This clear and thorough introduction provides students with the skills necessary to understand the main thinkers, texts and arguments of political philosophy and thought. Each chapter comprises a brief overview of a major political thinker, followed by an introduction to one or more of their most influential works and an introduction to key secondary readings.
Key features include:
* exercises
* reading notes
* guides for further reading
The book introduces and assesses: Machiavelli's
Prince
; Hobbes'
Leviathan
; Locke's
Second Treatise on Government
; Rousseau's
Social Contract
; Marx and Engels'
German Ideology
(Part 1); Mill's
On Liberty and The Subjection of Women
.
Reading Political Philosophy
requires no previous knowledge of philosophy or politics and is ideal for newcomers to political philosophy and political thought.