Reappraising Political Theory by Terence Ball

Reappraising Political Theory by Terence Ball

Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseay, Mill and Marx, and Foucault - what really links these and other `classic' political theorists? Not, argues Terence Ball, their common status as `dead, white, European males', but instead the exciting and compelling way in which they can speak to us today. Professor Ball begins by setting out his liberating view of the way we should approach `classic' texts. Using an approach that is both `problem-driven' and methodologically `pluralist', Ball offers new readings - and reappraisals - of key authors and classic works in political theory. Throughout he argues that the importance of the great texts lies in their repeated reinterpretation in the light of problems that arise for present-day readers. This tour de force, always entertaining and eclectic, focuses on the core problems surrounding many of the major thinkers. Was Machiavelli really amoral? Why did language matter so much to Hobbes - and why should it matter to us? Are the roots of the totalitarian state to be found in Rousseau? Were the utilitarians sexist in their view of the franchise? Written in a lively and accessible style, the book will provoke debate among students and scholars alike. Throughout, Terence Ball shows just how exciting and important political theory can be.

`wide-ranging, deeply thoughtful, often entertaining and always refreshingly readable book.. So judicious and indeed so successful is he in this project that even a careful and sympathetic reader could finish the book wondering how it is that political theory in recent decades has in Ball's account of it come to be a hermetic discipline ... There is much else in Ball's rich and profoundly learned book that repays close study and careful thought' Times Literary Supplement
`Ball makes the `dead' political thinkers come to life. A very readable book.' Paul Norris, Southampton Institute
It is literally impossible to do justice to this book in a short review ... it is a book well worth the reading ... An essential acquisition for libraries serving upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. * Choice *

Terence Ball received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and teaches political theory at Arizona State University. He taught previously at the University of Minnesota and has held visiting professorships at Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the University of California, San Diego. His books include Transforming Political Discourse (Blackwell, 1988), Reappraising Political Theory (Oxford University Press, 1995), and a mystery novel, Rousseau's Ghost (SUNY Press, 1998). Richard Dagger earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and has taught at Arizona State University and Rhodes College, and is now professor of political science at the University of Richmond. He has been a faculty fellow of the Center for Ethics and Public Affairs, Tulane University, and is the author of many publications in political and legal philosophy, including Civic Virtues: Rights, Citizenship, and Republican Liberalism (Oxford University Press, 1997). Daniel I. O'Neill holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles and is now Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. He is the author of The Burke-Wollstonecraft Debate: Savagery, Civilization, and Democracy (Penn State University Press, 2007) and coeditor of Illusion ofConsent: Engaging with Carole Pateman (Penn State University Press, 2008).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780198279532
ISBN 10	0198279531
Title	Reappraising Political Theory
Author	Terence Ball
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	1995-01-26
Number of pages	328
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.