Using Political Ideas

"Comprehensive, and covers the main ideologies in an interestingway . . . takes a critical and engaging perspective . . . framed inthe context of debates around the meaning and purpose oftheoretical enquiry . . . a more rewarding read than itscompetitors." --Madeleine Davis, Department of Politics, Queen Mary, Universityof London. "This book is pitched at a good level for bright and interestedundergraduates . . . the combination of ideologies and concepts inone book is a major selling point." --Professor Paul Taggart, Professor of Politics, University ofSussex "Pulls off the enviable coup of being scholarly and yet not scaryas well as providing genuinely fresh insights for the more familiarreader." --Dr Peter Handley, School of Political, Social, and InternationalStudies, University of East Anglia "An outstandingly useful text . . . I look forward to a fifthedition being made available" --Mark Donovan, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University ofCardiff Using Political Ideas is a unique blend of political philosophy,political theory and history of political thought. It combines acritique of the major ideologies of recent and contemporary societywith an analysis of the ideas that form the very stuff of politicaldebate. By exposing the interplay between ideas and ideologies, itshows why political opponents often speak at cross-purposes and whyrational agreement is so hard to achieve in politics. The fifth edition of this well respected and widely known text willbe welcomed by all those interested in questions such as: * Is equality more important than personal freedom? * Does the majority have the right to dictate to the minority inmulticultural society? * Is nationalism a progressive force in the world? With a new chapter on the political ideologies of the twenty-firstcentury, and greater emphasis on contemporary issues such asmulticulturalism, citizenship and identity throughout the book,this new edition is the ideal starting point for students andanyone else who needs an introduction to political thought.