Editorial Reviews:
The philosophy of politics As an introduction to political theory and science, this collection of writings by the great philosophers will be of close interest to general readers. It also forms a basic textbook for students of government and political theory. Such fundamental concepts as Democracy, the Rule of Law, Justice, Natural Rights, Sovereignty, Citizenship, Power, the State, Revolution, Liberty, Reason, Materialism, Toleration, and the Place of Religion in Society are traced from their origins, through their development and changing patterns, to show how they guide political thinking and institutions today. And new in this edition, examinations of selected works by Sophocles, Francois Hotman, and Francisco Suarez. Also new are a detailed table of contents and an up-dated, comprehensive bibliography--each clear and concise for easy reference. The second volume of Professor Curtis' work, also available in a Discus edition, includes the writings of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century thinkers--from Burke, Rousseau, and Kant to modern times.
Customer Reviews:
 A Great Overview
I highly recommend this volume for its breadth of coverage as an intro or a refresher. It enables the reader to get many of th ebasisc to use as a springboard to a further analysis of the philospohers one desires to read in greater detail. I am now reading Vol. 2.  Excellent survey of western political thought
In the introduction, Curtis writes this as the essence of the subject of these books:
"The core of political philosophy has always been the study of those central institutions, organizations and personnel that have the power to issue directions and rules, and the relationship of the governed to government. The recurring problems of political philosophy are those concerning the nature of society, law, obligation, rights, duties, command, responsiblity and obedience. In modern theory, there has been a preoccupation with sovereignty, power, influence, and groups."
Over the course of both volumes, Curtis presents a methodical layout of these issues, starting with the ancient Greeks to modern times, and it lives up to the aspirations stated up front. The ebb and flow of the often multiple jurisdictions and centers of power within a state often bring about the same questions in different eras. What rights do an individual have against the power of the state, and from where does this power derive?
A related question to this necessarily involves what the proper role a citizen or group has within the government, whether they should be identified solely as one of the whole, or whether they are members of a higher order, or whether their primary identity should be derived as biological and rational animals under the laws of nature.
As evidence that this is concerned only with theory and not history (where some leaders may have corrupted the theory), Marxism and nationalism, two of the most often-arising philsophies of the 20th century, are only given brief treatment, and even then, only on its merits as a theory, not practice.
The publishing date of the book may require some revisions of the organization of the later chapters, but for a brief two-volume collection of the writings on political philsophy, this book is a good buy. An Excellent Survey of Politcal Thought
This book is a excellent survey of political philosophies from the last days of the ancien regime to the 1970s.
This survey is treated in a very organized way by the editor, Michael Curtis. Each section of the book has a certain theme. Each section begins with a preface and overview of the thinkers whose selections will follow. Curtis, like an excellent professor, exposits the views of the thinkers fairly.
Let me give an example of one of the sections of the book, which illustrates the strenghts and possible even minor weaknesses of this book.
Section XIII is entitled "Theological Thought and Politics." I found this chapter very interesting, for although I consider myself very informed in matters concerning politics, I had previously given little thought to the inter-connection of theology and politics. As the book shows, other disciples have influenced political thinkers--history and economics readily come to mind--and so has theology.
In the preface/overview of this section, Mr. Curtis gives a synopsis of two examples of theological thinking on politics, one Catholic, the other Protestant. What follows, then, are selections that represent Catholic social thought: selections from Papal Encyclicals, and from the Thomist Jacques Maritain; and, for Protestant social thought, selections from the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr.
These selections are chosen--as are all the others in the book--because they represent a major argument of the thinker into consideration which also distinguishes himself from other thinkers. For example, in the selections of the Catholic thinkers, a theme that is stressed is the uniqueness of man among physicial creation--that man has a soul, a spiritual nature, and because of that, is a person, and thus has dignity.
This metaphysical account of the nature of man has consequences in the social realm. While these selections have an optimistic tone, especially from Maritain, this is contrasted with the Protestant social thought of Reinhold Niebuhr. Reading Niebuhr, I thought of the notions of Original Sin, the Fall of Man, and man's tendency to sin. The belief that man is fundamentally good is an error. This belief in the essential goodness in man can lead to political misjudgments. This work by Niebuhr was written in during World War II, and I thought how Niebuhr was vindicated, when just a few years before, the Prime Minister of England had said, "There shall be peace in our time."
This section also points out the possible weaknesses of the book. Perhaps other selections of theological thought could have also been included, and I speak as a Catholic whose tradition is well represented in Mr. Curtis' book. For example, I recently came across some writings of the Russian Orthodox philosopher/mystic Berdayev. Berdayev wrote about the dehumanization of man in the modern world, and in his writing considered the general approach of Catholic and Protestant thinking. Berdayev would have made an excellent addition in this section.
Besides theology, other influences on political thought are shown, mainly from the social sciences, and from history. The dominant schools of thought, such as Marxism, Utilitariansism, Conservatism, are well represented, even sub-divisions of the major schools, such as the revolutionary Marxism of Lenin versus the gradual approach of Eduard Bernstein.
There is a great diversity of opinion presented here; I am a political junkie, so I would not mind even more selections.
The book closes with selections from the late political theorist John Rawls' "A Theory of Justice." The roughly 30 years since the publication of "A Theory of Justice," there have been contributions toward politcal theory. Some examples would be the works of Michael Walzer "Just and Unjust Wars," and "Spheres of Justice; Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State, and Utopia;" writings in support of the environmental movement; and the impact of technology, especially newer technologies such as genetic engineering to the Internet, from various writers. What will the 21st Century hold? Just Right!
I think that this book is prefaced well and in those terms serves the reader to the full extent promised. The book basically gives an over view of early political theory through excerpts from excellent selected texts. It is a fair cross-section of political treatises providing it fits into one book that is for the novice. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
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