The Art and Craft of Political Theory

The Art and Craft of Political Theory provides a critical overview of the discipline’s core concepts and concerns and highlights its development of critical thinking and practical judgment. The field’s interdisciplinary strengths are deployed to grapple with emerging issues and engage afresh enduring ideals and quandaries. While conventional definitions of key concepts are provided, original and controversial perspectives are also explored, revealing continuity in a tradition of thought while emphasizing its diversity and innovations. The Art and Craft of Political Theory illustrates the analytic and interpretive skills, the moral and philosophic discernment, and the historical knowledge needed to appreciate a tradition of thought, to contest its claims, and to make good use of its insights.

Topics include:

• science, ideology and normative theory
• biology, culture, human nature, power and violence
• ancient, modern and postmodern political thought
• liberty, equality, justice, reason and democracy
• racial, religious, gender and economic identities
• liberalism, socialism, capitalism, communism, anarchism, feminism and environmentalism
• social media, automation, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

This concise, lively and accessibly written book is essential reading for all students of political theory.