An Introduction to Political Philosophy

This book looks at the central problems involved in political philosophy and the various past attempts to solve these problems. What would life be like without the state, for example? What justifies the state? Who should rule? How much liberty should the citizen enjoy? How should property justly be distributed? Jonathan Wolff looks at these stimulating questions in the light of works like Plato's "Republic", Hobbes' "Leviathan", Locke's "Two Treatises of Government", Rousseau's "Social Contract", Mill's "On Liberty", Marx's "Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts", and Rauls' "Theory of Justice", and considers the debates which have developed between various philosophers. In this final chapter, he also considers more recent issues, particularly that of feminist political theory.