POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

branch of philosophy that is concerned, at the most abstract level, with the concepts and arguments involved in political opinion. The meaning of political is itself one of the major problems of political philosophy. Broadly, however, one may characterize as political all those practices and institutions that are concerned with government. Of first importance in political philosophy is the analysis of the state and related institutions. The question of the state leads to those of sovereignty (the power and authority assumed by the ruler) and political obligation (the duty and submission assumed by the ruled). Under what conditions, if any, can political obligation arise, and what is its extent? Political obligation tends to be upheld on grounds either of utility or of justice. But what is justice? This question was regarded by Plato and Aristotle as the fundamental question of political theory, and it remains high on the agenda of modern liberal philosophers. No political philosophy is complete without an account of law and constitution. What is a law, how are laws justified, and how far should they extend? Are there forms of reasoning that are special to law? Finally, the concept of a constitution is one of the major inventions of Western thought and describes the condition of limited governmentgovernment that is circumscribed by its own procedures. The first major work of political philosophy in the Western tradition was Plato's Republic, defending a well-ordered, authoritarian state presided over by a philosopher king. Aristotle's Politics rejected Plato's approach in favour of a detailed consideration and step-by-step justification of existing political institutions, including both the family and private property. Both philosophers influenced the Roman tradition of civil thought, which is best exemplified by Cicero and Polybius. They also profoundly influenced St. Augustine, whose City of God began the long tradition of Christian political thinking, in which a concept of natural law is used to describe and to circumscribe the rights and duties of the sovereign. Medieval thinkers such as St. Thomas Aquinas further developed that idea, while philosophers of the Italian Renaissanceof whom Francesco Guicciardini and Niccol Machiavelli were the most prominentconcerned themselves with the problem posed by the need for both the existence of power and its limitation. The seminal work of modern political philosophythe Leviathan (1651) of Thomas Hobbesraised the problem of political obligation in its modern form and tried to give a theory of sovereignty that would incorporate the conclusions of Machiavelli. Hobbes was followed by Baruch de Spinoza, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the exposition of a social-contract theory of political obligation. This theory was rejected by David Hume and also by Friedrich Hegel, whose Philosophy of Right (1821) set the stage for 19th-century political thought by making the questions of private property and individual freedom central to the analysis of political order. Hegel's defense of private property stimulated Karl Marx's critique of it; J.S. Mill meanwhile developed Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian theory of law and political institutions, so as to reconcile them with a demand for individual liberty. By the beginning of the 20th century, political philosophy had become so diversified that few philosophers recognized a single set of problems that they shared with their competitors. Recent work has been characterized by a division between Marxists (concerned with sociological analysis and the class struggle) and more traditional liberal thinkers, who remain attached to the problems posed by the concepts of liberty and right. Such a division is by no means exhaustivethere are also pragmatic conservatives in the tradition of Edmund Burke, and latter-day Hegeliansyet, it accounts for one of the major existing barriers of comprehension. branch of philosophy that is concerned, at the most abstract level, with the concepts and arguments involved in political opinion. The meaning of political is itself one of the major problems of political philosophy. Broadly, however, one may characterize as political all those practices and institutions that are concerned with government. The central problem of political philosophy is how to deploy or limit public power so as to maintain the survival and enhance the quality of human life. Like all aspects of human experience, it is conditioned by environment and by the scope and limitations of mind; and the answers given by successive political philosophers to perennial problems reflect the knowledge and the assumptions of their times. Political philosophy, as distinct from the study of political and administrative organization, is more theoretical and normative than descriptive. It is inevitably related to general philosophy and is itself a subject of social anthropology, sociology, and the sociology of knowledge. As a normative discipline it is thus concerned with what ought, on various assumptions, to be and how this purpose can be promoted, rather than with a description of factsalthough any realistic political theory is necessarily related to these facts. The political philosopher is thus not concerned so much, for example, with how pressure groups work or how, by various systems of voting, decisions are arrived at, as with what the aims of the whole political process should be in the light of a particular philosophy of life. There is thus a distinction between political philosophy, which reflects the world outlook of successive theorists and which demands an appreciation of their historical settings, and modern political science proper, which, insofar as it can be called a science, is empirical and descriptive. Political philosophy, however, is not merely unpractical speculation, though it may give rise to highly impractical myths: it is a vitally important aspect of life, and one that, for good or evil, has had decisive results on political action; for the assumptions on which political life is conducted clearly must influence what actually happens. Political philosophy may thus be viewed as one of the most important intellectual disciplines, for it sets standards of judgment and defines constructive purposes for the use of public power. Such consideration of the purposes for which power should be used is in a sense more urgent today than it has been in earlier periods, for mankind has at its disposal the power either to create a world civilization in which modern technology can benefit the human race or to destroy itself in pursuit of political myths. The scope for political philosophy is thus great, the clarification of its purpose and limitations urgentan aspect, indeed, of civilization's survival. Despite this unique aspect of the contemporary situation and although ancient political philosophies were formulated under very different conditions, their study still illuminates questions vital today. Questions concerning the aims of government, the grounds of political obligation, the rights of individuals against the state, the basis of sovereignty, the relation of executive to legislative power, and the nature of political liberty and social justice have been asked and answered in many ways over the centuries. They are all fundamental to political philosophy and demand answers in terms of modern knowledge and opinion. This article describes how these questions have been asked and answered by representative and influential political philosophers, from Greco-Roman antiquity through the Middle Ages, early modern times, and the 19th and early 20th centuries. During so long a time span the historical context of these formulations has changed profoundly, and an understanding of the political philosophers selected demands some account of their background. Because of limitations of space, only political philosophers of outstanding importance have been at all fully described, although many minor figures also are briefly discussed. Additional reading General histories of political philosophy George Holland Sabine, A History of Political Theory, 4th ed. rev. by Thomas Landon Thorson (1973), provides a comprehensive survey. William Archibald Dunning, A History of Political Theories, 3 vol. (190220, reissued 193638), is still valuable. Also of interest is K.R. Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies, 5th ed., rev., 2 vol. (1966). Additional surveys that will be useful include Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey (eds.), History of Political Philosophy, 2nd ed. (1972, reprinted 1981); Leo Rauch, The Political Animal: Studies in Political Philosophy from Machiavelli to Marx (1981); and Anthony Pagden (ed.), The Languages of Political Theory in Early-Modern Europe (1987). Ernest Barker, Principles of Social & Political Theory (1951, reissued 1980), analyzes essential problems. Other important works are John Bowle, Politics and Opinion in the Nineteenth Century (1954, reissued 1966); William Ebenstein, Modern Political Thought: The Great Issues, 2nd ed. (1960); Harold D. Lasswell, The Future of Political Science (1962, reissued 1974); and Joseph Cropsey, Political Philosophy and the Issues of Politics (1977, reissued 1980). Antiquity General works C.M. Bowra, The Greek Experience (1957, reissued 1985), is concerned with the social background of Greek thought. Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity (1971, reissued 1989), is also of interest. Plato Plato, The Republic of Plato, trans. by A.D. Lindsay, 2nd ed. (1908, reissued 1992), and another edition with the same title trans. by Allan Bloom, 2nd ed. (1991), The Statesman, trans. by Harold N. Fowler (1925, reissued 1990), the Loeb Classical Library edition, and The Laws of Plato, trans. by A.E. Taylor (1934, reissued 1969); Julia Annas, An Introduction to Plato's Republic (1981); David Grene, Greek Political Theory: The Image of Man in Thucydides and Plato (1965), providing further discussion of Greek political thought; for more advanced students, Leo Strauss, Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy (1983). Aristotle Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. by Ernest Barker (1946, reissued 1972); Carnes Lord and David K. O'connor (eds.), Essays on the Foundations of Aristotelian Political Science (1991), a useful survey of contemporary interpretations. Cicero and the Stoics Marcus Tullius Cicero, On the Commonwealth, trans. by George Holland Sabine and Stanley Barney Smith (1929, reprinted 1976), and De legibus, trans. by Clinton Walker Keyes (1928, reissued 1966). St. Augustine St. Augustine, The City of God, trans. by John Healey and ed. by R.V.G. Tasker, 2 vol. (1945, reissued 1972); Charles Norris Cochrane, Christianity and Classical Culture: A Study of Thought and Action from Augustus to Augustine (1940, reissued 1974), worth consulting. The Middle Ages General works Broad treatments include R.W. Carlyle and A.J. Carlyle, A History of Medival Political Theory in the West, 6 vol. (190336), a general survey; A.L. Smith, Church and State in the Middle Ages (1913, reprinted 1964); Henry Osborn Taylor, The Mediaeval Mind, 4th ed., vol. 2 (1925, reissued 1971), still valuable for patristic and medieval thought; Charles Howard McIlwain, The Growth of Political Thought in the West, from the Greeks to the End of the Middle Ages (1932, reissued 1968); Ralph Lerner and Muhsin Mahdi (eds.), Medieval Political Philosophy (1963, reissued 1972); and J.H. Burns (ed.), The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought c. 350c. 1450 (1988). John of Salisbury John Of Salisbury, The Statesman's Book of John of Salisbury, trans. by John Dickinson (1927). Aquinas Aquinas, Selected Political Writings, ed. by A.P. D'Entrves (1948, reissued 1984). Dante A.G. Ferrers Howell and Philip H. Wicksteed (eds.), A Translation of the Latin Works of Dante Alighieri (1904), including De Monarchia; as does Donald Nicholl, Monarchy (1954); concerning Dante's philosophy, A.P. D'Entrves, Dante As a Political Thinker (1952, reprinted 1965). The 16th to the 18th centuries General works Essays by several political thinkers of this period can be found in Ernest Barker (ed.), Social Contract: Essays by Locke, Hume, and Rousseau (1947, reissued 1980), an excellent translation of these essays. Two of the best histories of political thought during this period are Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, 2 vol. (1978); and J.H. Burns and Mark Goldie (eds.), The Cambridge History of Political Thought, 14501700 (1991). A solid survey of social contract theory is presented in Patrick Riley, Will and Political Legitimacy: A Critical Exposition of Social Contract Theory in Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Hegel (1982). J.B. Bury, The Idea of Progress (1920, reissued 1987); and Carl L. Becker, The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century Philosophers (1932, reissued 1991), both deal with the French Enlightenment generally. Alfred North Whitehead, Science and the Modern World (1925, reissued 1967), provides background on the 18th and 19th centuries. The political thought of the American founding fathers can be found in Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist (1788); one of the most accessible editions was ed. by Jacob E. Cooke (1961, reprinted 1989). Machiavelli Niccol Machiavelli, The Prince, and The Discourses, ed. by Max Lerner (1940, reissued 1950), and The Literary Works of Machiavelli, ed. and trans. by J.R. Hale (1961, reprinted 1979); Allan H. Gilbert, Machiavelli's Prince and Its Forerunners (1938, reissued 1968); H. Butterfield, The Statecraft of Machiavelli (1940, reissued 1962); Felix Raab, The English Face of Machiavelli (1964). Hobbes Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, ed. by A.D. Lindsay (1914, reissued 1970), and another edition with the same title ed. by C.B. Macpherson (1968, reissued 1987), and De Cive: The English Version . . . and De Cive: The Latin Version . . ., both ed. by Howard Warrender (1983), the best editions of the English and Latin versions of Hobbes's De Cive; K.V. Thomas, The Social Origins of Hobbes's Political Thought, in K.C. Brown (ed.), Hobbes: Studies (1965), an excellent account; Leo Strauss, The Political Philosophy of Hobbes: Its Basis and Its Genesis (1936, reissued 1984), an enlightening study; John Bowle, Hobbes and His Critics (1951, reissued 1969), describing Hobbes's political impact and contemporary reaction to it. Spinoza Benedictus De Spinoza, The Political Works: The Tractatus theologico-politicus in Part, and the Tractatus politicus in Full, ed. and trans. by A.G. Wernham (1958, reissued 1965); Stuart Hampshire, Spinoza (1951, reprinted with revisions, 1988). Richard Hooker's adapted Thomism C.J. Sisson, The Judicious Marriage of Mr. Hooker and the Birth of The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1940, reprinted 1974). Locke John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. by Peter Laslett (1960, reissued 1988), and The Second Treatise of Government (An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent, and End of Civil Government), and, A Letter Concerning Toleration, ed. by J.W. Gough, 3rd ed. (1966, reprinted 1976); John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke (1969, reissued 1982), a historical account of Locke's arguments. Burke Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honorable Edmund Burke, 8 vol. (185458), and Burke's Politics: Selected Writings and Speeches on Reform, Revolution, and War, ed. by Ross J.S. Hoffman and Paul Levack (1949, reissued 1967); Alfred Cobban, Edmund Burke and the Revolt Against the Eighteenth Century, 2nd ed. (1960). Vico Giambattista Vico, The New Science of Giambattista Vico, trans. by Thomas Goddard Bergin and Max Harold Fisch, rev. ed. (1968); Benedetto Croce, The Philosophy of Giambattista Vico (1913, reissued 1964; originally published in Italian, 1911); H.P. Adams, The Life and Writings of Giambattista Vico (1935, reprinted 1970). Montesquieu Charles De Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws , trans. by Thomas Nugent, new ed., rev. by J.V. Prichard, 2 vol. (1914, reprinted 1991). Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Political Writings of Jean Jacques Rousseau, ed. by C.E. Vaughan, 2 vol. (1915, reprinted 1971); William H. Blanchard, Rousseau and the Spirit of Revolt (1967); and J. McManners, The Social Contract and Rousseau's Revolt Against Society (1968), both quite illuminating. The 19th century General works Basil Willey, Nineteenth Century Studies (1949, reissued 1980), treats a variety of topics in addition to 19th-century philosophy. A selection of the works of Nietzsche can be found in R.J. Hollingdale (compiler and trans.), A Nietzsche Reader (1977). Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham, A Fragment on Government, and An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, ed. by Wilfrid Harrison (1948, reprinted 1967); J.S. Mill, On Liberty, and, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. by R.B. McCallum (1946); John Plamenatz, The English Utilitarians, 2nd rev. ed. (1958, reprinted 1966), particularly for Mill. Tocqueville Alexis De Tocqueville, Democracy in America, ed. by Phillips Bradley, trans. from French, 2 vol. (1945, reissued 1990), an excellent edition, also available in an abridged version, Democracy in America, ed. by Henry Steele Commager (1946), and De Tocqueville's L'Ancien Rgime, ed. by G.W. Headlam (1904, reissued as L'Ancien Rgime, 1969). Anarchism and utopianism James Joll, The Anarchists, 2nd ed. (1979), tracing the history of anarchism; Robert Owen, A New View of Society and Other Writings (1927, reissued 1991), the Everyman's Library edition; Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What Is Property? An Enquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government, trans. by Benj. R. Tucker (1876, reissued 1970; originally published in French, new ed., 1867); D.W. Brogan, Proudhon (1934). Comte Auguste Comte, System of Positive Polity, trans. from French, 4 vol. (187577, reprinted 1973); J.S. Mill, Auguste Comte and Positivism (1865, reprinted 1993); Edward Caird, The Social Philosophy and Religion of Comte (1885, reissued 1968). Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel's Philosophy of Right, trans. by T.M. Knox (1942, reissued 1967; originally published in German, 1821), and The Philosophy of History, trans. by J. Sibree, rev. ed. (1899, reissued 1991; originally published in German, 1837); Herbert Marcuse, Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social Theory, 2nd ed. (1954, reprinted 1989), a new interpretation. Marx and Engels Robert C. Tucker (ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader, 2nd ed. (1978), an accessible survey of the works of Marx and Engels for students of any level; John Plamenatz, German Marxism and Russian Communism (1954, reprinted 1975), an illuminating study. The 20th century General works John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971, reissued 1986), presenting an alternative theory to Utilitarianism, will be of interest to students of government as well as of political philosophy. Also useful is George Friedman, The Political Philosophy of the Frankfurt School (1981). Political pragmatism Isaiah Berlin, Historical Inevitability (1954), and Two Concepts of Liberty (1958); mile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method, 8th ed., trans. by Sarah A. Solovay and John H. Mueller, ed. by George E.G. Catlin (1938; originally published in French, 1895); Vilfredo Pareto, The Mind and Society, ed. by Arthur Livingston, trans. by Andrew Bongiorno and Arthur Livingston, 4 vol. (1935, reprinted 1983; originally published in Italian, 2 vol., 1916). Religious and Existentialist approaches Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology, trans. by Hazel E. Barnes (1956, reissued 1992; originally published in French, 1943), and Existentialism and Humanism, trans. by Philip Mairet (1948, reissued 1970; originally published in French, 1946); Mark Blitz, Heidegger's Being and Time and the Possibility of Political Philosophy (1981). Revolutionary doctrines Georges Sorel, Reflections on Violence, trans. by T.E. Hulme (1912, reissued 1975; originally published in French, 1908), and The Illusions of Progress (1969; originally published in French, 1908); Robert C. Tucker (ed.), The Lenin Anthology (1975), with interpretive comments; George Lichtheim, Marxism: An Historical and Critical Study, 2nd ed. rev. (1964, reprinted 1982), a good short account; Georg Lukcs (Gyrgy Lukcs), Goethe and His Age, trans. by Robert Anchor (1968, reissued 1978; originally published in German, 1947); Herbert Marcuse, Eros and Civilization (1955, reissued 1987), Soviet Marxism: A Critical Analysis (1958, reissued 1985), and One-Dimensional Man (1964, reissued 1991); Alasdair MacIntyre, Marcuse (1970), dealing with Marcuse's philosophy; Antonio Gramsci, The Modern Prince, and Other Writings (1957, reissued 1968); John M. Cammett, Antonio Gramsci and the Origins of Italian Communism (1967); A. Pozzolini, Antonio Gramsci: An Introduction to His Thought (1970; originally published in Italian, 1968). John Edward Bowle The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica