Author	Swift, Adam, 1961-
Title	Political philosophy : A beginners' guide for students and politicians / Adam Swift
Imprint	Cambridge, UK : Polity, 2014
Edition	Third edition
Descript	xi, 247 pages ; 22 cm

Politicians invoke grand ideas: social justice, democracy, liberty, equality, community. But what do these ideas really mean? How can politicians across the political spectrum appeal to the same values? This new edition of Adam Swift's highly readable introduction to political philosophy answers these important questions, and includes new material on global justice, feminism, and method in political theory, as well as updated guides to further reading. This lively and accessible book is ideal for students, but it also brings the insights of the world's leading political philosophers to a wide general audience. Using plenty of examples, it equips readers to think for themselves about the ideas that shape political life. Democracy works best when both politicians and voters move beyond rhetoric to think clearly and carefully about the political principles that should govern their society. But clear thinking is difficult in an age when established orthodoxies have fallen by the wayside. Bringing political philosophy out of the ivory tower and within the reach of all, this book provides us with tools to cut through the complexities of modern politics. In so doing, it makes a valuable contribution to the democratic process and this new edition will continue to be essential reading for students of political philosophy and theory.

Concept v. conceptions: the case of justice -- Hayek v. social justice -- Rawls: justice as fairness -- Nozick: justice as entitlement -- Popular opinion: justice as desert -- Two concepts of liberty? -- Three distinctions between conceptions of liberty -- Freedom, private property, the market and redistribution -- Resisting the totalitarian menace -- Egalitarian plateau -- Equality of opportunity -- Equality and relativities: should we mind the gap? -- Positional goods -- Three positions that look egalitarian but aren't really -- Equality strikes back -- Correcting misunderstandings and misrepresentations -- What is democracy? -- Degrees of democracy -- Procedures and outcomes -- Is democracy paradoxical? -- Subjectivism democracy and disagreement -- Valuse of democracy

1. Political science -- Philosophy
2. Democracy
3. Social justice
4. Liberty
5. Equality
6. Communities

LOCATION	CALL#	STATUS
Central Library (5th Floor)	320.01 S977P 2014	CHECK SHELVES
Political Science Library	320.01 S977P 2014	CHECK SHELVES
Political Science Library : Reserve Collection	320.01 S977P 2014	CHECK SHELVES