Western Political Thought

From Ancient Greeks to Modern Political Scientists

Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay - Retired Principal and Professor, Political

Science, Presidency College (now Presidency University), Kolkata

March 2020 | 352 pages | SAGE Texts

Format Published Date ISBN Price

Paperback 03/01/2020 9789353880156 ₹650.00

Provides a lucid and accessible account of the entire range of Western political thought, from
Plato to post-Second World War British and American political thinkers.

This textbook thoroughly discusses the historical background of the ideas of a political thinker or a group
of thinkers. For each political philosopher or school of thought, the philosophy is critically discussed,
followed by an unbiased evaluation at the end of the chapter.

Western Political Thought will meet the needs of the students of political science, history, philosophy and
sociology. It will appeal to the students who have no exposure to the subject as the chapters require no
previous understanding of the thinkers and their works. It will also serve as a useful and steady companion
for UGC NET and UPSC aspirants.

Key Features:

• Critical analysis of the philosophy of each of the thinkers in light of its applicability and effect on modern
political tradition

• Elaborate discussion of the history of the period that served as a background of the political ideas

• Comprehensive study, based mostly on original texts rather than second references

• Each chapter aided by self-test review questions to assess critical understanding of the topics

Table Of Contents:

https://in.sagepub.com/en-in/sas/western-political-thought/book273370 Page 1
Preface

Why to Study Western Political Ideas?

Ancient Greece

Plato

Aristotle

The Rise of Rome

The Mediaeval Europe

The Mediaeval Political Thought

The Arrival of European Renaissance

Machiavelli

Martin Luther and the Reformation Movement

Jean Bodin

https://in.sagepub.com/en-in/sas/western-political-thought/book273370 Page 2
Historical Background of 17th-Century English Political Thought

Thomas Hobbes

John Locke

Montesquieu

David Hume

Rousseau

Edmund Burke

Kant

Hegel

Industrial Revolution in England

Jeremy Bentham

John Stuart Mill

https://in.sagepub.com/en-in/sas/western-political-thought/book273370 Page 3
T. H. Green

Non-Marxian Socialism (Anarchism, Utopian Socialism, Fabian Socialism, Syndicalism and Guild Socialism)

Karl Marx

Harold Laski

Post-Second World War Political Ideas: An Overview

Image Courtesy

Index

About the author(s):

Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay, a noted political scientist as well as a constitutional expert, is a product of
Presidency College, Kolkata, and London School of Economics and Political Science. He spent his entire
professional career at Presidency College, Kolkata, first as a Senior Professor of Political Science then as
Head of the Department of Political Science and finally as its Principal. Besides, after retirement, he served
for 12 years as Director of IAS Training Centre at Presidency College. For 40 years, he edited Socialist
Perspective, an English journal of social sciences. Some of his English books are The Ethics of Obedience
(1967), Society and Politics in Contemporary India (edited, 1974), Political Sociology (1977), The Bengali Intellectual
Tradition (edited, 1979), The Political Miscellany (edited, 1986), Western Political Thought: From Plato to Marx (1988), A
Journey across the Indian Constitution (2017), Metaphysics, Morals and Politics: An Enquiry into the Ideas of T.H. Green
(2017) and An Introduction to Political Theory (2019).

https://in.sagepub.com/en-in/sas/western-political-thought/book273370 Page 4