For this treatise on statecraft the author drew upon his own experience of office under the turbulent Florentine republic, rejecting traditional values of political theory and recognizing the complicated, transient nature of political life.

Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, Republic is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. This work addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as 'guardians' of the people.

The Leviathan is the vast unity of the State. But the resurgence of interest in Leviathan is due less to its answers than its methods. This book intends to see politics as a science capable of the same axiomatic approach as geometry. It argues from first principles to human nature to politics.

The Communist Manifesto presents a summary of the whole Marxist vision of history and is the foundation document of the Marxist movement. Published on the eve of the 1848 revolutions, the manifesto is a condensed accpunt of the world-view of Marx and Engels, evolved over the previous few years.

A revised version of Peter Lasletta -- s acclaimed Two Treatises of Government, widely recognised as a classic text in the history of ideas.

In this translated classic, Rousseau argues for the preservation of individual freedom in political society. He says that we can only be free under the law by voluntarily embracing that law as our own. Hence, being free in society requires each of us to subjugate all our desires to the collective good, the general will.

Tocqueville examines the structures, institution and operation of democracy, and analyzes the lessons that Europe could learn from American successes and failures. It continues to be an influential text on both sides of the Atlantic, especially in the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.

'Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign'. This title includes an essay that dedicated to this 'one very simple principle'. It records responses to the author's books and comments on his fear of 'the tyranny of the majority'.

Considering humankind from the perspective of the actions of which it is capable, this text addresses diminishing human agency and political freedom - the paradox that as human powers increase through technology and inquiry, we are less equipped to control the consequences of our actions.

Presents an analysis based on a study of over 150 city constitutions, covering a range of political issues in order to establish which types of constitution are best - both ideally and in particular circumstances - and how they may be maintained.

More paints a vision of the customs and practices of a distant island, but Utopia means 'no place' and his narrator's name, Hythlodaeus, translates as 'dispenser of nonsense'. This tale masks what is a serious and subversive analysis of the failings of More's society.

Tracing the gradual evolution of revolutions, this title predicts the relationship between war and revolution and the crucial role such combustive movements play in the future of international relations. It looks at the principles which underlie various revolutions, starting with the examples in America and France.

Though the Revised Edition of A Theory of Justice , published in 1999, is the definitive statement of Rawls's view, so much of the extensive literature on Rawls's theory refers to the first edition. This reissue makes the first edition once again available for scholars and serious students of Rawls's work.

Features the central principles of what is broadly known as political liberalism.

Proposes a system of government that would uphold civic freedom and security by instilling the virtues of active citizenship, and that would also encourage citizens to put the needs of the state above selfish, personal interests. Ambitious in scope, but also pragmatic, this work creates a modern theory of republic politics.

A translation of Hegel's classic work of modern social and political thought, Elements of the Philosophy of Right.

This edition contains generous selections from all five volumes of The Wealth of Nations, and places Smith's inquiry into its historical, intellectual, and cultural context.