Political Philosophy: A Beginner's Guide for Students and Politicians

by Adam Swift

Book Overview

Politicians invoke grand ideas: social justice, democracy, community, liberty, equality. But what do these ideas really mean? How can politicians across the political spectrum appeal to the same... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0745628478
• ISBN13: 9780745628479
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Polity Press
• Length: 194 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Intro, a little simplified

The book is an excelent introduction into some of the central themes of political philosophy and is enjoyable to read, which is always a bonus for this kind of book. On the other hand Swift fails to detail the positions of many major theorists, including Rousseau and Hobbes, in fact most thinkers are only occasionally utilised when needed to furnish a point. That said the book is intended as an introductio to the issues themselves, so perhaps this is understandable. The only other minor quibble is that the book takes an extremely simplified view of most issues and lacks depth, anyone who has spent time considering political issues of their own volition may well have though of many or most of the concepts introduced within, nonetheless Swift does a good job in formalising these into concrete terms.