Representative Political Thinkers

Paper Code: 
POL601
Credits: 
03
Contact Hours: 
45.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

This paper studies the Political Thought from Bentham to Marx as well as Lenin and Mao. The course intends to generate a critical awareness about the traditions of political thought in the West as well as the East.

9.00
Unit I: 
UNIT1

T.H. Green (Theory of State, Resistance to state, War,)

9.00
Unit II: 
UNIT 2

Jeremy Bentham (Utilitarianism, Theory of Punishment & Prison reforms, Laws and Rights);

John Stuart Mill (Revision of Utilitarianism, Liberty, Representative democracy)

9.00
Unit III: 
UNIT 3

Karl Heinrich Marx (Dialectical Materialism, Materialistic conception of history, Theory of class-struggle, Communism and Revolution)

9.00
Unit IV: 
UNIT 4

Vladimir I. Lenin (Changes introduced into Marxism, Theory of party organization and Theory of Imperialism);

Mao Zedong (On Communism & Cultural revolution)

9.00
Unit V: 
UNIT 5

Harold Laski (On state & sovereignty; Federalism, Concept of rights liberty & property)

John Rawls (Theory of Justice)

Essential Readings: 
  • JP Suda, History of Political Thought: (Vol. II&III), K. Nath & Co, Meerut,1989
  • GH Sabine, History of Political Theory, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi,1997
  • Subrata Mukherjee, History of Political Thought: Plato to Marx,  Prentice Hall of India,New Delhi, 2003
  • CL Wayper, Political Thought, Hutchinson, London 1965
References: 
  • Brian Nelson, , Western Political Thought, Pearson Education, New Delhi, 2004
  • W.T.Jones. (series editor), Masters of Political Thought, (Vols.2 & 3), George Harrap & Co, London, 1959
  • Bhikhu Parekh and Thomas Pantham, Political Discourse: Explorations in Indian and Western Political Thought, Sage,New Delhi, 1987
  • Brian R. Nelson, Western Political Thought, Second Edition, Pearson Education, New Delhi, 2006
  • Percy B. Lehning, John Rawls: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi, 2009
Academic Year: 
2017-18
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