3 Review(s)

This lucidly written text, in its second edition, continues to provide a comprehensive study of the classical political tradition from Plato to Marx. The book elucidates the fascinating evolution of the history of political ideas, through the works of thirteen key political thinkers — which includes Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hegel and Marx. The text highlights the decline and revival of classical political theory and portrays the clash of universalism vs. localism in the classical tradition. It focuses on the recent interpretations of the classical texts, for instance, feasibility of the ideal State in Plato; civic humanism and republicanism in Machiavelli; the radicalism of Locke, and the contributions to the woman’s cause by John Stuart Mill. The text is intended for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of Political Science of various universities, and for all those who are appearing for the civil services examinations. New To This Edition: Inclusion of two important liberal thinkers, Mary Wollstonecraft, the founder of liberal feminism, and Immanuel Kant, a de-ontological liberal. Addition of an Appendix on John Rawls who is credited as a seminal thinker of contemporary times, having played a crucial role in the revival of normative political theory. About the Author SUBRATA MUKHERJEE (PhD, Indiana) has been a Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi. He was a Fulbright-Hays Grantee and was the convener of the University Grants Commission’s Committee on Development of Curriculum for Political Science and Public Administration in 2001. He is also on the Editorial board of Korea Observer and is the author of Gandhian Thought and Marxist Interpretation and Essays in Marxist Theory and Practice. SUSHILA RAMASWAMY (PhD, Delhi) is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Postdoctoral fellowship and a teaching fellow at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. She received the University Grants Commission’s Research Award for three years from 2004–07. She has authored books on Liberty, Equality and Social Justice: Rawls’ Political Theory; Marxist Theory of the State: Dictatorship of the Proletariat; and Political Theory: Ideas and Concepts. Table of Contents Preface • Preface To The First Edition 1. What Is Political Theory? 2. Plato 3. Aristotle 4. Niccolo Machiavelli 5. Thomas Hobbes 6. John Locke 7. Jean Jacques Rousseau 8. Immanuel Kant 9. Edmund Burke 10. Jeremy Bentham 11. Mary Wollstonecraft 12. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 13. John Stuart Mill 14. Karl Marx Appendix • Bibliography • References Author Index • Subject Index