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While Western modern political thought has been a story of inclusion, it has also been one of continued exclusion and new forms of political oppression and silencing. This is why political theory is so necessary today. Political thought is diverse. From liberal theories laying out ideal democratic institutions, to critical analyses of postcolonial settler states, to conceptual analyses of the nature of freedom, there are very different approaches, topics and aims within the tradition of Western political theory. What binds these diverse forms of thinking together? How do how do they help us to understand political institutions, life, behaviour and events? How do they help us to make decisions in the complex world of politics? This book, significantly revised and reconceptualized, introduces you to the modern discipline of political theory in the Western tradition, tackling its key debates, concepts, problems and traditions: - What is the nature of political concepts? What problems do they pose to thinkers and political actors? - How have modern political thinkers usually approached thinking about politics? How has this been problematized in contemporary debates? - Has modern politics fundamentally ignored economically impoverished groups, women, indigenous peoples, racialized groups and the natural environment? - How have ideas like freedom, equality, sovereignty and the state been conceptualized in the modern tradition? What tensions has this given rise to? Delving into topics as diverse as Maoism, postcolonialism and white supremacy, boxed features give you room to explore and expand in political theorising: - Focusing on the texts : helps you deal with difficult texts and arguments - Tradition : introduces you to major approaches to political theory - Thinker : allows you to understand the contributions of major figures in political thought - Thinking globally : gives insight into how political theory is adapting to global interconnectedness - Beyond the West : makes you reflect on what can be learnt from non-Western approaches. Spanning the development of Western political thought, from Thucydides through to John Rawls and beyond, with a focus on Modern and contemporary debates, this is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on political thought and political philosophy. Cover 1 Contents 12 List of Illustrative Material 16 Preface to the Fifth Edition 18 Part 1: The Foundations of Modern Westernpolitical Theory 22 1. What is Political Theory? on Problems 24 Introduction 24 Defining political theory 25 Politics as science, theory and philosophy 26 Political theory in transition or contestation 28 The raw material of political theory 30 Normative and descriptive concepts 31 Contested concepts 32 Words and things 32 Political theory and its problems: How to use this book 33 2. The Problem of Political Change: Progress, Tradition and Utopia 37 Introduction 37 Progress 39 Modernity, reason and the forward march of history 39 Progress through reform 42 Progress through revolution 44 Tradition 47 The status quo 47 Reclaiming the past 49 Change in order to conserve 50 Utopia 51 Key features 52 Political utopias as political theories 53 The end of utopian theory? 56 Conclusion 59 3. The Problem Of Human Nature: The Individual And Society 63 Introduction 63 Human nature 64 Nature versus nurture 65 Intellect versus instinct 69 Competition versus cooperation 71 The Individual 73 Individualism 73 Individualism and community 76 The individual in politics 79 Society 80 Collectivism 81 Theories of society 82 Social divisions: Class, race and religion 85 Conclusion 87 Part 2: Modern Political Problems 90 4. The Problem Of Power: Authority And Legitimacy 92 Introduction 92 Power 93 Decision-making 95 Agenda-setting 96 Preference manipulation 97 A fourth dimension of power? 101 Authority 104 Power and authority 105 Kinds of authority 106 Justifying authority 108 Legitimacy 111 Legitimacy, consent and constitutionalism 112 Legitimacy as ideological hegemony 114 Conclusion 117 5. THE PROBLEM OF POLITICS: THE STATE AND SOVEREIGNTY 120 Introduction 120 Politics 121 Politics as government 122 Public affairs 126 Power and conflict 129 The state 131 From government to the state 132 Theories of the state: Classical and twentieth century 133 Global forms of the state 139 Sovereignty 141 Legal and political sovereignty 141 Internal and external sovereignty 143 Conclusion 146 6. The Problem Of Law: Order And Obligation 149 Introduction 149 Law 150 The rule of law 151 Natural and positive law 154 Law and liberty 157 Order 159 Social control 160 Natural harmony 164 Obligation 166 Obligation as contract 167 Two alternative theories of obligation 169 Rebellion, the limits of obligation and disobedience 170 Conclusion 174 7. The Problem Of Citizenship: Freedom And Rights 177 Introduction 177 Citizenship 178 What is citizenship? 179 Social or active citizenship? 181 Universal citizenship and diversity 183 Freedom 186 Liberty, its nature and limits 187 Negative freedom 190 Positive freedom 192 Rights 194 Legal and moral rights 195 The expanding nature of rights: Natural, human and beyond 196 Conclusion 202 8. The Problem Of Democracy: Representation And The Public Good 205 Introduction 205 Democracy 206 Democracy’s essence: Direct or indirect 207 Liberal democracy 210 Justifying and criticizing democracy 214 Representation 218 Representatives and independence 219 Mandate theory 220 Representation as likeness 223 The Public Good 224 Private and public interests 224 Justifying the public good 227 Measuring the public good 228 Conclusion 231 9. The Problem Of Political Community: Toleration, The Nation And Cosmopolitanism 234 Introduction 234 Toleration 236 The foundational case for toleration 236 Toleration versus difference 238 The limits of toleration 240 The nation 242 What is a nation? 243 The value of nations? 246 Nationalism and the world 249 Cosmopolitanism 251 Globalization and the end of the nation state? 252 Transnational communities and identity 253 A cosmopolitan political community? 254 Conclusion 258 Part 3: The Twentieth And Twenty-First Centuries: Problems Of Exclusion 262 10. The Problem Of Property: Planning And The Market 264 Introduction 264 Property 265 Private property 266 Common property 271 The Market 274 The idea of the market 275 The ideal of the market 277 Critiques of the market 279 Planning 283 The planning process 283 The value of planning 285 Perils of planning 286 Conclusion 288 11. The Problem Of Equality: Social Justice And Welfare 291 Introduction 291 Equality 292 Criticizing inequality 293 Formal equality 295 Equality of opportunity 297 Equality of outcome 298 Social justice 300 According to needs 301 According to rights 305 According to deserts 306 Welfare 308 The idea of welfare: Fighting poverty and exclusion 309 Justifications of welfare 311 Criticizing welfare: Roll-back, reform or governmentality? 314 Conclusion 316 12. The Problem Of Exclusion I: Recognition, Gender And Culture 319 Introduction 319 Recognition, identity and difference 321 Exclusion and identity 321 What is recognition? 323 Recognition versus rights and redistribution: Critical perspectives 325 Gender 328 Gender and exclusion 328 Re-reading the history of political thought 331 Feminism, recognition and gender 332 Culture 335 Culture and exclusion 337 Multiculturalism and liberalism: Recognition as fair integration 339 Multiculturalism beyond liberalism 341 Conclusion 343 13. THE PROBLEM OF EXCLUSION II: RACE AND COLONIALISM 347 Introduction 347 Race 348 Race and exclusion 349 The classical critical tradition on race 350 The philosophy of race and critical race theory: Recognizing systemic racism 352 Colonialism 356 Colonialism and exclusion 358 Criticizing colonialism 360 From post- to settler-colonialism: The problem of liberal recognition 362 Conclusion 366 Bibliography 369 Index 383 The second edition of Andrew Heywood's introductory text to political theory covers a large range of ideas and issues. No matter how abstract the idea he always makes it intelligible and relevant to the modern world of politics.