Political Discipline In A Free Society Routledge Library Editions Political Science Volume 40

This book traces the rise and fall of political philosophies since the 17th century. The second part of the book shows how the general technique of cumulative learning from experience applies to social legislation and social services, party politics to defence strategy and to the trends that follow the modern explosion of knowledge and capital. The main argument is that social control is at its best a deliberate joint creation of and learning from social experience; and in this sense political discipline although not the same as logical or scientific discipline is like them a submission to form, not force. The book gives a definite meaning to the idea of human progress and finds reason for a restoration of political hope and faith.

Although a powerful, independent bureaucracy poses a threat to democracy, it is indispensable to its proper functioning. This book provides an overview of the complex relationship between bureaucracy and the politics of democracy and is essential reading for students of sociology, political science and public administration. It is designed to guide students through the maze of classical and modern theories on the topic, to give them basic information on the historical developments in this area and the present them with case histories of the actual relationship between bureaucrats and politicians in democratic societies.

This book, originally published in 1983 examines how effectively in Britain central government is equipped to secure efficiency and responsiveness and argues that as a result of shifts in the balance of power between the executive arm of government in Whitehall and the legislature in Parliament, the British system of government is neither as efficient, nor as responsive to popular will, as a strong democracy requires. The book considers which reforms are most likely to improve the efficiency of the government and to prove acceptable to British political and historical traditions. It reviews the way in which public debate is informed by government release of information and by the press and raises the question of how good a guide to the popular will referenda and public opinion polls are.

Routledge Library Editions: Political Science reprints a distinguished selection of important texts published in this field over the last century. This set presents a unique opportunity to gain comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the history, philosophy and theory of political science. For further information on this collection please email [email protected].

This volume describes the way in which the Fabian Society works, the distinctive contributions of individuals to that work, the structure they have built and the methods they have evolved to facilitate their labours.The author consulted original material which was available for the first time which has augmented former descriptions of the society and placed incidents in a new setting.

First published in 1987. The key issues, concepts and figures relevant to the study of political science and theory today are covered in this volume, and useful suggestions for further reading are included. In political science, topics range from the analysis of voting to decision making; philosophical issues from anarchism through human rights to utopianism; and the biographies deal with major thinkers such as Arendt, Burke, Hobbes, Marx and Rousseau.