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A History of Political Theory, 4th Edition
This history of political theory is written in the light of the hypothesis that theories of politics are themselves a part of politics. In other words, they do not refer to an external reality but are produced as a normal part of the social milieu in which politics itself has its being. The reflection upon the ends of political action, upon the means of achieving them, upon the possibilities and necessities of political situations, and upon the obligations that political purposes impose, is an intrinsic element of the whole political process. Such thought evolves along with the institutions, the agencies of government, the moral and physical stresses to which it refers and which - one likes at least to believe - it, in some degree, controls.
871 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1937
85 people are currently reading
1044 people want to read
About the author
George H. Sabine
23 books18 followers[sometimes published as George Holland Sabine]
George H. Sabine (1880-1961) was a philosopher, best known for his A History of Political Theory (1937). He taught for many years at Cornell University, where he also served as dean of the Graduate School and vice-president of the University.
A Guide to the George H. Sabine Papers (archived at Cornell) can be found at:
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/ht...
George H. Sabine (1880-1961) was a philosopher, best known for his A History of Political Theory (1937). He taught for many years at Cornell University, where he also served as dean of the Graduate School and vice-president of the University.
A Guide to the George H. Sabine Papers (archived at Cornell) can be found at:
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/ht...
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 7, 2022
En el presente ejemplar Sabine desarrolla un exhaustivo análisis de La teoría política como la investigación disciplinada de los problemas políticos. Desde la época de las ciudades-estado griegos hasta el fascismo van desfilando Platón, Aristóteles, san Agustín, Hobbes, Maquiavelo, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Burke, Hegel o Marx como los grandes nombres de la historia de la tradición intelectual occidental.
Me llevó muchos meses sentarme con lápiz en mano y subrayar los conceptos principales para una mejor aprehensión del contenido. La escasa profundidad con que se enseñan estos temas en el secundario me jugaron en contra. Espero poder ir subsanando mis escasos conocimientos de a poco.
La primera versión del libro es de 1937 por lo que los agregados post segunda guerra mundial quedan un poco colgados. Si bien es un completo panorama de la historia de las ideas, cuando los analiza en relación al derecho me aburrió soberanamente.
Me llevó muchos meses sentarme con lápiz en mano y subrayar los conceptos principales para una mejor aprehensión del contenido. La escasa profundidad con que se enseñan estos temas en el secundario me jugaron en contra. Espero poder ir subsanando mis escasos conocimientos de a poco.
La primera versión del libro es de 1937 por lo que los agregados post segunda guerra mundial quedan un poco colgados. Si bien es un completo panorama de la historia de las ideas, cuando los analiza en relación al derecho me aburrió soberanamente.
June 28, 2023
This introductory text's temperature, clarity and pace, bringing together the essence of political thought with its historical context, really does the trick for an enthusiastic beginner in political philosophy. I think I can trace Sabine's own affinity towards some of his subject matters, however his personal fascinations or predilections never mouth his broad and deep inquisition, but rather invest it with humour and learned worldliness.
I particularly enjoyed his account on Plato and Aristotle, where his brilliant writing shines from its interdisciplinary quality and on Hobbes, Rousseau and Hegel, where he really disentangles the key points from the most elaborate philosophic work of the early and late Enlightenment.
It's a 5 star this one, you just can't go wrong with Sabine.
I particularly enjoyed his account on Plato and Aristotle, where his brilliant writing shines from its interdisciplinary quality and on Hobbes, Rousseau and Hegel, where he really disentangles the key points from the most elaborate philosophic work of the early and late Enlightenment.
It's a 5 star this one, you just can't go wrong with Sabine.
May 17, 2011
I am still angry over it. I loaned my copy of this classic text in political philsosophy to a student to help him with a paper. It was never returned. And the follow up edition is not, in my view, up to the standards of this edition.
In short, at oine point, this was the quintessential survey of political philosophy, tracing developments over the millennia. It was lucidly written (that much I recall). I only wish that I still had a copy of this wonderful volume
In short, at oine point, this was the quintessential survey of political philosophy, tracing developments over the millennia. It was lucidly written (that much I recall). I only wish that I still had a copy of this wonderful volume
September 22, 2014
On what benchmark do you asses a political theory? And is it only a political theory or an interlinked chain of political, economic, scientific and psychogical factors? And how do u differentiate between a belief and a theory? What makes a theory sound; its applicability, methodology, appeal or acceptance?
It is on this zig zag path that a political scholar treads and that's what this book has attemped and that I must say, with great skill. Picking up the major theories beginning from Greeks led by Socrates and Aristotle to the twentieth century chaos between liberalism and communism, the book links all of them in a constant progression of history, all complementing the evolution of political theory.
The author has clearly chosen the path of being the unflinching critic. No theory for him is complete and sound; it is but another step further, varying in its length. The author points out how logic constantly rushes in and out of political theories. While some theories are contradictory, others are unclear. Some use religion as their foundation others see it as a symbol of degradation. While we think that every human has some rights, logic can point to the other side.The authors steers clear of any judgement. He instead helps us understand by making things clear in the quivering waters of history.
While he emphasizes the use of logic, he also explains its defects as shown by others.
G H Sabine doesn't say which theory is perfect but he surely helps us understand why they are deficient. This I think is more important. Everybody is free to have their opinions and even their dogmas but it is essential to know that where does it sprout from and where it ends. This book will show that no thought is original and no theory is totally new, traces of them can be found in some page of history from where they were borrowed. G H Sabine may not have given all the answers but he will surely inform you with his questions.
It is on this zig zag path that a political scholar treads and that's what this book has attemped and that I must say, with great skill. Picking up the major theories beginning from Greeks led by Socrates and Aristotle to the twentieth century chaos between liberalism and communism, the book links all of them in a constant progression of history, all complementing the evolution of political theory.
The author has clearly chosen the path of being the unflinching critic. No theory for him is complete and sound; it is but another step further, varying in its length. The author points out how logic constantly rushes in and out of political theories. While some theories are contradictory, others are unclear. Some use religion as their foundation others see it as a symbol of degradation. While we think that every human has some rights, logic can point to the other side.The authors steers clear of any judgement. He instead helps us understand by making things clear in the quivering waters of history.
While he emphasizes the use of logic, he also explains its defects as shown by others.
G H Sabine doesn't say which theory is perfect but he surely helps us understand why they are deficient. This I think is more important. Everybody is free to have their opinions and even their dogmas but it is essential to know that where does it sprout from and where it ends. This book will show that no thought is original and no theory is totally new, traces of them can be found in some page of history from where they were borrowed. G H Sabine may not have given all the answers but he will surely inform you with his questions.
December 19, 2013
My undergraduate textbook for political theory. I still come back to it to re-(and reread) various sections to supplement my later reading. It is a remarkable, timeless text and I am very thankful to have it in my library. And I am most thankful to my old poli-sci professor for making me get this book (which I thought was miserable when I first got it).
January 22, 2021
Empecé este año con la convicción de que vivimos tiempos en los que no podemos darnos el lujo de no ser políticos. Quise, pues, darme a la tarea de “llenar huecos” en mis conocimientos sobre política, en especial en lo que tiene que ver con la historia, la teoría y los conceptos. Creo que tomé la elección correcta con este libro.
La primera edición fue publicada por Sabine en 1937. Aun faltaba que los horrores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial arrasaran medio mundo. La tercera y última edición revisada por el autor data de 1961; ésta que leí fue además revisada por Thorson en 1973, con lo que se logra que sea lo más completa posible.
El ser humano es un animal social por naturaleza, pero es en cuanto aplica la reflexión consciente y racional a sus problemas de organización social que nace la teoría política. El libro se divide en tres grandes bloques: la ciudad-estado, la comunicad universal y el estado nacional. Sabine nos lleva de la mano por la historia del pensamiento político en Occidente, empezando por supuesto en la ciudad-estado griega, de la que explica su organización e instituciones de forma que podamos comprender las filosofías de Platón y Aristóteles. Luego viene el Imperio Romano y la Europa cristiana medieval, para finalizar en los últimos 500, años desde el Renacimiento hasta la fecha.
Éste es uno de esos libros, chonchos y sesudos, que leerlos de cabo a rabo es como tomar un curso intensivo de un tema. Uno aprende, y mucho. Conocí a algunos pensadores de los que no sabía casi nada y que me llamaron la atención de inmediato, como Marsilio de Padua y James Harrington. Comprendí mejor el concepto del iusnaturalismo y cómo la filosofía de David Hume contribuyó a su derrumbamiento.
Aprendí que la Edad Media fue más “democrática” que la Modernidad, que los pensadores de la Ilustración fueron menos originales que los del siglo XVII, que muy interesantes antecedentes del comunismo pueden hallarse en la Revolución Inglesa, que la teoría del contrato social antecede por mucho a la filosofía del Siglo de las Luces, y que las críticas de John Stuart Mill y Thomas Hill Green al capitalismo liberal siguen siendo vigentes.
Eso sí, está denso, y recomiendo familiarizarse un poco con la historia universal y con la de la filosofía en general antes de entrarle. Por otro lado, tiene los típicos defectos de ser eurocentrista (ni siquiera los pensadores estadounidenses son tomados en cuenta) y androcentrista (la única pensadora, mencionada apenas de pasada, es Rosa Luxemburgo), y que no le dedica ni una palabra al anarquismo ni al feminismo.
Los capítulos que me parecieron más interesantes son los últimos cinco, dedicados dos de ellos al liberalismo, dos más al comunismo y un último al fascismo. Me parece que es fundamental hoy en día entender en qué consisten estas ideologías como sistemas de pensamiento, de dónde vienen, cuáles son sus contradicciones y sus limitaciones, y hasta dónde pueden llevarnos (para luego no decir imbecilidades como "los nazis eran de izquierda"). Estudiar la historia del pensamiento siempre ayuda a tener una mejor perspectiva de la realidad actual y a expandir el propio criterio al contrastar las ideas que damos por sentadas con otras diferentes. Es uno de esos libros tumba-burros, pues.
La primera edición fue publicada por Sabine en 1937. Aun faltaba que los horrores de la Segunda Guerra Mundial arrasaran medio mundo. La tercera y última edición revisada por el autor data de 1961; ésta que leí fue además revisada por Thorson en 1973, con lo que se logra que sea lo más completa posible.
El ser humano es un animal social por naturaleza, pero es en cuanto aplica la reflexión consciente y racional a sus problemas de organización social que nace la teoría política. El libro se divide en tres grandes bloques: la ciudad-estado, la comunicad universal y el estado nacional. Sabine nos lleva de la mano por la historia del pensamiento político en Occidente, empezando por supuesto en la ciudad-estado griega, de la que explica su organización e instituciones de forma que podamos comprender las filosofías de Platón y Aristóteles. Luego viene el Imperio Romano y la Europa cristiana medieval, para finalizar en los últimos 500, años desde el Renacimiento hasta la fecha.
Éste es uno de esos libros, chonchos y sesudos, que leerlos de cabo a rabo es como tomar un curso intensivo de un tema. Uno aprende, y mucho. Conocí a algunos pensadores de los que no sabía casi nada y que me llamaron la atención de inmediato, como Marsilio de Padua y James Harrington. Comprendí mejor el concepto del iusnaturalismo y cómo la filosofía de David Hume contribuyó a su derrumbamiento.
Aprendí que la Edad Media fue más “democrática” que la Modernidad, que los pensadores de la Ilustración fueron menos originales que los del siglo XVII, que muy interesantes antecedentes del comunismo pueden hallarse en la Revolución Inglesa, que la teoría del contrato social antecede por mucho a la filosofía del Siglo de las Luces, y que las críticas de John Stuart Mill y Thomas Hill Green al capitalismo liberal siguen siendo vigentes.
Eso sí, está denso, y recomiendo familiarizarse un poco con la historia universal y con la de la filosofía en general antes de entrarle. Por otro lado, tiene los típicos defectos de ser eurocentrista (ni siquiera los pensadores estadounidenses son tomados en cuenta) y androcentrista (la única pensadora, mencionada apenas de pasada, es Rosa Luxemburgo), y que no le dedica ni una palabra al anarquismo ni al feminismo.
Los capítulos que me parecieron más interesantes son los últimos cinco, dedicados dos de ellos al liberalismo, dos más al comunismo y un último al fascismo. Me parece que es fundamental hoy en día entender en qué consisten estas ideologías como sistemas de pensamiento, de dónde vienen, cuáles son sus contradicciones y sus limitaciones, y hasta dónde pueden llevarnos (para luego no decir imbecilidades como "los nazis eran de izquierda"). Estudiar la historia del pensamiento siempre ayuda a tener una mejor perspectiva de la realidad actual y a expandir el propio criterio al contrastar las ideas que damos por sentadas con otras diferentes. Es uno de esos libros tumba-burros, pues.
May 12, 2007
The text on Western Political Theory. First Edition is best. A rare case where a secondary source is so good that it has become a primary source.
Want to read
August 17, 2011It is a special 1 for me
June 22, 2021
Tiene un introducción a la Teoría Política de los autores más esenciales, se presenta de una manera poco compleja de comprender la mayor parte de los autores que incluye, sin duda esencial en el aprendizaje político
August 16, 2019
Magnificent.
Read
October 17, 2022i want to read the book.
May 15, 2023
Un buen manual para comenzar el estudio de la teoría política.
Read
June 20, 2023Libro leído para primero de carrera para la asignatura de Historia de las Ideas Políticas.
February 23, 2024
Impressive
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2024
G. H. Sabine's seminal work, "A History of Political Theory," stands as a foundational text in the field of political science and theory. Originally published in 1937, this comprehensive tome offers an exhaustive examination of the evolution of political thought from ancient to contemporary times.
Sabine's meticulous scholarship is evident throughout the text, as he deftly navigates through the complexities of various political ideologies, from the classical theories of Plato and Aristotle to the modern formulations of liberalism, socialism, and beyond. His keen analytical insights coupled with his lucid prose make this book accessible to both seasoned scholars and novice students alike.
One of the distinguishing features of Sabine's work is his emphasis on tracing the historical context and intellectual currents that shaped each political theory. By situating each thinker within their respective socio-political milieu, Sabine provides readers with a deeper understanding of the underlying motivations and implications of their ideas.
Moreover, Sabine's interdisciplinary approach enriches the discourse by incorporating insights from philosophy, history, and sociology. This interdisciplinary perspective not only enhances the breadth of analysis but also encourages readers to critically engage with the interconnectedness of political theory with other fields of inquiry.
While "A History of Political Theory" has endured as a classic in the discipline, it is not without its limitations. Some critics have pointed to Sabine's Eurocentric bias, arguing that his focus on Western political thought neglects the contributions of non-Western traditions. Additionally, the absence of more recent developments in political theory may limit the book's relevance for contemporary scholarship.
G. H. Sabine's "A History of Political Theory" remains an indispensable resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of political thought. Its enduring legacy lies in its meticulous scholarship, interdisciplinary approach, and ability to provoke critical reflection on the perennial questions of power, governance, and justice. While not without its shortcomings, Sabine's work continues to shape the contours of political theory discourse and inspire generations of scholars to interrogate the enduring complexities of the political realm.
GPT
Sabine's meticulous scholarship is evident throughout the text, as he deftly navigates through the complexities of various political ideologies, from the classical theories of Plato and Aristotle to the modern formulations of liberalism, socialism, and beyond. His keen analytical insights coupled with his lucid prose make this book accessible to both seasoned scholars and novice students alike.
One of the distinguishing features of Sabine's work is his emphasis on tracing the historical context and intellectual currents that shaped each political theory. By situating each thinker within their respective socio-political milieu, Sabine provides readers with a deeper understanding of the underlying motivations and implications of their ideas.
Moreover, Sabine's interdisciplinary approach enriches the discourse by incorporating insights from philosophy, history, and sociology. This interdisciplinary perspective not only enhances the breadth of analysis but also encourages readers to critically engage with the interconnectedness of political theory with other fields of inquiry.
While "A History of Political Theory" has endured as a classic in the discipline, it is not without its limitations. Some critics have pointed to Sabine's Eurocentric bias, arguing that his focus on Western political thought neglects the contributions of non-Western traditions. Additionally, the absence of more recent developments in political theory may limit the book's relevance for contemporary scholarship.
G. H. Sabine's "A History of Political Theory" remains an indispensable resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of political thought. Its enduring legacy lies in its meticulous scholarship, interdisciplinary approach, and ability to provoke critical reflection on the perennial questions of power, governance, and justice. While not without its shortcomings, Sabine's work continues to shape the contours of political theory discourse and inspire generations of scholars to interrogate the enduring complexities of the political realm.
GPT
July 10, 2013
Este es un magnifico libro de la historia de las ideas políticas, para aquellos que quieran introducirse en el mundo de la teoría y la filosofía del Estado y la política. Junto con la obra de Joan Touchard, en lo referente la historia de los grandes pensamientos y pensadores políticos, ambas son la mejor opción, ambas necesarias para una persona culta. Lo Recomiendo.
March 19, 2013
Useful.
July 20, 2013
good book!
August 12, 2015
i think its a best book , so i want to read it
Read
July 16, 2017A brilliant overview of the history of political theory. It is a must read.
November 3, 2024
En definitiva es un clásico de la teoría política que sigue siendo muy influyente, pero al haber sido escrito en 1937, no incluye las aportaciones más recientes.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews