This clear and thorough introduction provides students with the skills necessary to understand the main thinkers, texts and arguments of political philosophy and thought. Each chapter comprises a brief overview of a major political thinker, followed by an introduction to one or more of their most influential works and an introduction to key secondary readings.Key features include:* exercises* reading notes* guides for further readingThe book introduces and assesses: Machiavelli's Prince; Hobbes' Leviathan; Locke's Second Treatise on Government; Rousseau's Social Contract; Marx and Engels' German Ideology (Part 1); Mill's On Liberty and The Subjection of Women. Reading Political Philosophy requires no previous knowledge of philosophy or politics and is ideal for newcomers to political philosophy and political thought.

Introduction Chapter 1. Niccolò Machiavelli: 'The Prince' - Nigel Warburton, with readings from Quentin Skinner, Maureen Ramsey, Isaiah Berlin, C.A.J. Cody Chapter 2. Thomas Hobbes: 'Leviathan' - Jon Pike, with readings from C.B. Macpherson, Quentin Skinner, Jean Hampton, Carol Pateman Chapter 3. John Locke: 'The Second Treatise of Government' - Jon Pike, with readings from David Hume, Jean Hampton, Jeremy Waldron, A. John Simmons Chapter 4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 'The Social Contract' - Derek Matravers, with readings from John C. Hall, Brian Barry, N.J.H. Dent, Isaiah Berlin Chapter 5. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: 'The German Ideology (Part 1)' - Derek Matravers, with readings from Jonathan Wolff, Jon Pike, G.A. Cohen, Will Kymlicka Chapter 6. John Stuart Mill: 'On Liberty and The Subjection of Women' - Nigel Warburton, with readings from Isaiah Berlin, Gerald Dworkin, Janet Radcliffe, Richards, Mary Lyndon Shanley