In this volume one of the leading political theorists of our time
addresses what he believes is the major task of political theory:
showing human beings how they have good reason to act in the
historical situation in which they find themselves. Dunn argues that
humans today depend more abjectly and extensively than ever before on
the capacity of some of our number for skillful political action.
There are many reasons for this dependence: closely linked
nuclear-threat and financial systems, massive trade flows that sustain
or imperil the well-being of all modern populations, and the awesome
scale of the unintended ecological effects of human production. Why
has modern political theory failed to relate these factors
systematically to one another and to provide people with adequate
reasons for action? To answer this twin query, Dunn brilliantly
deploys the resources of the historical development of Western
political thinking, in counterpoint with some of the main lessons of
international political economy. The concluding essay reasserts that
the classical virtue of prudence has a central place in contemporary
politics. The conditions of modern politics, it maintains, require the
exercise of prudence not merely by political, military, and economic
leaders, but also by the populace at large. Overall, this selection of
Dunn's most influential work of the past decade reflects his
remarkable range of interestsincluding Locke's ideological importance,
the nature of trust in politics, rights, liberty, responsibility at a
national level, postcolonial African politics, and political
community. The book will be required reading for students from a
variety of disciplines. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton
Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again
make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781400861453
Publisert
2014
Utgiver
Vendor
Princeton University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter