Politics: A Very Short Introduction

by Kenneth Minogue

Book Overview

In A Very Short Introduction to Politics, Kenneth Minogue begins with a discussion of issues arising from a historical account of politics, and goes on to offer chapters dealing with the Ancient Greeks and the idea of citizenship; Roman law; medieval Christianity and individualism; freedom since Machiavelli and Hobbes; the challenge of ideologies; democracy, oligarchy, and bureaucracy; power and order in modern society; and politics in the West.

About...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192853880
• ISBN13: 9780192853882
• Release Date: June 2000
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.4" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Overview!

Being new to the study of politics, I was looking for a quick, concise introduction to the subject. I found it in "Politics: A Very Short Introduction". It is well-written and expresses many of the foundational concepts in politics, drawing on the classics to support its main points. Although the writing is fairly complex (college-level), it is still manageable. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick overview of the history of politics and a framework for interpretation of modern political events.

casual, but meaningful; informed but not arrogant

Great primer for a subject that is so complex yet fundamental to everyday life. Author does a great job presenting a well-rounded introduction to politics. I appreciated especially (maybe as a non-Western reader) the first half of the book which guides us through the development of the political world from Greek times up till the 20th century.

Fantastic introduction

Politics by Kenneth Minogue is the second book from the Very Short Introductions series that I've now read. I found it stimulating, illuminating, and altogether extremely enjoyable. One of the fascinating things was Minogue's ability to cover so much ground without ever giving the impression that he was dumping too much information on us. I learned about the ancient Greeks and Romans, oriental despotism, nineteenth century Marxism, and many other things -- without feeling like I was drowning in a sea of information. This means that I found Minogue's volume on Politics lively and engaging. In chapter one Minogue offered his reasons why despotism is not politics. Rationality, nor arbitrariness, must undergird our polity. But if despotism has no place in politics, where should we go to study what politics is all about? Minogue takes us to the ancient Greeks in chapter two. After the Greeks he tells us about the Romans in chapter three. These last two chapters -- chs. 2 and 3 -- were the most fun to read. It was nothing short of fascinating surveying the political thought and actions of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Chapter four was concerned with Christianity's influence on Roman culture. Up until chapter five Minogue had been telling us about past political thought and activities. We were seeing bits and pieces of what was coming. In chapter five we begin to read about the modern state. But it isn't until chapter six that Minogue shares with us images and criteria by which to conceive of, and also analyze, modern society. In chapter seven Minogue wrote concerning relations between states. This chapter is filled with historical examples of power conflicts and struggles between states. The first seven chapters can be tentatively considered surveys of past political thought and action. The rest of the chapters, especially 8 - 10, can be considered the most "applicational" in the book. All three form a group titled "The Experience of Politics" -- each of them being a distinct applicational segment. Chapter eight is about how to be an activist, chapter nine about parties and doctrines, chapter ten about justice, freedom, and democracy. Chapter eleven is perhaps the most theoretical of the chapters, for it deals with the study of political science. Chapter twelve, which seems awkwardly placed, is about how ideology poses a challenge to rational political thought and activity. Chapter thirteen closes the book with the question, Can politics survive in the 21st century? What we call politics today is very different from what the ancients considered politics to be. In the Western world so much of life is subsumed under the guidance and care of the government that other, traditionally non-political spheres of life have been redefined and reconstructed as political in nature. Politics, like one blurb puts it, is "beautifully written." It was Minogue's command of the history of politics and his use of past examples that gave life to his exposition of mod

Must read material!

This is the first time that I read a book from the "Very Short Introductions" of the Oxford University Press and it sure made up for what it promised. A very well introduction on that abstract concept called politics. Because it was such a small book, only 110 small pages, I expected a quick read, a snack for the hungry reader, something that you read in one zip. But that turned out to be a mistake. This is not an American style book, which tent to be somewhat gentler to the reader, but the English style, shorter and more to the point. But don't get me wrong, this is a very well written book and explains the many involved concepts and insights very well, in an incredible short amount of time. The books starts by explaining what is not politics, despotism is not politics Minogue tells us and uses history to explain. How better to explain the nature of things by the history of it? He tells us about how the Greeks organized politics, how the Romans changed it and what kind of transformation the Christian idears changed our political culture into something we have today. As the history becomes more recent he starts to explain important political concepts as the modern state, political doctrine, the role of justice and morality. One of the last chapters in the book is about political ideology, which I found one of the best of the book. The book ends with the future of politics and describes the clash between ideology and politics. As is inevitable in a book on politics, the writer him self has his own belief system he likes most and before I bought the book, I did some googling on the author. Minogue seems to be a English political conservative. But after reading the book, I can tell you that he never lowers him self to take cheap shots at non-conservative contemporary political parties. This is a very well balanced book that is most of all, non ideological in nature. An other reviewer, criticizes the book because Minogue writes in one off the best chapters in his book: that ideology is the opposite of politics. Minogue argues that ideology is a closed belief system that brings solutions and that political doctrines are not, although enthusiast of some political doctrines can transform it into an ideology. The main distinction he says is that political doctrines, don't bring solutions but influence your decision that are based on options that reality gives you, but an ideology brings solutions, and that means that one's actions can be based on the belief system alone and can ignores the considerations that reality provides (The solution follows from the doctrine). Thus, it is a fine line between ideology and political doctrines political parties adhere. A fine line, that this other reviewer, does not even seem to recognize, although Minogue, does a very much better job in explaining these concepts than I just did! This book was a delight to read! I highly recommend it!

A Masterful Primer on Politics!

Within a very short time, Oxford's Very Short Introduction series has established itself as among the best of its kind. And this installment by London School of Economics and Political Science emeritus professor, Ken Minogue, is no exception. If you've not had the pleasure of this urbane and learned scholar's company, then here is a fortunate substitute.In a perfect outline of the field, Minogue covers the history of political thought from the ancients throught the moderns, enticing one to know more about the rise western civilization, "how we got here," and why peaceful societies must cultivate the art of politics. He then moves on to foreign relations, analytical methods, and modern democratic functional topics. One gem of concision concerns politics as ideology and the difference it makes, the topic of which professor Minogue is quite simply the authority. If this moves you, then pick up his classic "The Liberal Mind," newly reissued--or else for a serious education, "Alien Powers: The Pure Theory of Ideology." Whether you want to grasp the seductive thrall that enraptures ideologists from Eric J. Hobsbawm to John Gray, or from historic communism to today's Islamism, "Alien Powers" is an essential guide to unmasking all pretense of knowledge.Bravo, professor! Thanks for a masterful primer.