roman
The Republic by
The Republic is Plato's most famous work and one of the seminal texts of Western philosophy and politics. The characters in this Socratic dialogue - including Socrates himself - discuss whether the just or unjust man is happier. They are the philosopher-kings of imagined cities and they also discuss the nature of philosophy and the soul among other things.
ISBN: 1775566250Publication Date: 2009-01-01
- Plato (427-347, B.C.E)Biography
The Athenian Constitution by
The Athenian Constitution" by Aristotle is a historical account written in the 4th century BC. The work explores the political structure and evolution of Athenian democracy, detailing the various systems of government that have existed in Athens from its inception through to Aristotle's time. The text likely serves as a guide to understanding the complex nature of Athenian politics, highlighting key figures and reforms, particularly that of Solon, who is pivotal in the transition toward a more democratic system. At the start of this work, Aristotle outlines the turbulent history of Athens, noting the initially oligarchical constitution and the struggles between social classes, particularly the ruling elite and the disenfranchised poorer citizens. He recounts the significant events that led to the establishment of Solon as a mediator during civil unrest, resulting in major reforms aimed at alleviating debt and servitude among the populace. The opening sections introduce key positions within the ancient governmental structure, such as the offices of King, Polemarch, and Archon, and the significant role of the Council of Areopagus, effectively setting the stage for a deeper examination of the subsequent developments in Athenian governance.
Publication Date: 2008-07-21
- Aristotle (384-322, B.C.E.)Biography
- The republic of Cicero Translated from the Latin; and Accompanied With a Critical and Historical Introduction by
The Republic of Cicero" by Marcus Tullius Cicero is a philosophical treatise that examines the principles of governance, written in the early 1st century BC. The text is presented in a dialogue format among prominent Roman figures, particularly focusing on ideas about the nature of a republic and the role of citizens and leaders in maintaining public virtue and justice. As Cicero reflects upon historical events, he seeks to reinforce and revive the values of an idealized Roman Republic, urging a return to simpler, virtuous governance amid political corruption. The opening of "The Republic of Cicero" sets the stage for this discussion, where Cicero introduces the fundamental question of whether governance should be led by philosophers or practical men. Drawing upon various historical examples, Cicero emphasizes the necessity of virtue in leadership and the importance of active engagement in public affairs. Through the characters of Scipio and Lælius, he outlines the dialogue's philosophical inquiries, ranging from celestial phenomena to the responsibilities of citizenship and the definition of a republic as a collective governance for the common good. This introduction establishes Cicero's intention to explore how the ideals of a republic can be sustained against the challenges posed by moral decay and tyranny.
Publication Date: 2017-02-12
Middle Ages
Prince, the. Oxford World's Classics by
A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought...but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.' When Machiavelli's brief treatise on Renaissance statecraft and princely power was posthumously published in 1532, it generated a debate that has raged unabated until the present day. Based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, "The Prince" analyses the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. Machiavelli added a dimension of incisive realism to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised. This fluent new translation is accompanied by comprehensive notes and an introduction that considers the true purpose of "The Prince" and dispels some of the myths associated with it.
ISBN: 1280752955Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy New Readings by ISBN: 9789004382923Publication Date: 2021-10-14Original scholarly essays by leading philosophers, which bring to life Machiavelli's lengthiest and most challenging work.
- Niccolo Machiavelli (1492-1527)Biography
Leviathan by
During the upheaval of the English Civil War in the seventeenth century, political philosopher Thomas Hobbes composed his masterwork, Leviathan. It was first published in 1651, between the trial and execution of King Charles I and the creation of the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. In his book, Hobbes argued that a strong and undivided central government was necessary to maintain societal order. By accepting the rule of a sovereign authority figure--which Hobbes called the "Leviathan" after the biblical sea monster--humans could avoid being ruled instead by self-interest and fear, and so escape humankind's natural state of war and violence. This is an unabridged version of Hobbes's most famous philosophical text, which established social contract theory and remained influential in political philosophy for centuries.
ISBN: 9781512486193Publication Date: 2018-01-01
- Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)Biography
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Second Treatise of Government by
This essential volume features John Locke's hand-corrected text with an outstanding introduction to Locke's life and role in intellectual history, his principal works, and their purpose. Written by the editor, Richard Cox, the introduction also outlines the course of both treatises of government and analyzes the problems of interpretation. Also included are a list of the principal dates in the life of John Locke as well as a selected bibliography.
ISBN: 9781118809846Publication Date: 2014-09-11
- John Locke (1632-1704)Biography
- The spirit of laws, vol. 1 by Publication Date: 1896
- The spirit of laws, vol. 2 by Publication Date: 1896
- The social contract ; &, Discourses. by Publication Date: 2014
- A discourse upon the origin and foundation of the inequality among mankind by
In A Discourse on Inequality Rousseau sets out to demonstrate how the growth of civilization corrupts man's natural happiness and freedom by creating artificial inequalities of wealth, power and social privilege. Contending that primitive man was equal to his fellows, Rousseau believed that as societies become more sophisticated, the strongest and most intelligent members of the community gain an unnatural advantage over their weaker brethren, and that constitutions set up to rectify these imbalances through peace and justice in fact do nothing but perpetuate them. Rousseau's political and social arguments in the Discourse were a hugely influential denunciation of the social conditions of his time and one of the most revolutionary documents of the eighteenth-century.
Publication Date: 1761
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)Biography
- Reflections On The French Revolution by Publication Date: 1951
- Edmund Burke (1729-1797)Biography
- Common sense : addressed to the inhabitants of America by
Published anonymously in 1776, the year of the American Declaration of Independence, Paine's Common Sense became an immediate best-seller, with fifty-six editions printed in that year alone. It was this pamphlet, more than any other factor, which helped to spark off the movement that established the independence of the United States. From his experience of revolutionary politics, Paine drew those principles of fundamental human rights which, he felt, must stand no matter what excesses are committed to obtain them, and which he later formulated in his Rights of Man.
Publication Date: 1922
- The Rights of Man by
One of the great classics on democracy,Rights of Man was published in England in 1791 as a vindication of the French Revolution and a critique of the British system of government. In direct, forceful prose, Paine defends popular rights, national independence, revolutionary war, and economic growth-all considered dangerous and even seditious issues. In his introduction Eric Foner presents an overview of Paine's career as political theorist and pamphleteer, and supplies essential background material to Rights of Man. He discusses how Paine created a language of modern politics that brought important issues to the common man and the working classes and assesses the debt owed to Paine by the American and British radical traditions.
- Thomas Paine (1737-1809)Biography
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by
No detailed description available for "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman".
ISBN: 0300207042Publication Date: 2014-01-01
- Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)Biography
THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY
- An Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation by Publication Date: 1999-12-01
- Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)Biography
On Liberty by
John Stuart Mill's masterwork: A meditation on the relationship between the individual and society One of the foremost thinkers of his age, John Stuart Mill was a steadfast advocate of individual freedom. This groundbreaking work explores the relationship between freedom and authority, between the citizen and the state, applying Mill's concept of utilitarianism to the philosophy of governance. Individual liberties, Mill argues, are threatened by the very concept of democracy, which is continually at risk of veering into tyranny. Mill outlines the basic liberties to which individuals are entitled as well as the dangers of governmental intervention. An enduring classic of political philosophy, On Liberty remains as relevant to government today as it was upon its first publication. A true cornerstone of liberalism, Mill's treatise is a powerful argument for individuality.
ISBN: 9781497684201Publication Date: 2015-02-24
- John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)Biography
The Communist Manifesto by
Marx and Engels's "Communist Manifesto" has become one of the world s most influential political tracts since its original 1848 publication. Part of the Rethinking the Western Tradition series, this edition of the "Manifesto" features an extensive introduction by Jeffrey C. Isaac, and essays by Vladimir Tismaneanu, Steven Lukes, Saskia Sassen, and Stephen Eric Bronner, each well known for their writing on questions central to the "Manifesto" and the history of Marxism. These essays address the "Manifesto"'s historical background, its impact on the development of twentieth-century Communism, its strengths and weaknesses as a form of ethical critique, and its relevance in the post-1989, post-Cold War world. This edition also includes much ancillary material, including the many Prefaces published in the lifetimes of Marx and Engels, and Engels's "Principles of Communism."
ISBN: 1280580607Publication Date: 2012-01-01
- Karl Marx (1818-1883)Biography
- Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)Biography
- Civilization and Its Discontents by
During the summer of 1929, Freud worked on what became this seminal volume of twentieth-century thought.
ISBN: 0393096238Publication Date: 1963-12-01
- Sigmund Freud (1856-1839)Biography
Democracy in America by
In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont spent nine months in the U.S. studying American prisons on behalf of the French government. They investigated not just the prison system but indeed every aspect of American public and private life--the political, economic, religious, cultural, and above all the social life of the young nation. From Tocqueville's copious notes came Democracy in America. This English-only edition of Democracy in America features Eduardo Nolla's incisive notes to James Schleifer's English translation of the French text, with extensive reference to early outlines, drafts, manuscript variants, marginalia, unpublished fragments, and other materials: "This new Democracy is not only the one that Tocqueville presented to the reader of 1835, then to the reader of 1840. . . the reader will see how Tocqueville proceeded with the elaboration of the main ideas of this book." Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) was a French writer and politician. Eduardo Nolla is a Professor at the Universidad San Pablo-CEU, Madrid. James T. Schleifer is emeritus Dean of the Library and Professor of History at the College of New Rochelle and has been a visiting lecturer at Yale University. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.
ISBN: 1614878838Publication Date: 2012-02-03
- Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)Biography
- Marxism, Freedom and the State by
This collection of extracts from the works of Mikhail Bakunin are taken from his writings touching on his controversy with Marx over the nature of the state and its role in the liberation of the international working class.
Written between 1867 and 1872, many of Bakunin’s predictions about the outcome of following the authoritarian communist road have been proven valid by the actions of Leninist tyrants across the world.
Publication Date: Written between 1867 and 1872
God and the State by
Among the 19th-century founders of modern philosophical anarchism, none is more important than Michael Bakunin (1814-76). Born into the Russian nobility, he renounced his hereditary rank in protest against Czarist oppression and fled to Western Europe. A colorful, charismatic personality, Bakunin quickly became central to the anarchism movement, and everyone involved either built upon or reacted to his ideas. Yet Bakunin, despite the power of his ideas, was primarily a man of action, and he wrote little. His only major work, God and the State, remained unfinished, although it is the torso of a giant. God and the State has been a basic anarchist and radical document for generations. It is one of the clearest statements of the anarchist philosophy of history: religion by its nature is an impoverishment, enslavement, and annihilation of humanity. It is the weapon of the state. It must be smashed, according to Bakunin, before the right of self-determination can be possible. As an introduction to anarchist thought, a manifesto of atheism, or as a summing-up of the thoughts of Bakunin, God and the State remains a mind-opening experience, even for those basically unsympathetic to its premise.
ISBN: 9780486224831Publication Date: 1970-06-01
- Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876)Biography
- The Conquest of Bread by
The Conquest of Bread" by Peter Kropotkin is a revolutionary treatise that advocates for Anarchist Communism, written in the early 20th century. Kropotkin, a former Russian nobleman who became a prominent revolutionary thinker, outlines a vision for a society built on collaboration and shared prosperity. The work critiques the existing economic structures that perpetuate inequality, arguing that humanity possesses the means to provide for all its members, yet a minority monopolizes resources. The opening of "The Conquest of Bread" sets the stage for Kropotkin’s exploration of wealth production and distribution, beginning with a reflection on humanity's rich history of labor and innovation. He details how the accumulated labor of past generations has created the potential for abundant production, yet questions why so many remain impoverished. Kropotkin asserts that this disparity arises from systems of exploitation that favor a small elite, emphasizing that true progress can only be achieved through collective ownership of the means of production and a fundamental shift in societal values towards equality and the right to well-being for all.
Publication Date: 2007-11-09
- Title Memoirs of a revolutionist by
In this autobiography, Kropotkin recounts his early life in the royal court and his military service in Siberia, along with his imprisonment, escape, and European exile. His portraits of nineteenth-century Russian life rival those of the great novelists, ranging from moving examples of the unbridgeable chasm between nobles and serfs to gripping scenes of midnight plots enacted outside the Kremlin's walls. An eminent geographer and cartographer, Kropotkin also offers fascinating views from his explorations of Siberia. An Introduction and explanatory notes enhance this unabridged edition of a thrilling real-life story of idealism and adventure.
Publication Date: 1899
- Peter Alekseyevich KropotkinBiography
TWENTIETH CENTURY
Revolution, Democracy, Socialism (Chapter: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism) by
This is an entirely new collection of Lenin's writing. For the first time it brings together crucial shorter works, to show that Lenin held a life-long commitment to freedom and democracy. Le Blanc has written a comprehensive introduction, which gives an accessible overview of Lenin's life and work, and explains his relevance to political thought today. Lenin has been much maligned in the mainstream, accused of viewing 'man as modeling clay' and of 'social engineering of the most radical kind.' However, in contrast to today's world leaders, who happily turn to violence to achieve their objectives, Lenin believed it impossible to reach his goals 'by any other path than that of political democracy.' This collection will be of immense value to students encountering Lenin for the first time, and those looking for a new interpretation of one of the 20th century's most inspiring figures.
ISBN: 0745327605Publication Date: 2008-11-20
- Vladimir Ilich Lenin (1870-1924)Biography
The Wretched of the Earth by
The sixtieth anniversary edition of Frantz Fanon's landmark text, now with a new introduction by Cornel West First published in 1961, and reissued in this sixtieth anniversary edition with a powerful new introduction by Cornel West, Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth is a masterfuland timeless interrogation of race, colonialism, psychological trauma, and revolutionary struggle, and a continuing influence on movements from Black Lives Matter to decolonization. A landmark text for revolutionaries and activists, The Wretched of the Earth is an eternal touchstone for civil rights, anti-colonialism, psychiatric studies, and Black consciousness movements around the world. Alongside Cornel West's introduction, the book features critical essays by Jean-Paul Sartre and Homi K. Bhabha. This sixtieth anniversary edition of Fanon's most famous text stands proudly alongside such pillars of anti-colonialism and anti-racism as Edward Said's Orientalism and The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
ISBN: 9780140184143Publication Date: 1968-06-01
- Frantz Omar Fanon (1925-1961)Biography
- The human condition by
A work of striking originality bursting with unexpected insights, The Human Condition is in many respects more relevant now than when it first appeared in 1958. In her study of the state of modern humanity, Hannah Arendt considers humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable. The problems Arendt identified then--diminishing human agency and political freedom, the paradox that as human powers increase through technological and humanistic inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions--continue to confront us today. This new edition, published to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of its original publication, contains an improved and expanded index and a new introduction by noted Arendt scholar Margaret Canovan which incisively analyzes the book's argument and examines its present relevance. A classic in political and social theory, The Human Condition is a work that has proved both timeless and perpetually timely.
Publication Date: 1958
- Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)Biography
The Second Sex by
The essential masterwork that has provoked and inspired generations of men and women. "From Eve's apple to Virginia Woolf's room of her own, Beauvoir's treatise remains an essential rallying point, urging self-sufficiency and offering the fruit of knowledge." --Vogue This unabridged edition reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir's pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published, and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.
ISBN: 9780307277787Publication Date: 2011-05-03
- Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)Biography
A Theory of Justice by
John Rawls aims to express an essential part of the common core of the democratic tradition--justice as fairness--and to provide an alternative to utilitarianism, which had dominated the Anglo-Saxon tradition of political thought since the nineteenth century. Rawls substitutes the ideal of the social contract as a more satisfactory account of the basic rights and liberties of citizens as free and equal persons. "Each person," writes Rawls, "possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override." Advancing the ideas of Rousseau, Kant, Emerson, and Lincoln, Rawls's theory is as powerful today as it was when first published. Though the revised edition of A Theory of Justice, published in 1999, is the definitive statement of Rawls's view, much of the extensive literature on his theory refers to the original. This first edition is available for scholars and serious students of Rawls's work.
ISBN: 9780674042605Publication Date: 2009-07-01
- John Rawls (1921-2002)Biography
- Robert Nozick (1938-2002)Biography