{"product_id":"books-the-political-theory-of-possessive-individualism-by-c-b-macpherson","title":"The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism","description":"This seminal work by political philosopher C.B. Macpherson was first published by the Clarendon Press in 1962, and remains of key importance to the study of liberal-democratic theory half-a-century later. In it, Macpherson argues that the chief difficulty of the notion of individualism that underpins classical liberalism lies in what he calls its possessive quality--its conception of the individual as essentially the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing to society for them. Under such a conception, the essence of humanity becomes freedom from dependence on the wills of others; society is little more than a system of economic relations; and political society becomes a means of safeguarding private property and the system of economic relations rooted in property. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs the \u003cem\u003eNew Statesman \u003c\/em\u003edeclared: It is rare for a book to change the intellectual landscape. It is even more unusual for this to happen when the subject is one that has been thoroughly investigated by generations of historians. . . Until the appearance of Professor Macpherson's book, it seemed unlikely that anything radically new could be said about so well-worn a topic. The unexpected has happened, and the shock waves are still being absorbed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA new introduction by Frank Cunningham puts the work in a twenty-first-century context.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53673017639185,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781014273109_431108e1-b9bc-4ac8-8783-efed6a6bd40b.jpg?v=1781522410","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/books-the-political-theory-of-possessive-individualism-by-c-b-macpherson","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}