History and Illusion in Politics

"...impressive..." Ethics

"Writing in a clear, analytic style that avoids superficial logic chopping, Guess (Cambridge) argues that the elements underlying much contemporary thinking about liberal democratic states with capitalist economies and a commitment to human rights--conjunctions resulting from contingne thistorical processes--are often conceptually confused and incoherent.... The book would serve as an excellent resource for both graduate and undergraduate students. Highly recommended." Choice

Raymond Geuss is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He has taught widely in Germany and the United States, and has been an editor of the series of Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought since its inception. His previous books include The Idea of a Critical Theory (Cambridge, 1981, ISBN 0521 284228), Morality, Culture, and History (Cambridge, 1999, ISBN 0 521 635683), and Public Goods, Private Goods (Princeton, 2001). He has also published a collection of classical verse in his own English translations, Parrots, Poets, and Philosophers & Good Advice (London, 1999).

Preface; Introduction; Part I. The State: 1.1 Political associations; 1.2 Violence, coercion, and power; 1.3 The concept of the state; 1.4 The concept of legitimacy; 1.5 Authority; 1.6 Weber's 'modern' state; 1.7 History and the concept of the state; 1.8 Anarchy and the state; 1.9 The legitimacy of the state; Part II. Liberalism: 2.1 The context; 2.2 Toleration; 2.3 Freedom; 2.4 Individualism; 2.5 Limited, unlimited, and discretionary power; Part III. Democracy and Rights: 3.1 Democracy: description and interpretation; 3.2 Democracy: evaluation; 3.3 Popular control and the state; 3.4 Legal rights; 3.5 Human rights; 3.6 Rights and politics; 4. Conclusion; Index.