Plato to NATO : Studies in Political Thought

by Brian Redhead

QuestionWhy should I obey the state?Answer1 Because if I don't they will cut my head off.*2 Because it is God's will.*3 Because the State and I have done a deal.*4 Because the State is the actuality of the ethical Idea.**Strike out whichever is inapplicableThe history of political thought is the history of man's attempts over the centuries to answer the question, 'Why should I obey the State?'. But even to ask it poses many more questions. What is the State and what should it be? How can it be constructed, organised, overcome? Would we be better off without it?This book of essays, published to accompany a series of programmes on BBC Radio 4, explores the answers to these and other questions put forward by a dozen of the great thinkers of the past, plus half a dozen in our century. In the process, they point the way to the greatest thoughts of the greatest minds.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 1984

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer that this might be the wrong book because the number of pages doesn’t line up but I can’t find the book I was reading.

I took an intro to legal philosophy course and found the subject matter interesting so picked up this book to learn more. It’s organized into a series of essays by different authors covering most of the major political thinkers in the western world. The scope is limited to the lineage of Greek, then Western European, then American philosophers which I understand is the most pertinent for English-speaking audiences but some variety would have been nice.

Otherwise, easy to read and covers a broad range of subject matter fairly quickly. I liked the essay format because it made sure only the most important points of each profile were covered, however it did make the book a big disjointed and often the authors would make reference to subject matter that wasn’t covered in previous chapters which led to requiring some extra research on my part.

An interesting takeaway is how instrumental Christianity has been in developing our current political thought, even though our society is largely secular today. The basic ideas of Mill and even Marx have lineages in the Christian thought of Calvin and Aquinas. This isn’t a topic I’m well-versed in so it was interesting to learn about! Would be interested to see how this same lineage plays out in majority Muslim, Buddhist, etc. parts of the world.

[Reece Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays (all by different authors) that serve both as biography and ideological summary for various political thinkers. The essays cover Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Aquinas, Machiavelli, Jean Calvin, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau, Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, and two essays on modern thinkers that cover Bertrand Russell, RH Tawney, John Rawls, Herbert Marcuse, and Hannah Arendt.

This collection was a great introduction to political theory and, in general, the theories of the thinkers listed above. However, the way the book framed itself (as looking at the answer to the question 'Why should I obey the State') kind of missed the mark as to what the book actually was. I think this question was definitely addressed, but it was not the central point of the collection. Rather, it was that political thought has built on itself over the centuries and it seems to have begun out of a search for justice. In addition, some essays were worlds better than others in terms of summarizing or giving concrete examples of each thinker's ideas, but all essays were incredibly readable and accessible to a layperson. I think for me the purpose of the book was as a stepping stone to some basic ideas in political theory. Would I base a thesis on anything this book says? No. But it would definitely be helpful in directing you where to look.

Honestly, the only reason this didn't get a 4 was because certain essays (namely Machiavelli and Marx) seemed particularly devoid of a good ideological summary and instead were mostly biographical with vague assertions about their beliefs (at least as compared to essays on, say, Plato and Hobbes).

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read but can sometimes be a bit inaccessible to people who are not used to some of the extensive vocabulary used. Overall a good read.

[Carys · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to lots of political and philosophical thought. Written in a concise and easy to understand manner.

[Ed Fernyhough · Rating 4 out of 5]

can't stay away for long

[Yukinosita Yukino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Methodologies are extremely old fashioned (e.g. the awful intro by Brian Redhead, and majority of the essays). 1) They introduces thinkers by laying out their supposed doctrine / system, as if all their writings can be reduced to elucidating such a system 2) ahistorical, assumes they're dealing with the same, unchanging problems / concepts throughout ages. Very much discredited after Skinner's Meaning and Understanding essay. But each piece is short and accessible, it's nevertheless a good intro as long as you read between the lines. The highlights are chapters on Hobbes and Locke (by two Cambridge school scholars, predictably), ones on Augustine, Rousseau, Smith are decent; ones on Machiavelli, Mill, Marx and modern liberals are terrible

[Justin]

This book has a lot of really good information. I read it because I was interested in how all of the different political systems we currently have were put into place, and what sort of people were associated with those different identities. I would reccomend it if you want to know. Don't read it just because you're bored, it is quite a bit to digest.

[chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book that a gives a basic understanding of philospher's and philosophy of various sorts in a couple of weeks to those with an interest in philosophy; it also is a book where the main philosphies of the main philospher's is outlined and explained in interesting contexts. lots of these examples can be compared in todays society.

[Steve Dewey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful introduction which I shall keep on my shelves for reference, but I found its structure too thin -- not enough meat on the bones, and no real feeling of how this all connects to the world around us now...