Political Judgement
Essays for John Dunn

Leading scholars re-examine political judgement, attempting to understand the relationship between political theory and political practice.

Richard Bourke (Edited by), Raymond Geuss (Edited by)

9781108436540, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 October 2017

362 pages
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.54 kg

'This collection of outstanding essays on political judgment is a fitting tribute to John Dunn. One of the most brilliant political thinkers of our time, Dunn has illuminated political judgment better than anyone currently writing about the subject. His books also embody a capacity for political judgment that is as arresting and penetrating as it is unpredictable. In this volume, some of the world's leading philosophers and political scientists respond to Dunn's ideas about political judgment – revealing both the remarkable extent of his influence and the vibrant urgency of the political conversations that have been inspired by his work.' Ian Shapiro, Sterling Professor of Political Science, Yale University

From Plato to Max Weber, the attempt to understand political judgement took the form of a struggle to define the relationship between politics and morals. This book by leading international scholars in the fields of history, philosophy and politics restores the subject to a place at the very centre of political theory and practice. Whilst it provides a range of perspectives on the theme of practical reason, it also explores a series of related problems in philosophy and political thought, raising fundamental questions about democracy, trust, the nature of statesmanship, and the relations between historical and political judgement. In the process, the volume reconsiders some classic debates in political theory – about equality, authority, responsibility and ideology – and offers new and original treatments of key figures in the history of political thought, including Thucydides, Montaigne, Locke, Smith, Burke and Marx.

Introduction Richard Bourke and Raymond Geuss
Part I. The Character of Political Judgement: 1. What is political judgement? Raymond Geuss
2. Sticky judgement and the role of rhetoric Victoria McGeer and Philip Pettit
3. Theory and practice: the revolution in political judgement Richard Bourke
Part II. Trust, Judgement and Consent: 4. On trusting the judgement of our rulers Quentin Skinner
5. Adam Smith's history of law and government as political theory Istvan Hont
6. Marxism in translation: critical reflections on Indian radical thought Sudipta Kaviraj
Part III. Rationality and Judgement: 7. Pericles' unreason Geoffrey Hawthorn
8. Accounting for human actions: individual agency and political judgement in Montaigne's Essais Biancamaria Fontana
9. Nehru's judgement Sunil Khilnani
Part IV. Democracy and Modern Political Judgement: 10. Democracy, equality and redistribution Adam Przeworski
11. Democracy and terrorism Richard Tuck
Bibliography of the works of John Dunn.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Social & political philosophy [HPS]