This work presents the basic arguments and fundamental themes of the political and moral thought of the seventeenth-century philosopher, Samuel Pufendorf--one of the most widely read natural lawyers of the pre-Kantian era. Selections from the texts of Pufendorf's two major works, Elements of Universal Jurisprudence and The Law of Nature and of Nations, have been brought together to make Pufendorf's moral and political thought more accessible. The selections included have received a new English translation, the first for both works in roughly sixty years. The editor,...

This work introduces and defends a radically different type of liberal political theory by severing liberal thought from all underlying moral foundations. Its aim is to present a type of liberalism capable of accommodating the richly diverse differences of worldview and moral theory of the good present in today's pluralist societies. By constructing liberalism as a purely political doctrine, the author develops a theory of toleration, and civil association more generally, capable of meeting liberalism's historic commitment to diversity. While the justification for such a liberalism must be...

This work introduces readers to politics by exploring the cultural foundations of American political ideals and understandings. The basic values of America's liberal political inheritance are discussed in order to identify the common political vision that unites the country and forms a common polity. Special emphasis in given to the way American political ideals inform the institutional commitments characteristic of American politics and to the spirit of social justice that flows from the American concern for equal freedom.

This work introduces readers to politics by exploring the cultural foundations of American political ideals and understandings. The basic values of America's liberal political inheritance are discussed in order to identify the common political vision that unites the country and forms a common polity. Special emphasis in given to the way American political ideals inform the institutional commitments characteristic of American politics and to the spirit of social justice that flows from the American concern for equal freedom.