Classic political works - Reading list

[truizm]

Read:
The Republic of Plato
Politics
The Communist Manifesto

To be read:
Das Capital
Cicero's On the Commonwealth (De re publica), as well as his speeches.
Machiavelli's The Prince
Hobbes' The Leviathan
Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, and the Tractatus Politicus
Locke's Two Treatises of Government, and A Second Treatise of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration
Rousseau's Emile, and Social Contract and Discourses
Tocqueville's Democracy in America
John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, and Considerations on Representative Government

Anarchism:
William Godwin's Political Justice

Small list so far...Other suggestions?

[corporatewhore]

1. Anarchism:anything by emmagoldman

Seeing Like a State : How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
by James C. Scott
How to change the world without taking power
holloway
Capitalism
Adam Smith Wealth of Nations
Other
Discourses on the first ten books of titus livius (discourses)Machiavelli

[kaitykaity]

2. Not necessarily 'classical', but relevant . . .

"The Iron Heel" by Jack London, when he was in his deeply socialist phase. This book will scare the living shit out of you if you're convinced that the Bush Administration is out to destroy the American middle class.

Another one: "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis, written in 1936--in a parellel universe the United States elects it's very own Hitler, with Minute Men (MM) instead of the SS (can't spell what it stands for).

Edited to add: "Friendly Fascism" by Bertram Gross, written in 1980, this is a prescient book about how America could go fascist if we weren't careful.

[truizm]

3. thanks

any others?

[SteveG]

4. very important one

The Spirit of Laws
by Charles de Montesquieu

[ma4t]

5. Federalist Papers

I think the Federalist Papers should be on the list. It is pretty dry due to the writing style of the times (remember those guys were closer in time to Shakespear than to us), but once you get past that you come to marvel at the good grasp of human nature the founders had. This work, more than any other, helped me understand that the founders didn't really try to establish a "perfect" government but rather to find a way to harness the less than desirable tendencies of people to a constructive purpose.

[Solomon]

6. Required.

You must put Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm on the list. And Howard Zinn's History of America. Also Thomas Malthus, I forget the name of his book.

[non sociopath skin]

7. Tom Paine

His Common Sense and Rights of Man are where a lot of it began.

The bad news is that to get the most out of Rights of Man, you have to read Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France which isn't half so much fun.

The Skin

[blindpig]

8. An Outline of History

by H G Wells. It provides a history of mankind from a socialist pov, as understood in the early 30s. A little dated but a great read.

[blindpig]

14. correction: The Outline of History n/t

[denverbill]

9. Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged. Thomas Moore's - Utopia.

Atlas Shrugged totally changed my political beliefs for several years. I went from moderate independent to card-carrying Libertarian immediately after reading that book. After a few years, however, I began to see that Rand's idealistic vision is little more possible than Moore's Utopia.

Rand should be required reading for anyone intested in politics for the simple reason that you will invariably encounter it in any debate with a conservative and you should know where they are coming from.

[truizm]

10. Thanks

Any other suggestions?

[non sociopath skin]

11. Hmmm ... see where you're coming from..

but when it comes to tackling Ayn Rand, I'm reminded of advice I was given a long time ago.

Instead of dipping into second-rate writers, read all the first-rate ones to begin with. And if you get them finished, it's probably best to re-read the first-raters rather than starting on the seconds.

The Skin

[denverbill]

13. I agree that Rand isn't exactly a fabulous author.

However, she did manage to condense her political philosophy into a relatively readable 1000 page fictional book.

The main point of reading Rand, however, is as I noted.

Where did the CATO Institute come from? What is feeding the basic Republican appetite for smaller government and less taxes?

There have been many more great political thinkers and writers than Ayn Rand, but NONE are more influential than Ayn is today. The Libertarian Party is puny. But the libertarian influence on the Republican Party is HUGE. And it's difficult for many Democrats and liberals to argue successfully against a philosophy of 'rugged individualism and maximum individual freedom'.

I mean, the Bible ain't great literature either. But unless you read the Bible, it's hard to understand the perspective of a Christian.

[legin]

12. Clauswitz - On War n/t

[truizm]

15. kick