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Classics in the History of Political Thought
This List Is By:
Dr. David M. Hart
Liberty Fund, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Director of the Online Library of Liberty Project at Liberty Fund, Inc.
B.A. (Macquarie), M.A. (Stanford), PhD (King’s College Cambridge).
Topic
This is a collection of 20 or so of the most significant writings in the history of political thought. It is designed to bring together in one convenient location the readings which a typical college course on this topic might require.
The 19th Century: J.S. Mill’s On Liberty (1859)
The English classical liberal philosopher and Member of Parliament John Stuart Mill wrote one of the most influential books on the nature of individual liberty in the 19th century.
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XVIII - Essays on Politics and Society Part I, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Alexander Brady (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1977). Chapter: ON LIBERTY 1859
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/233/16550 on 2007-11-30
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.
Karl Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production [1867]
Karl Marx, Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Volume I: The Process of Capitalist Production, by Karl Marx. Trans. from the 3rd German edition, by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling, ed. Federick Engels. Revised and amplified according to the 4th German ed. by Ernest Untermann (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr and Co., 1909).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/965 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The French Revolution: Kant’s Perpetual Peace (1795)
The Treaty of Basel during the French Revolutionary Wars was the inspiration for Kant’s essay on how warfare might be mitigated or perhaps even banished in the modern world.
Immanuel Kant, Kant’s Principles of Politics, including his essay on Perpetual Peace. A Contribution to Political Science, trans. W. Hastie (Edinburgh: Clark, 1891). Chapter: PERPETUAL PEACE. A PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY. 1795.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/358/56096 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The French Revolution: Paine’s Rights of Man (1791)
Paine wrote one of the earliest and most powerful replies to Burke’s criticism of the French Revolution.
Thomas Paine, The Writings of Thomas Paine, Collected and Edited by Moncure Daniel Conway (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1894). Vol. 2. Chapter: XIII.: RIGHTS OF MAN.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/344/17349 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
Reflections on the Revolution in France - Edmund Burke, Select Works of Edmund Burke, vol. 2 [1790]
Edmund Burke, Select Works of Edmund Burke. A New Imprint of the Payne Edition. Foreword and Biographical Note by Francis Canavan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999). Vol. 2. Chapter: Reflections on the Revolution in France
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/656/20374 on 2007-11-30
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, Literary (LF ed.) [1777]
David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, Literary, edited and with a Foreword, Notes, and Glossary by Eugene F. Miller, with an appendix of variant readings from the 1889 edition by T.H. Green and T.H. Grose, revised edition (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1987).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/704 on 2007-11-30
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
The American Revolution: The Federalist (1787)
These essays by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay were published in newspapers during the period when the American Constitution was being ratified.
George W. Carey, The Federalist (The Gideon Edition), Edited with an Introduction, Reader’s Guide, Constitutional Cross-reference, Index, and Glossary by George W. Carey and James McClellan (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2001). Chapter: THE FEDERALIST
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/788/108558 on 2007-11-30
The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc.
declaration of independence 1 - Thomas Jefferson, The Works, vol. 2 (1771-1779) [1905]
Thomas Jefferson, The Works of Thomas Jefferson, Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904-5). Vol. 2. Chapter: declaration of independence 1
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/755/86068 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The Enlightenment: Rousseau’s Social Contract (1761)
In his best known work, Rousseau puts forward his notion of the general will.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated with an Introduction by G.D. H. Cole (London and Toronto: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1923). Chapter: THE SOCIAL CONTRACT or PRINCIPLES OF POLITICAL RIGHT
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/638/70977 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The Ancient Greeks: Plato’s Dialogues
The foundation stones of western political thought were laid by the ancient Greeks, particularly Plato and Aristotle. For this session we will read one of Plato’s Dialogues “The Symposium.”
Plato, The Dialogues of Plato, vol. 1, translated into English with Analyses and Introductions by B. Jowett, M.A. in Five Volumes. 3rd edition revised and corrected (Oxford University Press, 1892). Chapter: SYMPOSIUM.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/111/39489 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
THE REPUBLIC. - Plato, Dialogues, vol. 3 - Republic, Timaeus, Critias [1892]
Plato, The Dialogues of Plato translated into English with Analyses and Introductions by B. Jowett, M.A. in Five Volumes. 3rd edition revised and corrected (Oxford University Press, 1892). Chapter: THE REPUBLIC.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/767/93795 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
THE POLITICS. - Aristotle, The Politics vol. 1 [320 BC]
Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. into English with introduction, marginal analysis, essays, notes and indices by B. Jowett. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1885. 2 vols. Vol. 1. Chapter: THE POLITICS.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/579/75394 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The Reformation: Machiavelli’s The Prince (1513)
On the eve of the Reformation, when the city states of northern Italy were in turmoil, Machiavelli wrote his famous advice to a Prince.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, tr. from the Italian, by Christian E. Detmold (Boston, J. R. Osgood and company, 1882). Vol. 2. Chapter: THE PRINCE.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/775/75825 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The Reformation: Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (1519)
Machiavelli’s more extended thoughts on political theory came in a series of discourses on the work of the Roman historian Titus Livius.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, tr. from the Italian, by Christian E. Detmold (Boston, J. R. Osgood and company, 1882). Vol. 2. Chapter: DISCOURSES on the FIRST TEN BOOKS OF TITUS LIVIUS.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/775/75879 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
Thomas Hobbes, The English Works, vol. III (Leviathan) [1651]
Thomas Hobbes, The English Works of Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury; Now First Collected and Edited by Sir William Molesworth, Bart., (London: Bohn, 1839-45). 11 vols. Vol. 3.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/585 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The English Revolution: Harrington’s Oceana (1656)
During the English Revolution (or Civil War) of the mid-17th century a number of political theorists were forced to rethink their views about sovereignty and political power. Harrington argued for a republic.
James Harrington, The Oceana and Other Works of James Harrington, with an Account of His Life by John Toland (London: Becket and Cadell, 1771). Chapter: THE COMMONWEALTH OF OCEANA. TO HIS HIGHNESS The Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/916/75592 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
The Glorious Revolution: Locke’s Two Treatises of Civil Government (1689)
Later in the 17th century, when another revolution was approaching, Locke wrote one of the founding political treatises on the modern era in which he defended individual natural rights and the limited sovereignty of the crown.
John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Thomas Hollis (London: A. Millar et al., 1764).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/222 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature [1739]
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume, reprinted from the Original Edition in three volumes and edited, with an analytical index, by L.A. Selby-Bigge, M.A. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896).
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/342 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, Complete Works, vol. 1 The Spirit of Laws [1748]
Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 1.
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/837 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
A DISCOURSE on a subject proposed by the academy of dijon: what is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorised by natural law ? - Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses [1761]
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated with an Introduction by G.D. H. Cole (London and Toronto: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1923). Chapter: A DISCOURSE on a subject proposed by the academy of dijon: what is the origin of inequality among men, and is it authorised by natural law ?
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/638/71084 on 2007-11-30
The text is in the public domain.
THE SUBJECTION OF WOMEN 1869 - John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XXI - Essays on Equality, Law, and Education [1825]
John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume XXI - Essays on Equality, Law, and Education, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by Stefan Collini (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984). Chapter: THE SUBJECTION OF WOMEN 1869
Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/255/21684 on 2007-11-30
The online edition of the Collected Works is published under licence from the copyright holder, The University of Toronto Press. ©2006 The University of Toronto Press. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or medium without the permission of The University of Toronto Press.