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Political Theory of Possessive Individualism

By MacPherson, C B

Political Theory of Possessive Individualism Philosophy

Political Theory of Possessive Individualism

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Description
This seminal work by political philosopher C.B. Macpherson was first published by the Clarendon Press in 1962, and remains of key importance to the study of liberal-democratic theory half-a-century later. In it, Macpherson argues that the chief difficulty of the notion of individualism that underpins classical liberalism lies in what he calls its "possessive quality" - "its conception of the individual as essentially the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing to society for them." Under such a conception, the essence of humanity becomes freedom from dependence on the wills of others; society is little more than a system of economic relations; and political society becomes a means of safeguarding private property and the system of economic relations rooted in property.

As the New Statesman declared: "It is rare for a book to change the intellectual landscape. It is even more unusual for this to happen when the subject is one that has been thoroughly investigated by generations of historians. . . . Until the appearance of Professor Macpherson's book, it seemed unlikely that anything radically new could be said about so well-worn a topic. The unexpected has happened, and the shock waves are still being absorbed."

A new introduction by Frank Cunningham puts the work in a twenty-first-century context.
Product details
Binding:
Paperback
Edition:
1
Number of Pages:
328
Release Date:
2011-03-18
Publication Date:
2011-03-18
Publisher:
Oxford University Press Canada
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
0195444019
ISBN13:
9780195444018
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
243 g
Height:
139 cm
Width:
212 cm
Thickness:
18 cm
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