A World History of Ancient Political Thought: Its Significance and Consequences
Antony Black
Abstract
This book examines the political thought of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel, Iran, India, China, Greece, Rome, and early Christianity up to c.200 CE. It begins with prehistorical notions of groups, tribes, and religious monarchy. The most common discourse was sacred monarchy, ranging from absolutism in Egypt to a conditional mandate in China. Justice, the rule of law, and meritocracy were generally regarded as essential. ‘The people’ were generally seen as recipients of royal beneficence. The exceptions were Greece and Rome; here democracy and liberty were invented. Theories of class evolved in Ind ... More
This book examines the political thought of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel, Iran, India, China, Greece, Rome, and early Christianity up to c.200 CE. It begins with prehistorical notions of groups, tribes, and religious monarchy. The most common discourse was sacred monarchy, ranging from absolutism in Egypt to a conditional mandate in China. Justice, the rule of law, and meritocracy were generally regarded as essential. ‘The people’ were generally seen as recipients of royal beneficence. The exceptions were Greece and Rome; here democracy and liberty were invented. Theories of class evolved in India and China, and of the nation in Israel. Stoics and Cicero saw humanity as a single unit. Christianity revolutionized moral discourse. Philosophy, using logic, evidence, and dialectic, developed in both China and Greece. Confucius and Mozi argued for ‘humaneness’ and ethical consensus, ‘Legalists’ for coercion, Realpolitik, and an authoritarian state. Plato and Aristotle, followed by Polybius and Cicero in Rome, initiated ‘Western’ political philosophy and political science. Practical politics was developed by Aristotle and Kautilya. Chinese and Greek thinkers investigated the origin and purpose of the state. The similarities and differences between cultures are systematically explored. The book covers political philosophy, religious ideology, public ethics, constitutional theory, and official and popular political culture.
Keywords:
global history,
comparative political thought,
China,
the Greeks,
Israel,
justice,
liberty,
monarchy,
democracy,
cosmopolitanism
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198790686 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2016 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198790686.001.0001 |
