The Bloomsbury Companion to Political Philosophy

Politics is a practical activity which, after a moment’s thought, turns into a philosophical inquiry. We have only to reflect on toleration and human rights, sovereignty and the state, the social contracts citizens have with each other, the shaping influence of law and changes arising from globalization to realize the truth of that. More formally, we might then draw on ideas from writers like Plato and Marx and Hegel and on theories about polity and individuality and freedom (many of which are or have become normative narratives, for some arguably foundational roles) to see how wide-ranging political philosophy can be....