Political Theory: An Introduction

Cover
Contents
Preface
Part I: What is Political Theory and Why do we Need it?
	Chapter 1: What Is Political Theory?
		Introduction
		What is Theory?
			Humans as Concept-Bearing Animals
			Concepts Embedded in Practices
			Human Expressions
			Ad hoc and Systematic Reflections
			Word-Dependent and Word-Independent Reflections
			Varieties of Word-Dependent Reflections
		The Distinctiveness of Theory
		Cosmologies and Common Sense
		What Is Political?
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 2: Why Do We Need Political Theory?
		Introduction
		The Big Questions of Human Life
		The Emergence of Western Modernity
		Explaining Human and Non-human Nature
		Understanding Humans
		The Difference Between the Human and Non-human Worlds
		Decline of Political Theory?
		Types of Political Theories
			Explanatory
			Normative
			Contemplative
		Little Theories, Grand Theories
			Theory and Ideology
		Cosmologies and Political Theory
		History of Political Thought and Political Theory
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
Part II: Concepts
	Chapter 3: Liberty
		Introduction
		Meaning
		Evolution of the Concept
			J. S. Mill on Liberty
			Liberty: A Liberal Good?
		Classification: Negative and Positive Liberty
			Negative Liberty
			Positive Liberty
			J. S. Mill and Negative and Positive Liberty
			Insufficiency of Negative Liberty: Charles Taylor
			Liberty: Freedom as a Triadic Relation
		Liberty and Other Concepts
			Liberty and Equality
			Liberty and Rights
		The Concept of Liberty in India
			Liberty and the Indian Constitution
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 4: Equality
		Introduction
		Evolution of the Concept
			Aristotle
			Hobbes
			Rousseau on Inequality
			Marx
			Tocqueville
		Why Equalize?
		Equality of What?
			Equality of Welfare
			Equality of Resources
			Equality of Capabilities
			Complex Equality
		In Conclusion: The Politics of Equality
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 5: Justice
		Introduction
		The Issue of Distributive Justice
		Procedural Justice
		John Rawls: Justice as Fairness
		Limitations of Rawls’ Theory of Justice
		Communitarian Critique
		Feminist Critique
		Justice, Capabilities, and Freedom: Amartya Sen’s Extension of John Rawls’ Theory of Justice
		End-State Theories
		Feminist Accounts of Justice
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 6: Rights
		Introduction
		The Idea of Rights
			Negative and Positive Rights
			Civil, Political, and Social Rights
			Legal Rights
			Moral Rights
		Theories of Rights
			The Theory of Natural Rights
			The Utilitarian Theory of Rights
			John Rawls on Rights
			The Libertarian Theory of Rights
		Human Rights
		Some Recent Debates on Rights
			Communitarian Perspectives
			Multicultural Perspectives on Rights
			The Feminist Challenge
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 7: Democracy
		Introduction
		The Concept
		Direct Participatory Democracy
		Liberal Democracy
			Protective Democracy
			John Stuart Mill and Developmental Democracy
			Policy Making and the Pluralist View
		Objections to Democracy
		Perspectives on Democracy
			Socialist View
			Indian Debates on Democracy
			Feminist View
			Deliberative View
		Key Debates in Democratic Theory
			Democracy and Difference
			Representation and Participation
			Democracy and Development
			The Scope of Democracy
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 8: Citizenship
		Introduction
		What Do We Mean by Citizenship?
		Historical Development of the Concept of Citizenship
			The Classical Period and Civic Republican Citizenship: Civic Virtue, Freedom and Active Citizenship
			The Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods: Legal Protection of Liberty and Passive Citizenship
			The 19Th and 20Th Centuries: Capitalism, Liberalism and Universal Citizenship
		T. H. Marshall: Equal and Universal Citizenship
		Limits of Liberal Citizenship: Uniformity and Generality
		The Search for Alternatives
			Marxist Critique of Bourgeois Citizenship
			Feminism and Citizenship
		New Contexts and Changing Concerns: Multiculturalism and Globalization
			Differentiated and Multicultural Citizenship
			Return of Civic Republicanism: Civic Virtue and Good Citizenship
			Globalization, World Citizenship and Human Rights
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 9: Power
		Introduction
		Conceptions of Power
		Power as Exploitation
		Authority, Legitimacy and Hegemony
		Feminist Theories of Power
		Foucault on Power
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 10: Sovereignty
		Introduction
		Historical Evolution of Sovereignty
		Theories of Sovereignty
		The Changing World and the Concept of Sovereignty
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 11: The State
		Introduction
		What Is the State?
		The Modern State
		What the State is not: Civil Society and the Nation
		Justifying the State
		Human Nature
		The State of Nature and the Social Contract
		Utilitarianism
		The Neutral State: Liberalism
		The Class State: Marxism
		The Patriarchal State: Feminism
		Governmentality: Foucault on the State
		Recent Debates: Challenges to the Sovereignty of the State
			Globalization
			The Imported State and Its Consequences
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 12: Civil Society
		Introduction
		Historical Evolution of the Idea of Civil Society
		Civil Society in Early Liberal Political Theory
			John Locke’s Concept of Civil Society
		Rise of Political Economy and the Enlightenment Concept of Civil Society
		Critiques of the Enlightenment Concept of Civil Society
			Hegel’s Concept of Civil Society
			Civil Society in the Marxist Tradition: Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci
		Contemporary Revival of the Concept of Civil Society
		Civil Society in the Post-colonial Context
		Modernity and Civil Society in Post-colonial States: Critical Issues
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 13: Property
		Introduction
		The Extent and Limits of Property Rights
		The Concept of Property in Political Theory
		Property in Ancient and Medieval Political Thought
		Modernity and the Concept of Property
			John Locke on Property
			The Utilitarian Justification of Private Property
			Karl Marx’s Critique of Private Property
		Developments in the 20Th Century: Socialism, Welfarism, Libertarianism
			Robert Nozick’s Entitlement Defence of Private Property
		Gender and Property Rights: Feminist Perspectives on the Concept of Property
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 14: Gender
		Introduction
		Sex is to Nature as Gender is to Culture
		Male/Female in the Non-West
		Developments in the Sex/Gender Distinction in Feminist Theory
		Masculinity
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
Part III: Ideologies
	Chapter 15: Liberalism
		Introduction
		A Brief History
		Classical Liberalism
			Modern Liberalism
		Contemporary Liberalism
		The Foundations of Liberalism
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 16: Socialism
		Introduction
		Responses to Inequality
		The Problem: Capitalism
		The Socialist Alternative
		Socialist Schemes: Old and New
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 17: Nationalism
		Introduction
		The History of an Idea
		Non-European Nationalism
		Theoretical Questions
			Nationalism and Modern Culture
			Nationalism and Capitalism
			Nationalism: Western or Eastern
			Nationalism: Progressive or Regressive
		Analysis and Critique
		Conclusion: The Future of an Idea
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
Part IV: Political Arguments
	Chapter 18: Secularism
		Introduction
		Secularism: The Broad Definition
		Political Secularism
			Theocracy, States with Established Religions and Secular States: an Exposition
			Amoral and Value-Based Secular States
			Values of a Secular State
		Crisis for Secular States
		Theocracy, States with Established Religions and Secular States: A Normative Comparison
			Critique of Mainstream Secularism
		An Alternative Conception: Indian Secularism
			Principled Distance
		Is Secularism a Christian and Western Doctrine?
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 19: Affirmative Action
		Introduction
		Justice and Social Disadvantage
		Defining Affirmative Action
		Affirmative Action in India
		The Limits of Affirmative Action
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
	Chapter 20: Freedom of Speech and the Question of Censorship
		Introduction
		Speech and the ‘Lesser Harm’ Hypothesis
		Freedom of Expression and the Search for Truth
		Freedom of Speech and Its Relation to Self-government
		Free Speech and Tolerance
		The Autonomy Defence of Free Speech
		What Do We Do with Hate Speech?
		Conclusion
		Points for Discussion
		Reading List
The Editors and the Contributors
	The Editors
	The Contributors
Index