Andrew Bailey

The second volume of an important and valuable anthology of political and social thought. Its major limitation is, first of all, a too narrow focus on the period after Nietzsche (I would have used a different periodization had I had editorial responsibility, but, then, I didn't) It also lacks, I'd say, a post-colonial perspective, which is something that I value. Its great strength is the way it presents the major debates of the past century and a quarter or so. It misses some parts of the debates that I think are important, such as the Hardt-Negri position on globalization, but is, in general, pretty well balanced. A useful collection for student use. I certainly hope that future editions will include more theorists of colour and post-colonial thinkers.… (mehr)

This is a marvellous, and almost perfect, anthology of readings in the main texts of social and political thought. It is part of a two-volume edition, suitable for advanced undergraduates, or for introducing graduate students to political theory.

It includes a two non-Western thinkers who definitely belong in such a text -- Alfarabi and Maimonides -- but that's its sole bow to the world outside the West. It does not include classical Chinese or Indian thinkers. While it includes Christine de Pizan, Mary Astell, Olympes de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft and Harriett Taylor, its only bow to the non-white presence in the West is Sojourner Truth, which makes one wonder why Cugoano's Thoughts and Sentiments wasn't cited. Still, this is a useful collection, and a definite improvement over previous anthologies available for undergraduate use. I look forward to seeing come into extensive use in colleges over the next few years.… (mehr)