Political Philosophy , livre ebook
342
pages
English
Ebooks
2008
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342
pages
English
Ebooks
2008
Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus
Publié par
Date de parution
20 septembre 2008
EAN13
9781849643016
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
--A revised and expanded edition of this acclaimed introduction to political thought--
'Reliable and fair... Clear, relaxed, jargon-free and often attractively witty.' The Philosopher
'A handbook of the history of political philosophy.' CHOICE
"The central advantages of this book are undoubtedly its lucidity, range and unorthodox approach. ... This wide range is covered with surprising agility and clarity. The book offers an engaging account of political philosophy where great schools of thought are audaciously summarised in a paragraph or two." Times Higher Education Supplement
Guiding the reader through the key arguments of the classic figures of Western political philosophy, from Plato through to the modern era, this revised edition includes new essays on Aristotle's 'Politics', Confucianism, Islamic social philosophy and Nazism, as well as additional material on 'Roman Law', Anarchism and 'anti-capitalism'.
Cohen moves chronologically through the development of political philosophy. He presents key texts in their own terms, before offering short, precise analyses of their strengths, weaknesses and influence. The book finishes with a discussion of modern liberalism and conservatism.
Providing both a broad overview and precise summaries of key ideas, this is an invaluable guide for all students of political thought.
Note to the Second Edition
Introduction
Context: The Story of Human Society
1. Plato’s Vegetarian Republic
Key Text: Republic
2. Confucius’s Polite Society
Key Text: Analects
3. Aristotle and the Hierarchy of Nature
Key Text: Politics
4. Mohammed’s Message of Doom
Key Text: Koran
5. Machiavelli’s Psychopathic State
Key text: Discourses
6. Hobbes’ Wicked World
Key Text: Leviathan
7. Locke’s Feudal Freedom
Key Text: Essay Concerning the True, Original Extent and End of Civil Government
8. Rousseau’s Ode to Liberty
Key Text: Discourse on Inequality
9. The Founding Fathers’ Constitutional Recipe
Key Texts: The U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence
10. Mr Smith’s Excellent Inquiry into Money
Key Text: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
11. Marx’s Messianic Materialism
Key Text: The Communist Manifesto
12. Mill’s Optimistic Liberalism
Key text: The Principles of Political Economy]
13. Durkheim’s Strange Science
Key text: Social Rituals and Sacred Objects
14. The Philosophical Dance with Fascism
Key Text: The Doctrines and Institutions of Fascism, by Benito Mussolini
15. Hitler’s Doctrine of Hate
Key text: Mein Kampf
16. Mao’s Little Red Book
Key text: The Red Book
Epilogue: Karl Popper and the search for the End of History
References and Sources for Further Reading
Index
Voir
'Reliable and fair... Clear, relaxed, jargon-free and often attractively witty.' The Philosopher
'A handbook of the history of political philosophy.' CHOICE
"The central advantages of this book are undoubtedly its lucidity, range and unorthodox approach. ... This wide range is covered with surprising agility and clarity. The book offers an engaging account of political philosophy where great schools of thought are audaciously summarised in a paragraph or two." Times Higher Education Supplement
Guiding the reader through the key arguments of the classic figures of Western political philosophy, from Plato through to the modern era, this revised edition includes new essays on Aristotle's 'Politics', Confucianism, Islamic social philosophy and Nazism, as well as additional material on 'Roman Law', Anarchism and 'anti-capitalism'.
Cohen moves chronologically through the development of political philosophy. He presents key texts in their own terms, before offering short, precise analyses of their strengths, weaknesses and influence. The book finishes with a discussion of modern liberalism and conservatism.
Providing both a broad overview and precise summaries of key ideas, this is an invaluable guide for all students of political thought.
Note to the Second Edition
Introduction
Context: The Story of Human Society
1. Plato’s Vegetarian Republic
Key Text: Republic
2. Confucius’s Polite Society
Key Text: Analects
3. Aristotle and the Hierarchy of Nature
Key Text: Politics
4. Mohammed’s Message of Doom
Key Text: Koran
5. Machiavelli’s Psychopathic State
Key text: Discourses
6. Hobbes’ Wicked World
Key Text: Leviathan
7. Locke’s Feudal Freedom
Key Text: Essay Concerning the True, Original Extent and End of Civil Government
8. Rousseau’s Ode to Liberty
Key Text: Discourse on Inequality
9. The Founding Fathers’ Constitutional Recipe
Key Texts: The U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence
10. Mr Smith’s Excellent Inquiry into Money
Key Text: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
11. Marx’s Messianic Materialism
Key Text: The Communist Manifesto
12. Mill’s Optimistic Liberalism
Key text: The Principles of Political Economy]
13. Durkheim’s Strange Science
Key text: Social Rituals and Sacred Objects
14. The Philosophical Dance with Fascism
Key Text: The Doctrines and Institutions of Fascism, by Benito Mussolini
15. Hitler’s Doctrine of Hate
Key text: Mein Kampf
16. Mao’s Little Red Book
Key text: The Red Book
Epilogue: Karl Popper and the search for the End of History
References and Sources for Further Reading
Index
Publié par
Date de parution
20 septembre 2008
EAN13
9781849643016
Langue
English
Poids de l'ouvrage
1 Mo
Political Philosophy From Plato to Mao
Second Edition
MARTIN COHEN
PLUTO PRESS www.plutobooks.com
First pulished 2001 y Pluto Press 345 Arçhway Road, London N6 5AA
Seçond edition pulished 2008
www.plutoooks.çom
copyright © Martin cohen 2001, 2008
The right of Martin cohen to e identified as the author of this work has een asserted y him in aççordançe with the copyright, Designs and Patents Açt 1988.
british Lirary cataloguing in Puliçation Data A çatalogue reçord for this ook is availale from the british Lirary
ISbN ISbN
978 0 7453 2471 5 978 0 7453 2470 8
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This ook is printed on paper suitale for reçyçling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sourçes. Logging, pulping and manufaçturing proçesses are expeçted to çonform to the environmental standards of the çountry of origin. The paper may çontain up to 70% post çonsumer waste.
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Designed and produçed for Pluto Press y chase Pulishing Serviçes Ltd, Fortesçue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England Typeset from disk y Stanford DTP Serviçes, Northampton Printed and ound in the European Union y cPI Antony Rowe, chippenham and Eastourne
To a respected Professor of Confusion Philosophy
Note to the Second Edition
Introduction
Cont
e
nt
Prologue: The Story of Human Society
1. Plato’s Vegetarian Republic Key Text:Republic
s
2. Confucius’ Polite Society Key Text:Analects 3. Aristotle and the Hierarchy of Nature Key Text:Politics
4. Mohammed’s Message of Doom Key Text: The Koran
5. Machiavelli’s Psychopathic State Key Text:Discourses
6. Hobbes’ Wicked World Key Text:Leviathan
7. Locke’s Feudal Freedom Key Text:Essay Concerning the True, Original Extent and End of Civil Government
8. Rousseau’s Ode to Liberty Key Text:Discourse on Inequality
9. The Founding Fathers’ Constitutional Recipe Key Texts: The US Constitution and Declaration of Independence
10. Mr Smith’s Excellent Inquiry into Money Key Text:An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
11. Marx’s Messianic Materialism Key Text: TheCommunist Manifesto
ix
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4
14
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191
viii Political Philosophy
12. Mill’s Optimistic Liberalism Key Text:The Principles of Political Economy
13. Durkheim’s Strange Science Key Text:Social Rituals and Sacred Objects
14. The Philosophical Dance with Fascism Key Text:The Doctrines and Institutions of Fascism, by Benito Mussolini
15. Hitler’s Doctrine of Hate Key Text:Mein Kampf
16. Mao’s Little Red Book Key Text:The Red Book
Epilogue: The End of History?
References and Sources for Further Reading Index
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285
305
310 318
Note to the Second Edition
This book is adapted from my earlierPolitical Philosophy: From Plato to Mao(Pluto Press, 2001). And if many elements are thus reproduced, which might seem a little like mere repetition, it is also an opportunity to build something new using a previously established foundation. In the original book,I adopted a very subjective view of what is politically significant, and concentrated on that. And now, in the new edition, I have added new chapters, including ones on the Koran, on the ConfucianAnalects, and on Hitler’sMein Kampf. It is more evident than ever that treating works written with perhaps very different intentions than expounding political philosophy distorts the original texts. But then, the same is true of more conventional works in philosophy: much of theRepublic(which is not, of course, solely a political work) has to be discarded to make it suitable for inclusion in a book such as this, and even then, as I explain here, Plato insists he intended the political discussion of the ideal society to be merely an illustration of a more important truth. The same editing and the same distortion must take place too with those keystone works of politics, Hobbes’Leviathianand Machiavelli’sThe PrinceandDiscourses. These again are not solely political works, but history, especially military history – and bad history at that. In the latter portion of the book, the style is further changed of necessity, and rather than picking over the entrails of the ultimately rather unimportant works of Comte, Weber and Durkheim, nor yet Gentile and Mussolini, I opted here for providing a rather more conventional account of their ‘ideas’, albeit one with as much direct quotation and close paraphrase as is compatible with revealing their arguments. Always, as the aim, attempting to do so in an interesting, accessible and not too lengthy way. (For the same reason, occasionally some of the direct quotation was retranslated, for style or for flow.) Hegel does not, it is true, fit into the category of political philosopher very comfortably, nor yet Nietzsche. They would prefer the lofty heights of metaphysics to the dirty practicalities of politics. But the reader can decide in which realm their writing truly belongs. At the same time, I have also tried to fit these great political texts into a wider scheme, to discern a kind of unfolding pattern. But this is a
x Political Philosophy
path littered with traps and failed theories, Marxist or fascist – the folly, as Karl Popper puts it, of historicism. For a crucial element in this book, as in all books, is that the reader not only may disagree with much in this book, but should do so. The written word appears dispassionate, authoritative, definitive. Yet any writer, much more the political philosopher, is only expressing one perspective, drawn from necessarily incomplete and unreliable information. Here at least, by offering such a wide selection of views, the reader is allowed a chance to judge the evidence and choose between approaches. And finally, as they say, I would like to thank, once again, Anne Beech at Pluto, for shrewd advice and guidance, and Anthony Winder, copyeditor for both editions, for his professionalism, commitment and overriding desire to ‘get it right’. This time, I think we’re nearly there!
Introduction
This is the story of political society. It’s not an evolutionary story, although some would have us think so. It’s not the story of technological advance, far less of economic progress. It’s the story of a few powerful ideas, which have been around for millennia, but reappear in different guises. It’s a story told in the language of political philosophy, in the words of just a handful of writers. This branch of philosophy is concerned with practical questions: about the organisation of social life, about the makeup of the government, the role and rights of the citizens, the duties and limitations of the state. But it is not to be unduly concerned with details, the nuts and bolts of particular ways of governing (although many of the great philosophers do like to dabble in these). What characterises political and social philosophy is an awareness and a commitment to answering – or at least raising – certain great questions:
What is happiness? (Human flourishing?) What is justiçe? What is freedom?
Only after the theoretical questions are settled do the practical issues arise:
How çan happiness e maximised? How çan justiçe and equality est e açhieved? How çan human rights e respeçted?
The origins of the word ‘political’ itself come, like so many others, from ancient Greece:politikos, pertaining to the running of the city, orpolis. In this sense, political philosophy is concerned with the very practical matters of administration. For that reason, Plato’s Republicdiscusses not only such obscure matters as the nature of goodness, but also the merits and demerits of various constitutional systems. Machiavelli writes not only of successful duplicity, but also of storming castles and military tactics, and Mill concerns himself not only with liberty, but with corn prices. But despite this practical purpose, ‘political philosophy’ remains a much wider and deeper
2 Political Philosophy
subject, concerned with fundamental questions about equality, needs and interests, welfare, and human nature. This is the reason why politics is important – it is a fundamental part of us. As Durkheim later put it, through social rules and conventions, we define and create ourselves. And, of the philosophers here, each offers a particular response to one or other of the key questions. Plato outlines, in hisRepublic, a solution (although many today will not rush to accept it) to the question of ‘justice’; Confucius preaches a view of duty; Aristotle advocates a rationale for discrimination. Hobbes offers a particular view as to the nature of freedom – that it involves a sublimation of individual power into the collective whole; whilst Locke sets out an argument for ‘inalienable’ human rights. This book, then, aims to serve as a kind of grand tour of the landscape of political science, not to mention economics, philosophy and sociology. On this journey, our maps will be the timeline sections preceding each chapter, locating each theory in its technical and social context. On the way, we travel necessarily fast, clutching a comprehensive itinerary amounting almost to a history of civilisation. Starting in the Far East with Imperial China, before examining Greece with its city states, we move across the Tyrrhenian Sea to Machiavelli’s Italy, north to the splintered wartorn England of Hobbes’Leviathanand Locke’s civil rights, on through France, Germany and Russia, eventually to end up in the twentieth century with the most widely read political pamphlet of all time: Chairman Mao’s little Red Book. But on this journey we are more than mere political tourists, collecting snapshots. When we pause, it is to thoroughly explore and closely examine what we find, taking out the magnifying glass and investigating in detail, so as not only to recognise the main characteristics of the texts, but also to understand how they were constructed – and why. Similarly, incorporated into the chapters are short biographical notes on each philosopher, encouraging the reader to see them as individuals reflecting their particular circumstances and times. For the concerns, subject matter and even the methods of the philosophers depend on their epochs, and reflect both the ethical and ‘epistemo logical’ assumptions of their contemporaries. In medieval Europe, for instance, the greatest political issue of the day was the battle for ultimate authority between church and state, a struggle eventually resolved in favour of the secular. In the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the primary issue became that of how the
