Like Zizeck's Desert of the Real, or Putnam's Truth Reason and History this is one of those books that is a must-have if you intend to study the topic which the book covers. If you go into Waterstones there will always be several copies of these around, and you know they will be on your reading ... Read review
Advantages: Well written, informative, thorough and entertaining Disadvantages: Could be heavy if you don't like Political philosophy
...book considering it is merely an introduction. Individualism, rights of women and liberal individualism are all sped through without much ado, but could be interesting for some.
The final gem of the book however is the guide to further reading. If you intend to study a course related to Politics this list is invaluable and chances are you will be buying the Wolff book anyway (especially if you start Politics and Philosophy at UCL ... .../>
If you are interested in the roots of political philosophy, or just want to find out about it casually, you cannot get better than this very lucid and clear introduction to arguably the most important questions of political philosophy. Even if you are a casual reader, the style is engaging enough for it not to become as tiring as Smart's famous monograph on the defense of Utilitarianism.
Like Zizeck's Desert of the Real, or Putnam's Truth Reason and History this is one of those books that is a must-have if you intend to study the topic which the book covers. If you go into Waterstones there will always be several copies of these around, and you know they will be on your reading list.
This book is very interesting becuase it covers the most important roots of political philosophy as we have come to understand it today. Even the cover depicting ancient Greek wrestling thoughtfully reminds the reader that this book is going to be a contest between different philosophies -and fortunately, it is not a one-sided contest.
The scope of the book is impressive. Similarly to the PLATO to NATO courses on offer at universities, Wolff considers the most important progressions in political thought from Plato to John Rawls and his social contract.
Chapter 1: This covers the State of Nature and what philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke OW, and Rousseau have had to say about it. The argument is presented almost linearly showing optimism, then pessimism about man's condition and natural being. It is then extended to its practical end through anarchism (no central government). The discourse tracks the way the topic has changed in meaning and importance -even being dismissive at times - whilst bringing together the underlying issues.
Chapter 2: This concerns the State and how we justify it to ourselves -either the majority or the minority. The chapter then attacks the responses to the State and how to make it fairer - Rawls' social contract, utilitarianism for objectivity and then attempts to try and pin down the notion of fairness. This is a very ambitious, but highly enjoyable chapter.
Chapter 3: So, if we can't decide what a fair state is, then maybe we can create it with a good ruler. Again, the linear approach in thinking has been adopted with Plato's tirade against the tyranny of the majority juxtaposed to Rousseau's general will. In true Hegelian dialectic fashion, we end up on representative democracy.
Chapter 4: Once we have established our State, then we must decide what people are allowed to do in it for whatever good we aim towards. Mill's On Liberty takes a deserved central role and is followed throughout and then amazingly critiqued with problems with liberalism.
Chapter 5: For the most boring sounding chapter, this one is potentially the most explosive. It deals with the legality of private property. The debate over whether slaves were property helped spark off the American Civil War and questioning whether people have the right to the property they see and feel is their own can be devisive. Jonathan Wolff in this chapter loses some of his even-handedness at times when defending Rawls's theory of justice, but it is no more than a passionate debate which becomes grounded when criticisms of Rawls are presented.
Finall, chapter 6 marks the beginning of the end of a remarkably varied and in-depth book considering it is merely an introduction. Individualism, rights of women and liberal individualism are all sped through without much ado, but could be interesting for some.
The final gem of the book however is the guide to further reading. If you intend to study a course related to Politics this list is invaluable and chances are you will be buying the Wolff book anyway (especially if you start Politics and Philosophy at UCL where he currently teaches).
Overall: If you are interested in the roots of political philosophy, or just want to find out about it casually, you cannot get better than this very lucid and clear introduction to arguably the most important questions of political philosophy. Even if you are a casual reader, the style is engaging enough for it not to become as tiring as Smart's famous monograph on the defense of Utilitarianism.
The key to this book however is the way it introduces the reader to some very difficult and subtle questions about political morality in society without it becoming overbearing.
If none of this has sold you on the book, then maybe I can quote the first lines of the introduction:
'We do not say that a man who shows no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.' (Pericles' funeral oration, in Thycydides, The Peloponnesian War, 147)
chris_ah1 12.05.2004 (12.05.2004)
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