Thinking Politics: Perspectives In Ancient, Modern, And Postmodern..

Thinking Politics Thinking Politics Perspectives in Ancient, Modern, and Postmodern Political Theory SECOND EDITION Leslie Paul Thiele University of Florida Seven Bridges Press 135 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010-7101 Copyright © 2002 by Chatham House Publishers of Seven Bridges Press, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. Publisher: Ted Bolen Managing Editor: Katharine Miller Production Services: Sarah Evans Cover Design: Stefan Killen Design Printing and Binding: Victor Graphics, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thiele, Leslie Paul. Thinking Politics : perspectives in ancient, modern, and postmodern political theory / Leslie Paul Thiele.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-889119-51-2 (pbk.) 1. Political Science—Philosophy. 2. Postmodernism—Political aspects. I. Title. JA71 .T52 2002 320'.01—dc21 2001005710 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To the memory of my mother and father, Wilfrida Maria Thiele and Jacob Zachary Thiele Contents Preface to the Second Edition Introduction 1. Theory and Vision ix xi 1 Setting Our Sights, 3 Parsimony, Accuracy, and Significance, 4 Scientific Theory, 7 The Interpretive Nature of Political Theory, 11 Hermeneutics and Intersubjectivity, 14 The Normative Nature of Theory, 18 Conceptual and Historical Analysis, 20 Suggested Readings, 25 2. The Question of Human Nature 26 The Political Significance of Human Nature, 29 The Genetic Leash, 34 Genes and Mores, 37 Biological and Cultural Reproduction, 40 Suggested Readings, 44 3. Politics, Power, and the Public Good 46 Power and Force, 49 The Nature of Political Power, 56 The Public Realm and the Private Realm, 59 Suggested Readings, 63 4. Modernity and Postmodernity Individualist Theories of Politics, 69 Structuralist Theories of Politics, 73 Poststructural and Postmodern Theories of Politics, 77 Identity and the Exercise of Power, 82 Social Power and Individual Freedom, 90 Theorizing at the Edge of Modernity, 95 Suggested Readings, 99 65 v i i i thinking politics 5. Identity and Difference 100 Race, Religion, and Otherness, 104 The Other in America, 108 Limiting Power and Respecting Difference, 114 Gender and Identity, 118 The Historical Development of Feminism, 120 Gender Justice, 124 Equality and Difference, 131 Feminism, Liberalism, and Patriarchy, 136 The Politics of Class, 139 Alienation and Revolution, 141 Ideology, 144 History and Class Conflict, 145 Communism versus Socialism, 150 Suggested Readings, 153 6. Statecraft and Soulcraft 155 Politics and Philosophy in Ancient Greece, 155 Reason in the Soul and in the State, 157 The Politics of Unity and Plurality, 160 The Life of Liberty, 163 Positive and Negative Liberty, 166 Th