An Essay on the Modern State - Softcover

Morris, Christopher W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521524075 ISBN 13: 9780521524070

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2002

Synopsis

This important book is the first serious philosophical examination of the modern state. It inquires into the justification of this particular form of political society. It asks whether all states are "nation-states," what are the alternative ways of organizing society, and which conditions make a state legitimate. The author concludes that, while states can be legitimate, they typically fail to have the powers (e.g. sovereignity) that they claim. Christopher Morris has written a book that will command the attention of political philosophers, political scientists, legal theorists, and specialists in international relations.

About this title

About the Author

Christopher Morris is professor of philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Review

"Morris...offers a refreshing...return to the tradition of political analysis that focused on the nature of the state rather than on the institutions of government and the political process. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty." Choice

"...Morris's book os an excellent illustration...Morris's approach not only brings contemporary preoccupations into closer contact with those of classical political philosophy, it also nicely shows just how the projects of mainstream contemporary political philosophy are related to those of more radical and revisionist theory. An Essay is a very good book, and anyone interested in political and legal philsophy should find much in the book to engage those interests. It is throughout exceptionally clear and careful, accessible to readers at various levels of sophistication while still responsive to the best recent work on its topics, and full of interesting and persuasive argument." The Philosophical Review

"Christopher W. Morris's An Essay on the Modern State is a wide-ranging and highly provocative exploration of the nature and supposed justifications of the modern state." Eric Mack, Tulane University

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521524075
• ISBN 13: 9780521524070
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 318