Political philosophy: from Plato to Mao

Prologue : the story of human society -- Plato's vegetarian republic -- Confucius' polite society -- Aristotle and the hierarchy of nature -- Mohammed's message of doom -- Machiavelli's psychopathic state -- Hobbes' wicked world -- Locke's feudal freedom -- Rousseau's ode to liberty -- The founding fathers' constitutional recipe -- Mr. Smith's excellent inquiry into money -- Marx's messianic materialism -- Mill's optimistic liberalism -- Durkheim's strange science -- The philosophical dance with fascism -- Hitler's doctrine of hate -- Mao's little red book -- Epilogue : the end of history?

Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 'How To' Guide -- Introduction -- Prologue: The Story of Human Society -- Timeline: From Prehistory to Plato -- 1. Plato's Utopia -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From the First Exams to the Renaissance Artists -- 2. Niccolò Machiavelli and the Psychology of the State -- Works -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From the Age of Discovery to the English Revolution -- 3. Hobbes' Wicked World -- Work -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From the English Dictatorship to the First Taxes -- 4. John Locke: The True End of Civil Government -- Work -- Influence -- The Rights of Man? -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From 'Free Trade' to the Slave Trade -- 5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Inequality or Freedom? -- Works -- On Inequality -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From Standardising English to Numbering Houses -- 6. Adam Smith's Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations -- Work -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From Air Travel to the First Railways -- 7. Marx and Engels: The Communist Manifesto -- Context -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From Roads Paved with Tarmac to Roads Paved with Gold -- 8. The Principles of Political Economy: J. S. Mill and the Limits of Government -- Work -- Influence -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From Outbreaks of Cholera to Outbreaks of Panic in Cinemas -- 9. Positivism and the Science of Society: Emile Durkheim and Max Weber -- Durkheim -- Weber -- Key Ideas -- Key Texts -- Timeline: The Modern Era: From Fordism to Fascism -- 10. Behold the Man! The Deceptive Appeal of Power: Hegel, Nietzsche and the Fascists -- Hegel -- Hegel's Influence -- Ecce Homo -- Nietzsche's Influence -- Italian Fascism -- Key Ideas -- Key Text -- Timeline: From the Great Depression to the New Economics.