This is the first full-length presentation of a republican alternative to the liberal and communitarian theories that have dominated political philosophy in recent years. The author's eloquent, compelling account opens with an examination of the traditional republican conception of freedom as non-domination, contrasting this with established negative and positive views of liberalism. The book examines what the implementation of the ideal would imply for substantive policy-making, constitutional and democratic design, regulatory control and the relation between state and civil society.
Professor Pettit's powerful and insightful new work offers not only a unified, theoretical overview of the many strands of republican ideas, it also provides a new and sophisticated perspective on studies in related fields including the history of ideas, jurisprudence, and criminology. The author had included a new postscript to this paperback edition, which offers a sketch of the crucial republican ideas, and to reinforce the argument that the republican tradition deserves more attention than it has generally received among contemporary political theorists.
This is the first full-length presentation of a republican alternative to the liberal and communitarian theories that have dominated political philosophy in recent years. Pettit's eloquent and compelling account opens with an examination of the traditional republican conception of freedom as non-domination, contrasting this with established negative and positive views of liberty.
Petit's work is a major advance on previous studies of republican political philosophy. In terms of analytical rigour and imaginative insight, it is easily the best book on the subject.
