A collection of philosophically oriented essays on the three main political ideologies of liberalism, communism, and fascism, this book provides an overview for readers who have little or no knowledge of the basic political idea systems of modern times. It offers analyses of some of the major political thinkers of the modern age: Hobbes, Locke, Burke, Jefferson, Madison, Rousseau, Marx, Lenin, Gorbachev, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Hitler, Mussolini, Khomeni, and more. For anyone who wants a better understanding of the conflicts and actions of groups and individuals who see the world through different ideological lenses.

The Philosophic Roots of Modern Ideology: Liberalism, Communism, Fascism, Islamism (3rd Edition)

Politics & Social Sciences

Matthews, Richard K.

Davison, Andrew

Ingersoll, David E.

Philosophy

PRENTICE/HALL

This book contains a series of essays written on the three main political ideologies of liberalism, communism and fascism. An analysis of each perspective is provided by discussion of such diverse figures as Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Madison, Jefferson, Dewey, Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, Mao, Deng, Gramsci, Marcuse, Mussolini, Hitler and Khomeini. Throughout the book, the reader is encouraged to examine the important connections between people's beliefs, their actions and the possible future of humanity. An important feature of this new edition is the application of ideology to three important contemporary events - Gorbachev's return to Lenin and his revolutionary approach of perestroika, Deng Xiaoping's ambivalent response to the thought of Mao Zedong and the subsequent horrific events at Tiananmen Square, and Islamic fundamentalism's challenge to both liberalism and communism. A new final chapter explores how recent ideological changes are just as likely to intensify the Cold War as they are capable of ending it.

The Philosophic Roots of Modern Ideology: Liberalism, Communism, Fascism

Politics & Government

Pearson College Div

In this provocative book Matthews argues that Jefferson was America's first and foremost advocate of permanent revolution, a democratic communitarian, and an anti-market theorist. "One of the most provocative studies of Jefferson of the last thirty years. This book effectively challenges the received wisdom of Jefferson's politics--and more generally on the origins of American democracy--in refreshing and wholly original ways."--Sean Wilentz, author of Chants Democratic "This brilliant book makes a signal contribution to the literature."--Journal of American History "Elegant and compelling. . . . On the leadng edge of the field."--John M. Murrin, coauthor of Colonial America "A fresh, intelligent, engaging reinterpretation of Jeffersonian politics . . . significant for anyone interested in Jefferson's thought."--Journal of Politics "Should be compared with Daniel Boorstin's The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson as a contemporary classic."--Perspective: Reviews of New Books

The radical politics of Thomas Jefferson: A revisionist view

University Press of Kansas

Richard Matthews argues that despite scores of books and hundreds of articles, Thomas Jefferson remains the most seriously misrepresented and misunderstood Founding Father. Matthews's Jefferson emerges as America's first and foremost advocate of permanent revolution, a democratic communitarian, and an anti-market theorist. This interpretation has been suggested in the past, but seldom has it been argued so persuasively or so intensely. It is Matthews's intent to "extricate Jefferson from the myths that surround, envelop, and ultimately distort him." The interpretation of Jefferson's idea of democracy presented here could spark new thinking about contemporary democracy.

The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson

"What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary." The ever wary James Madison viewed his fellow citizens as anything but angelic. In this radically new interpretation, Richard Matthews portrays a much less optimistic (and yet more liberal) Madison than we've seen before. Neither civic humanist nor democrat, this Madison is a distrusting, calculating, and pragmatic Machiavellian Prince. Hardly an imposing figure, Madison was barely five-feet-six-inches tall, pale complected, a poor speaker, a perpetual hypochondriac and secret epileptic, pursued by bouts of depression and given to dressing in black. And yet his political achievements and intellectual legacy are monumental. Revered as the "Father of the Constitution," Madison was also architect of the "Virginia plan"; one of the two principal authors of The Federalist; leader of the inaugural House of Representatives; reluctant champion of the Bill of Rights; cofounder of the Republican Party, Washington's ghostwriter; Jefferson's Secretary of State; and president and commander-in-chief during America's second war of Independence. Nevertheless, Madison's preeminence in the rise of the modern American state has not always been so widely recognized. And, Matthews contends, what has been written about Madison's political thought has been limited in scope and skewed in interpretation. Unlike previous authors, Matthews goes well beyond Madison's work on the Constitution to reconstruct the complete range of Madison's political thought and intellectual development over the course of his extensive life. In the process, he provides a powerful critique of Madisonian politics. It is possible, he shows, to applaud the energy, design, and intellect that went into Madison's thought and simultaneously challenge the assumptions and values upon which that thought rests. Matthews's Madison understood the potentially fatal problems of a weak, divided state; saw salvation in a strong central government astride an expanding commercial republic; drafted that government's fundamental charter; ran the infant regime as an advisor to two presidents before becoming president himself; and, in retirement, strove to control and manipulate historical interpretations of these efforts. From "The Legislator" to chief executive to keeper of the past and controller of the future, Madison adjusted his political posture to suit the moment. . . . just as Machiavelli's ideal Prince would have done. Madison's system achieved the stability he desired, but at a price Americans should have refused to pay. Provocative and controversial, Matthews's study revises our understanding of this central figure in American history. It illuminates his profound impact upon the America imagined by the Framers, his ongoing influence on the nation we have become, and the tragedy of his success in foreclosing the possibility of a radical Jeffersonian America that never was, but might have been.

If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason

Biographies & Memoirs

If Men Were Angels: James Madison and the Heartless Empire of Reason (American Political Thought)

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