B 46401

Modern Political

Thinkers and Ideas

An historical introduction

Tudor Jones

' * FrancVi

London and New York

Contents

LIST OF BOXED BIOGRAPHIES xiii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xv

INTRODUCTION xvii

1 Sovereignty 1

SECTION AHistorical development of the conceptEssential aspects of sovereignty: meanings and usages

Legal sovereigntyPolitical sovereigntyInternal sovereigntyExternal sovereignty

Conclusion

SECTION BMachiavelli on the Prince's powerHobbes: the sovereignty of the Leviathan state

Historical context: political and intellectualThe case for absolute governmentThe power and authority of the sovereign

Locke on sovereignty as trusteeshipHistorical context: political and intellectualUnderlying theoretical assumptionsDistinctive features of Locke's theory

Rousseau and popular sovereigntyHistorical context: political and intellectual

The sovereign community 27The preconditions of popular sovereignty 29

SECTION C 31Contemporary debates 31Further reading 33

Political obligation 35

SECTION A 37Historical development of the concept 37

Voluntaristic theories 37Teleological theories 38Other 'duty' theories 39

Limits to political obligation 39General justification for political obligation 40

SECTION B 41Hobbes's theory of political obligation: social contract

and security 41Historical context: political and intellectual 41Hobbes's views of human nature and the state of nature 42Hobbes's 'covenant' 43Conclusion 45

Locke's theory of political obligation: social contract,consent and natural rights 46Historical context: political and intellectual 46Locke's view of the state of nature 47Locke's two-stage social contract 48Locke's notion of consent 49Conclusion 50

Rousseau's theory of political obligation: the general willand an ideal social contract 51Historical context: political and intellectual 51Rousseau's ideal social contract 52Rousseau's concept of the general will 53Conclusion - 55

SECTION C 56Contemporary debates 56Further reading 57

3 Liberty 59

SECTION A 61Historical development of the concept: different traditions of

interpreting liberty 61Accounts of 'negative' liberty in the history of modern political

thought 63Accounts of 'positive' liberty in the history of modern political

thought 64Conclusion 65

SECTION B 67Locke on liberty as a natural right 67

Historical context: political and intellectual 67Natural and civil liberty: the distinction and connectionbetween them 69Locke's defence of religious freedom 72Conclusion 73

Rousseau on moral and political freedom 74Historical context: political and intellectual 74The erosion of natural liberty 76The two aspects of 'true' freedom: moral and civil 77'Forcing' someone to be free 79The critique of Rousseau's view of liberty 80Conclusion 81

John Stuart Mill's defence of personal liberty 83Historical context: political and intellectual 83Mill's main concerns in On Liberty 86Mill's view of liberty 87Mill on the importance of individuality 91Limits to freedom of expression and action 92Conclusion 94

T.H. Green's positive view of liberty 97Historical context: political and intellectual 97Green's view of the social individual 100Green's positive conception of liberty 101Green's positive view of the state 103Conclusion 104

SECTION C , 106Contemporary debates 106Further reading 109

4 Rights 111

SECTION A 112

Historical development of the concept of rights 112Critiques of theories of the natural rights of man 115Development of the concept of human rights in the twentieth

century 118Problems associated with the concept of human rights 119

SECTION B 124Locke's theory of natural rights 124

Historical context: political and intellectual 124Locke's conception of natural rights 126Locke's account of the right to property 129Conclusion 132

Burke's case against the 'rights of man' and for'prescriptive' rights 133Historical context: political and intellectual 133Burke's critique of the doctrine of the 'rights of man' 135

Burke's defence of inherited, 'prescriptive' rights 137Paine's defence of the rights of man 139

Historical context: political and intellectual 139Paine's distinction between natural and civil rights 142Paine's status as a radical popularizer of natural-rights

theory 144Paine's long-term influence 145

SECTION C 146

Contemporary debates 146Further reading 149

5 Equality 151

SECTION A 152Formal or foundational equality 152

Equality of opportunity 154Equality of outcome 157

SECTION B 161Rousseau's vision of democratic equality 161

Historical co.ntext: political and intellectual 161The inequality of civil society 161'Natural' and 'artificial' inequalities 163The harmful effects of inequality 164

Rousseau's egalitarian remedy 165Conclusion 166

Wollstonecraft on equal rights for women 168

Historical context: political and intellectual 168The case for equal civil and political rights for women 170Conclusion 172

John Stuart Mill on equality of opportunity and on equalstatus for women 173Historical context: political and intellectual 173Reward according to desert in industrial society 174Equality of status for women 178Conclusion 181

Marx on equality in a communist society 183Historical context: political and intellectual 183Marx's critique of liberal ideas of equality 187Towards communist equality 189Conclusion 191

SECTION C 192

Contemporary debates 192Further reading 196

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 199

INDEX 210