Find a copy in the library
Finding libraries that hold this item...
Details
| Additional Physical Format: | Online version: Ball, Terence. Reappraising political theory. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1995 (OCoLC)609001325 Online version: Ball, Terence. Reappraising political theory. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1995 (OCoLC)621073407 |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Book |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Terence Ball |
| ISBN: | 0198279531 9780198279532 0198279957 9780198279952 |
| OCLC Number: | 30664222 |
| Description: | xv, 310 p. ; 23 cm. |
| Contents: | 1. Reappraising Political Theory -- 2. Whither Political Theory? -- 3. Machiavelli and Moral Change -- 4. Hobbes's Linguistic Turn -- 5. Rousseau's Civil Religion Reconsidered -- 6. The Survivor and the Savant: Two Schemes for Civil Religion Compared -- 7. Benthamite Discipline and Punishment; or, What Foucault Missed -- 8. Utilitarianism, Feminism, and the Franchise -- 9. Vico and Marx on 'Making' History -- 10. Marx and Darwin: A Reconsideration -- 11. Constitutional Interpretation: What's Wrong with 'Original Intent'? -- 12. The Myth of Adam and American Identity. |
| Responsibility: | Terence Ball. |
| More information: |
Abstract:
Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Foucault: what really links these and other 'classic' political theorists? Not, argues Terence Ball, their common status as 'dead, white, European males', but instead the exciting and compelling way in which they can speak to us today. Professor Ball begins by setting out his liberating view of the way we should approach 'classic' tests. Using an approach that is both 'problem-driven' and methodologically 'pluralist', Ball offers new readings - and reappraisals of key authors and classic works in political theory. Throughout he argues that the importance of the great texts lies in their repeated reinterpretation in the light of problems that arise for present-day readers.
This tour de force, always entertaining and eclectic, focuses on the core problems surrounding many of the major thinkers. Was Machiavelli really amoral? Why did language matter so much to Hobbes - and why should it matter to us? Are the roots of the totalitarian state to be found in Rousseau? Were the utilitarians sexist in their view of the franchise? Written in a lively and accessible style, the book will provoke debate among students and scholars alike. Throughout, Terence Ball shows just how exciting and important political theory can be.
Reviews
User-contributed reviews
Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers.
Be the first.
Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers.
Be the first.
Tags
Add tags for "Reappraising political theory : revisionist studies in the history of political thought".
Be the first.

