The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke (Oxford Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Crawford Brough Macpherson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198810849 | ISBN-13: 978-0198810841 | Publication Date: December 31, 1964

This important reinterpretation of political theory from Hobbes to Locke not only freshly illuminates the thought of that period but throws new light on all that followed it.

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About the Author

C.B. Macpherson (1911-1987) was Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Widely regarded as Canada's pre-eminent political theorist of the twentieth century, he was the author of numerous books, including The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy and The Real World of Democracy, and was named to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 31, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198810849
• ISBN-13: 978-0198810841
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #795,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative thesis, July 11, 2010

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Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke (Oxford Paperbacks) (Paperback)

An intriguing argument. The debate between ndividualism and communitarianism continues. Macpherson argues that (Page 3) ". . .the difficulties of modern liberal-democratic theory lie deeper than had been thought, that the original seventeenth-century theory individualism contained the central difficulty, which lay in its possessive quality. Its possessive quality is found in its conception of the individual as essentially the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing to society for them."

This, of course, is a central concern of American liberalism. Does it take a community to raise a child? Or not? Macpherson's argument is cogent, whether or not one agree with it, and calls for a dialogue bwteen advocateas and opponents. The result of that dialogue should advance discourse. . . .