
Books in political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.
3 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Aristotle's Politics
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the most important works of political philosophy ever written - Aristotle’s ‘Politics.
6 November 2008
Featuring: Angie Hobbs, Paul Cartledge, Annabel Brett
Hayek's The Road to Serfdom
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Hayek's 1944 book warning that the centralised planning of the wartime economy, if extended into peacetime, could lead to tyranny.
17 October 2024
Featuring: Bruce Caldwell, Melissa Lane, Ben Jackson
Rawls' Theory of Justice
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss A Theory of Justice by John Rawls, first published in 1971, a work that's been called the most influential book in 20th-century political philosophy.
19 January 2023
Featuring: Fabienne Peter, Martin O'Neill, Jonathan Wolff