Product Description

Human beings live together in societies which, by their very nature, give rise to institutions governing the behaviour 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

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148860 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

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 (Blackwell, 1991). Michael Rosen is a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, co-editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant, and author of Hegel's Dialectic and its Criticism (CUP, 1982) and The Need for Interpretation (Abalone, 1987).

Customer Reviews

Eye opening
Although I had an interest in political thought I never knew where to start when looking for an idea, or who the idea was associated with.
This book cleared it all up - well catagorized, perfectly selected readings from the masters of classical and contemporary political thought allows the reader to sift through a philosopher or an idea with the turn of a few pages.
A great introduction for anyone with a desire to grasp the ideas and concepts that shape politics without spending excessive time or money on doing so.

Political Thought
This is an answer book. I am sure anyone who went through the same education system as me in Zimbabwe will dread reading this book, and here is why;

In Primary School, it used to happen you could lay your hands on a Maths Text Book (Teachers' Copy) with all the answers at the back but our teachers would catch us out and cane us if we provided the answers without being able to show an understanding of the math. The memory lingers.

This book is an answer book.