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Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority in a given system: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown—if ever. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual A right is a legal or moral Entitlement or Permission. Rights are of vital importance in theories of Justice and deontological ethics Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted by a In Politics, authority ( Latin Auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to Potestas and Imperium The justification of the state is a term that refers to the source of legitimate authority for the State or Government. In a vernacular sense, the term "political philosophy" often refers to a general view, or specific ethic, belief or attitude, about politics that does not necessarily belong to the technical discipline of philosophy. Vernacular refers to the Native language of a country or a locality Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language

Three central concerns of political philosophy have been the political economy by which property rights are defined and access to capital is regulated, the demands of justice in distribution and punishment, and the rules of truth and evidence that determine judgments in the law. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual In Economics, capital or capital Goods or real capital refers to items of extensive value JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e

Contents

History of political philosophy

Further information: History of political thought

Antiquity

Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), from a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics secured the two Greek philosophers as two of the most influential political philosophers.
Plato (left) and Aristotle (right), from a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. The history of Political philosophy can be tracked to antiquity Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The School of Athens, or it Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous Paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael Sanzio, usually known by his first name alone (in Italian Raffaello) (April 6 or March 28 1483 – April 6 1520 was an Italian painter and Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics secured the two Greek philosophers as two of the most influential political philosophers.

As an academic discipline, Western political philosophy has its origins in ancient Greek society, when city-states were experimenting with various forms of political organization including monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, and democracy. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system One of the first, extremely important classical works of political philosophy is Plato's The Republic, which was followed by Aristotle's Politics. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The Republic ( Greek: / Politeía, meaning "political system" Latin: Res Publica, meaning "public business" or Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. Roman political philosophy was influenced by the Stoics, and the Roman statesman Cicero wrote on political philosophy. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman

Independently, Confucius, Mencius, Mozi and the Legalist school in China, and the Laws of Manu and Chanakya and in India, all sought to find means of restoring political unity and stability; in the case of the former three through the cultivation of virtue, in the last by imposition of discipline. Confucius ( lit " Master Kung " September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher Life Mencius also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou (simp Mozi ( Lat as Micius, ca 470 BCE&ndashca 391 BCE was a Philosopher who lived in China during the Hundred Schools of Thought In Chinese history, Legalism ( was one of the four main philosophic schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (the other The Manu Smriti ( Sanskrit: मनुस्मृति is a work of Hindu law and ancient Indian society Chanakya Sanskrit: चाणक्य Cāṇakya) (c 350-283 BC was an adviser and a Prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor In India, Chanakya, in his Arthashastra, developed a viewpoint which recalls both the Legalists and Niccolò Machiavelli. Chanakya Sanskrit: चाणक्य Cāṇakya) (c 350-283 BC was an adviser and a Prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor The Arthashastra ( IAST: Arthaśāstra) is a Treatise on statecraft, economic policy and Military strategy which Ancient Chinese and Indian civilization resembled Greek in that there was a unified culture divided into rival states. In the case of China, philosophers found themselves obliged to confront social and political breakdown, and seek solutions to the crisis that confronted their entire civilization.

The early Christian philosophy of Augustine of Hippo was by and large a rewrite of Plato in a Christian context. Christian philosophy is a term to describe the fusion of various fields of Philosophy with the theological doctrines of Christianity. The main change that Christian thought brought was to moderate the Stoicism and theory of justice of the Roman world, and emphasize the role of the state in applying mercy as a moral example. Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. Mercy ( Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, "price Moral example is trust in the Moral core of another a Role model, without the obvious mediation of any theory or language Augustine also preached that one was not a member of his or her city, but was either a citizen of the City of God (Civitas Dei) or the City of Man (Civitas Terrena). Augustine's The City of God is an influential work of this period that refuted the thesis, after the First Sack of Rome, that the Christian view could be realized on Earth at all - a view many Christian Romans held. The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001

Medieval Islam

The rise of Islam, based on both the Qur'an and Muhammad strongly altered the power balances and perceptions of origin of power in the Mediterranean region. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics Early Muslim philosophy emphasized an inexorable link between science and religion, and the process of ijtihad to find truth - in effect all philosophy was "political" as it had real implications for governance. Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Ijtihad (Arabic اجتهاد is a technical term of Islamic law that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality This view was challenged by the Mutazilite philosophers, who held a more Greek view and were supported by secular aristocracy who sought freedom of action independent of the mosque. Muʿtazilah ( Arabic المعتزلة al-mu`tazilah) is a theological school of thought within Sunni Islam. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger By the medieval period, however, the Asharite view of Islam had in general triumphed. The Ash'ari theology ( Arabic الأشاعرة al-asha`irah) is a school of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan

Islamic political philosophy, was, indeed, rooted in the very sources of Islam, i. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. e. the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the words and practices of Muhammad. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Sunnah ar (سنة plural سنن Sunan literally means “trodden path” and therefore the sunnah of the prophet means “the way and the manners of the prophet” However, in the Western thought, it is generally supposed that it was a specific area peculiar merely to the great philosophers of Islam: al-Kindi (Alkindus), al-Farabi (Abunaser), İbn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Bajjah (Avempace), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Ibn Khaldun. ( أبو يوسف يعقوب إبن إسحاق الكندي) (c TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Abū Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Fārābi ( Nastaliq:) or Abū Nasr al-Fārābi TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born Abū-Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn al-Sāyigh ( Arabic أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى بن الصائغ known as Ibn Bājjah (ابن باجة was an Andalusian Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun (full name أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون,, ( May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH &ndash March 19 The political conceptions of Islam such as kudrah, sultan, ummah, cemaa -and even the "core" terms of the Qur'an, i. e. ibada, din, rab and ilah- is taken as the basis of an analysis. Hence, not only the ideas of the Muslim political philosophers but also many other jurists and ulama posed political ideas and theories. Fiqh ( Arabic: فقه, fɪqəh is Islamic Jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Ulema ( ar علماء,, singular ar عالِم,, "scholar" refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several For example, the ideas of the Khawarij in the very early years of Islamic history on Khilafa and Ummah, or that of Shia Islam on the concept of Imamah are considered proofs of political thought. Kharijites (Arabic Khawārij خوارج literally "Those who Went Out" is a general term embracing various Muslims who while initially supporting the Muslim history began in Arabia with the Muhammad 's first recitations of the Qur'an in the 7th century A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history Ummah (أمة is an Arabic word meaning Community or Nation. It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or (in the The clashes between the Ehl-i Sunna and Shia in the 7th and 8th centuries had a genuine political character. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic

The 14th century Arab scholar Ibn Khaldun is considered one of the greatest political theorists. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun (full name أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون,, ( May 27, 1332 AD/732 AH &ndash March 19 The British philosopher-anthropologist Ernest Gellner considered Ibn Khaldun's definition of government, "an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself", the best in the history of political theory. Ernest André Gellner ( 9 December 1925 &ndash 5 November 1995) was a Philosopher and social anthropologist, cited as one For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. [1]

Muslim political philosophy did not cease in the classical period. Despite the fluctuations in its original character during the medieval period, it has lasted even in the modern era. Especially with the emergence of Islamic radicalism as a political movement, political thought has revived in the Muslim world. The political ideas of Abduh, Afgani, Kutub, Mawdudi, Shariati and Khomeini has caught on an ethusiasm especially in Muslim youth in the 20th century.

Medieval Europe

Medieval political philosophy in Europe was heavily influenced by Christian thinking. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth It had much in common with the Islamic thinking in that the Roman Catholics also subordinated philosophy to theology. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Perhaps the most influential political philosopher of the medieval period was St. Thomas Aquinas who helped reintroduce Aristotle's works, which had only been preserved by the Muslims, along with the commentaries of Averroes. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Abū 'l-Walīd Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Rushd (Arabicأبو الوليد محمد بن احمد بن رشد better known just as Ibn Rushd (ابن رشد and in European Aquinas's use of them set the agenda for scholastic political philosophy, and dominated European thought for centuries. Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries

European Renaissance

During the Renaissance secular political philosophy began to emerge after about a century of theological political thought in Europe. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere While the Middle Ages did see secular politics in practice under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, the academic field was wholly scholastic and therefore Christian in nature. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Latin West in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th 13th and 14th centuries One of the most influential works during this burgeoning period was Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, written between 1511-12 and published in 1532, after Machiavelli's death. Il Principe ( The Prince) is a political Treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist That work, as well as The Discourses, a rigorous analysis of the classical period, did much to influence modern political thought in the West. The Discourses on Livy ( Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio, Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean A minority (including Jean-Jacques Rousseau) could interpret The Prince as a satire meant to give the Medici after their recapture of Florence and their subsequent expulsion of Machiavelli from Florence. [2] Though the work was written for the di Medici family in order to perhaps influence them to free him from exile, Machiavelli supported the Republic of Florence rather than the oligarchy of the di Medici family. Roman origins Florence was founded in 59 BCE as a settlement for former soldiers and was named Florentia, allotted by Julius Caesar to his veterans in Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment At any rate, Machiavelli presents a pragmatic and somewhat consequentialist view of politics, whereby good and evil are mere means used to bring about an end, i. Pragmatism generally considered to have originated in the late nineteenth century with Charles Peirce, who first stated the Pragmatic maxim. e. the secure and powerful state. Thomas Hobbes, well known for his theory of the social contract, goes on to expand this view at the start of the 17th century during the English Renaissance. Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century

European Age of Enlightenment

Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830, Louvre), a painting created at a time where old and modern political philosophies came into violent conflict.
Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830, Louvre), a painting created at a time where old and modern political philosophies came into violent conflict. Liberty Leading the People (La Liberté guidant le peuple is a painting by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 which toppled

During the Enlightenment period, new theories about what the human was and is and about the definition of reality and the way it was perceived, along with the discovery of other societies in the Americas, and the changing needs of political societies (especially in the wake of the English Civil War, the American Revolution and the French Revolution) led to new questions and insights by such thinkers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu and John Locke. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher.

These theorists were driven by two basic questions: one, by what right or need do people form states; and two, what the best form for a state could be. These fundamental questions involved a conceptual distinction between the concepts of "state" and "government. " It was decided that "state" would refer to a set of enduring institutions through which power would be distributed and its use justified. The term "government" would refer to a specific group of people who occupied, and indeed still occupy the institutions of the state, and create the laws and ordinances by which the people, themselves included, would be bound. This conceptual distinction continues to operate in political science, although some political scientists, philosophers, historians and cultural anthropologists have argued that most political action in any given society occurs outside of its state, and that there are societies that are not organized into states which nevertheless must be considered in political terms. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Cultural anthropology is one of four fields of Anthropology (the holistic study of humanity) as it developed in the United States.

Political and economic relations were drastically influenced by these theories as the concept of the guild was subordinated to the theory of free trade, and Roman Catholic dominance of theology was increasingly challenged by Protestant churches subordinate to each nation-state, which also (in a fashion the Roman Catholic church often decried angrily) preached in the vulgar or native language of each region. A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy

In the Ottoman Empire, these ideological reforms did not take place and these views did not integrate into common thought until much later. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish As well, there was no spread of this doctrine within the New World and the advanced civilizations of the Aztec, Maya, Inca, Mohican, Delaware, Huron and especially the Iroquois. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican Civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the Pre-Columbian Americas Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. "Huron" redirects here For other uses see Huron (disambiguation. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse The Iroquois philosophy in particular gave much to Christian thought of the time and in many cases actually inspired some of the institutions adopted in the United States: for example, Benjamin Franklin was a great admirer of some of the methods of the Iroquois Confederacy, and much of early American literature emphasized the political philosophy of the natives. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse

Industrialization and the Modern Era

Karl Marx and his theory of Communism developed along with Friedrich Engels proved to be one of the most influential political ideologies of the 20th century.
Karl Marx and his theory of Communism developed along with Friedrich Engels proved to be one of the most influential political ideologies of the 20th century. Friedrich Engels (28 November 1820 – 5 August 1895 was a German social scientist and philosopher, who

The industrial revolution produced a parallel revolution in political thought. The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture manufacturing and transportation had a profound effect on the Urbanization and capitalism greatly reshaped society. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where During this same period, the socialist movement began to form. The history of socialism, sometimes termed 'modern socialism' finds its origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution In the mid-19th century, Marxism was developed, and socialism in general gained increasing popular support, mostly from the urban working class. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution By the late 19th century, socialism and trade unions were established members of the political landscape. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming In addition, the various branches of anarchism and syndicalism also gained some prominence. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Syndicalism is a type of movement which aims to degrade capitalist societies through action by the Working class on the industrial front In the Anglo-American world, anti-imperialism and pluralism began gaining currency at the turn of the century. Anti-imperialism, strictly speaking is a term that may be applied to or movement opposed to some form of Imperialism. Pluralism is in the general sense the acknowledgment of diversity

World War I was a watershed event in human history. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Russian Revolution of 1917 (and similar, albeit less successful, revolutions in many other European countries) brought communism - and in particular the political theory of Leninism, but also on a smaller level Luxemburgism (gradually) - on the world stage. See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Leninism refers to various related political and economic theories elaborated by Bolshevik revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin. Luxemburgism (also written Luxembourgism) is a specific revolutionary theory within Communism, based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg. At the same time, social democratic parties won elections and formed governments for the first time, often as a result of the introduction of universal suffrage. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left Universal suffrage (also universal adult suffrage, general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to

In response to the sweeping social changes that occurred in the years after the war, ultra-reactionary ideologies such as fascism began to take shape. Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology In particular, the rise of the Nazis in Germany would later lead to the Second World War. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

All political thought was deeply affected by the Great Depression, which led many theorists to reconsider the ideas they had previously held as axiomatic. In the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D In Europe, both the extreme left and the extreme right gained increasing popularity.

Contemporary political philosophy

After World War II political philosophy moved into a temporary eclipse in the Anglo-American academic world, as analytic philosophers expressed skepticism about the possibility that normative judgments had cognitive content, and political science turned toward statistical methods and behavioralism. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The 1950s saw pronouncements of the 'death' of the discipline, followed by debates about that thesis. A handful of continental European emigres to Britain and the United States—including Hannah Arendt, Karl Popper, Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss, Isaiah Berlin, Eric Voegelin and Judith Shklar—encouraged continued study in the field, but in the 1950s and 60s they and their students remained somewhat marginal in their disciplines. Sir Karl Raimund Popper ( July 28 1902  &ndash September 17 1994) was an Austrian and British Philosopher and a professor Friedrich August von Hayek CH ( May 8, 1899 March 23, 1992) was an Austrian British Economist Leo Strauss (September 20 1899 &ndash October 18 1973 was a German -born Jewish-American political philosopher who specialized in the study of classical Sir Isaiah Berlin, OM (6 June 1909 &ndash 5 November 1997 was a philosopher and historian of ideas regarded as one of the leading liberal thinkers of the twentieth century Eric Voegelin, born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin ( January 3, 1901 &ndash January 19, 1985) was a Political philosopher. Judith Nisse Shklar ( September 24, 1928 – September 17, 1992) was a Political theorist, the John Cowles Professor of Government

Communism remained an important focus especially during the 1950s and 60s. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Zionism, racism and colonialism were important issues that arose. History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism In general, there was a marked trend towards a pragmatic approach to political issues, rather than a philosophical one. Pragmatism generally considered to have originated in the late nineteenth century with Charles Peirce, who first stated the Pragmatic maxim. Much academic debate regarded one or both of two pragmatic topics: how (or whether) to apply utilitarianism to problems of political policy, or how (or whether) to apply economic models (such as rational choice theory) to political issues. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Rational choice theory, also known as rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior The rise of feminism and the end of colonial rule and of the political exclusion of such minorities as African Americans in the developed world has led to feminist, postcolonial, and multicultural thought becoming significant. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Postcolonialism ( postcolonial theory, post-colonial theory) is an intellectual discourse that holds together a set of theories found among the texts and The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified

In Anglo-American academic political philosophy the publication of John Rawls's A Theory of Justice in 1971 is considered a milestone. John Rawls ( February 21, 1921  &ndash November 24, 2002) was an American Philosopher, a Professor of A Theory of Justice is a widely-read book of political and Moral philosophy by John Rawls. Rawls used a thought experiment, the original position, in which representative parties choose principles of justice for the basic structure of society from behind a veil of ignorance. A thought experiment (from the German Gedankenexperiment) is a proposal for an Experiment that would test a Hypothesis or Theory The original position is a hypothetical situation developed by American Philosopher John Rawls as a Thought experiment to replace the imagery of a savage Rawls also offered a criticism of utilitarian approaches to questions of political justice. Robert Nozick's book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) responded to Rawls from a libertarian perspective. Robert Nozick ( November 16, 1938  &ndash January 23, 2002) was an American Philosopher and Pellegrino University Anarchy State and Utopia is a work of Political philosophy written by Robert Nozick in 1974. Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the

Contemporaneously with the rise of analytic ethics in Anglo-American thought, in Europe several new lines of philosophy directed at critique of existing societies arose between the 1950s and 1980s. Many of these took elements of Marxist economic analysis, but combined them with a more cultural or ideological emphasis. Out of the Frankfurt School, thinkers like Herbert Marcuse, Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, and Jürgen Habermas combined Marxian and Freudian perspectives. The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist Critical theory, Social research, and Philosophy. Herbert Marcuse ( July 19, 1898 &ndash July 29, 1979) was a German philosopher and sociologist, and a member of Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund Adorno ( September 11, 1903 &ndash August 6, 1969) was a German -born international sociologist Max Horkheimer (February 14 1895 &ndash July 7 1973 was a German Philosopher and Sociologist, and a founder and guiding thinker of Critical Jürgen Habermas (ˈjʏʁgən ˈhaːbɐmaːs born June 18, 1929 is a German Philosopher and Sociologist in the tradition of Along somewhat different lines, a number of other continental thinkers—still largely influenced by Marxism—put new emphases on structuralism and on a "return to Hegel". For the use of structuralism in biology see Structuralism (biology Structuralism is an approach to the human sciences that attempts to analyze Within the (post-) structuralist line (though mostly not taking that label) are thinkers such as Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, Claude Lefort, and Jean Baudrillard. Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. Claude Lefort (born 1924 is a French philosopher and activist Jean Baudrillard ( July 29, 1929   – March 6, 2007) (ʒɑ̃ bo The Situationists were more influenced by Hegel; Guy Debord, in particular, moved a Marxist analysis of commodity fetishism to the realm of consumption, and looked at the relation between consumerism and dominant ideology formation. The Situationist International ( SI) was a small group of international political and artistic Agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the Guy Ernest Debord ( December 28, 1931 - November 30, 1994) was a Marxist theorist French writer Filmmaker, hypergraphist

Another debate developed around the (distinct) criticisms of liberal political theory made by Michael Sandel and Charles Taylor. Michael Sandel ( 1953 - is a political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. Charles Margrave Taylor (born November 5, 1931) CC GOQ MA DPhil FRSC is a Philosopher from The liberalism-communitarianism debate is often considered valuable for generating a new set of philosophical problems, rather than a profound and illuminating clash of perspectives. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal Communitarianism, as a group of related but distinct philosophies began in the late 20th century opposing in its opinion exalted forms of Individualism while advocating phenomena

Today some debates regarding punishment and law center on the question of natural law and the degree to which human constraints on action are determined by nature, as revealed by science in particular. Natural law or the law of nature ( Latin: lex naturalis) is a theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set by Nature and that Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Other debates focus on questions of cultural and gender identity as central to politics.

Influential political philosophers

A larger list of political philosophers is intended to be closer to exhaustive. This is a list of political philosophers, including some who may be better known for their work in other areas of philosophy Listed below are a few of the most canonical or important thinkers, and especially philosophers whose central focus was in political philosophy and/or who are good representatives of a particular school of thought. Canonical is an Adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the Greek word kanon, "rule" (perhaps originally from

Some notable contemporary political philosophers are Amy Gutmann, Seyla Benhabib, George Kateb, Wendy Brown, Stephen Macedo, Martha Nussbaum, Thomas Pogge

References

  1. ^ Ernest Gellner, Plough, Sword and Book (1988), p. 239
  2. ^ Johnston, Ian (February 2002). Lecture on Machiavelli's The Prince. Malaspina University College. Vancouver Island University (formerly known as Malaspina University-College) is a publicly funded University with its main campus located in Nanaimo, Retrieved on 2007-02-20. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment

See also

Further reading

Anarchism is a Political philosophy with many heterogeneous and diverse schools of thought, united by a common opposition to compulsory WikipediaConsensus here as this is the article namespace and that information is irrelevant to the reader Consequentialist justifications of the state are philosophical arguments which contend that the State is justified by the good results it produces The justification of the state is a term that refers to the source of legitimate authority for the State or Government. Majoritarianism is a traditional Political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a Majority (sometimes categorized by Religion, Language, or Panarchism is a Political philosophy emphasizing each Individual 's right to freely join and leave the jurisdiction of any governments they choose without being Progressivism is a term that refers to a broad school of international social and political philosophies. Political media are Communication vehicles owned ruled managed or otherwise influenced by political entities meant to propagate views of the related entity Social criticism analyzes Social structures which are seen as flawed and aims at practical solutions by specific measures radical Reform or even Revolutionary
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