"Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
The study of the nature of government, political systems, and the relationships between individuals, society, and the state.
State: The concept of the state and its role in society is one of the most fundamental topics in political philosophy. This includes discussions of the origins of the state, its legitimacy, sovereignty, and powers.
Justice: Political philosophy is concerned with questions such as whether justice is an objective or subjective concept, what principles should govern fair distribution, and the relationship between justice and the law.
Freedom: The concept of freedom is one of the central concerns of political philosophy, and includes debates regarding the nature of liberty, its limits, and the balance between individual freedom and the common good.
Democracy: Democracy is a crucial topic in political philosophy, exploring issues such as the nature of democracy, the types of democratic institutions, and the conditions necessary for democratic governance.
Political authority: This topic examines the source and justification of political authority, including the relationship between the state and its citizens.
Rights: Political philosophy also explores the nature and scope of individual rights, including whether they are absolute or relative, and whether they can be limited in certain circumstances.
Equality: The concept of equality is central to many debates in political philosophy, including discussions of social justice, theories of distributive justice, and the relationship between the state and its citizens.
Power: Political philosophy examines the nature of power, its legitimate use, and the sources of its authority.
Law: The philosophy of law focuses on issues such as the nature of law, legal reasoning, and the relationship between law and morality.
International relations: The study of international relations in political philosophy explores issues such as war, peace, sovereignty, and the role of international institutions in promoting cooperation among nations.
Property: Political philosophy explores the definition and legitimacy of property rights, including debates on property's relation to justice and its limits.
Coercion: This topic delves into the ethics and limits of coercion, including assessments of the uses of force, a comparative analysis of authority, and sources of political power.
Human nature: The political philosophy of human nature is concerned with the essence of human beings and their relation with the state, including their rights, obligations, and duties.
Law and economics: This topic overlaps with the interaction of the legal and economic systems, analyzing consumer protection, pricing policy, and distribution of resources through market structures in the society.
Political ideology: Political philosophy scrutinizes various political ideologies, including conservatism, liberalism, socialism, communism, nationalism, and others. It explores fundamental questions about these ideologies and the role they play in society.
Critiques of political philosophy: Critics of political philosophy scrutinize the philosophical grounds of political systems and argue that this approach is too abstract or theoretical to impact real-world policies, with their impact trickling in academia or the elite bureaucracy.
Liberalism: This political philosophy values individual liberty, democracy, and equality, while emphasizing the importance of free markets and limited government intervention.
Conservatism: This political philosophy emphasizes the preservation of traditional institutions and values, as well as personal responsibility and an emphasis on free markets.
Libertarianism: This political philosophy prioritizes maximum individual freedom and minimal governmental intervention in both social and economic spheres.
Marxism: This political philosophy emphasizes the importance of a classless society, where workers own the means of production and there is no private ownership of property.
Anarchism: This political philosophy calls for the complete abolition of government, arguing that individuals and communities can manage their affairs without any external control or authority.
Feminism: This political philosophy is concerned with gender equality and aims to eliminate all gender-based discrimination, oppression, and violence.
Environmentalism: This political philosophy prioritizes the protection and preservation of the natural environment above all else, emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change and other ecological issues.
Communitarianism: This political philosophy emphasizes the importance of social cohesion and the common good, arguing that a strong sense of community is necessary for a functioning society.
Socialism: This political philosophy advocates for collective ownership and control of the economy, with the aim of creating a more egalitarian society.
Nationalism: This political philosophy emphasizes the importance of national or cultural identity, often prioritizing the interests of a particular country or people above those of others.
Postmodernism: This political philosophy rejects universal truths and grand narratives, instead emphasizing the importance of subjective experiences and multiple perspectives.
Multiculturalism: This political philosophy values the diversity of cultures and identities, advocating for policies and practices that acknowledge and celebrate this diversity.
Existentialism: This political philosophy emphasizes the individual's subjective experience of existence and the search for meaning in a world that is often chaotic and meaningless.
Pragmatism: This political philosophy emphasizes practical problem-solving and empirical inquiry, rather than relying on theory or ideology.
Critical Race Theory: This political philosophy emphasizes the intersection of race and power, and aims to expose and eliminate racism in all forms.
"Its topics include politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority: what they are, if they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever."
"Political theory also engages questions of a broader scope, tackling the political nature of phenomena and categories such as identity, culture, sexuality, race, wealth, human-nonhuman relations, ethics, religion, and more."
"Political philosophy is a branch of philosophy, but it has also played a major part of political science, within which a strong focus has historically been placed on both the history of political thought and contemporary political theory (from normative political theory to various critical approaches)."
"For a long time, the challenge for the identity of political theory has been how to position itself productively in three sorts of location: in relation to the academic disciplines of political science, history, and philosophy."
"Between the world of politics and the more abstract, ruminative register of theory."
"Between canonical political theory and the newer resources (such as feminist and critical theory, discourse analysis, film and film theory, popular and political culture, mass media studies, neuroscience, environmental studies, behavioral science, and economics) on which political theorists increasingly draw."
"[...] an interdisciplinary endeavor whose center of gravity lies at the humanities end of the happily still undisciplined discipline of political science."
"But in French and Spanish, the plural (sciences politiques and ciencias políticas, respectively) is used, perhaps a reflection of the discipline's eclectic nature."
"[...] between the academic disciplines of political science, history, and philosophy."
"[...] between the world of politics and the more abstract, ruminative register of theory."
"[...] politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of laws by authority."
"[...] the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
"[...] on which political theorists increasingly draw."
"[...] the history of political thought and contemporary political theory."
"[...] feminism and critical theory, discourse analysis, film and film theory, popular and political culture, mass media studies, neuroscience, environmental studies, behavioral science, and economics."
"[...] addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them."
"[...] what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect, what form it should take, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government."
"[...] both the history of political thought and contemporary political theory."
"[...] an interdisciplinary endeavor."