One of the key ways to gain a better appreciation of politics is to explore the thinking of the great political philosophers. These philosophers have illuminated what the good political life is, and they have bequeathed to us a heritage of profound reflection on the meaning and importance of politics.

The earliest political thinkers in the Western tradition include such philosophers as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Each of these men was dedicated to the idea of excellence and to the belief that human excellence and happiness could be achieved as part of a greater political community. Plato is famous for his classic work The Republic, which has as its central theme the question, What is justice? Plato believes that justice is the harmonious ordering of the different classes in a political community. He argues that justice would be achieved when cities are ruled by philosopher-kings, who can use their wisdom to see and do what is right. Plato places much importance on the role of education and intelligence in overcoming the problems that sometimes arise between power and justice. Aristotle, a student of Plato, was critical of his teacher for being unrealistic about what the just community would look like. Aristotle believes that the best regime combines elements of democracy and oligarchy. Plato and Aristotle represent two sides of the ongoing debate about how political ideals should guide our actions and the need to be realistic about politics.

These questions continued to concern the Christian tradition that dominated Europe for over a thousand years. Two of the most important Christian thinkers were St. Augustine and St. Aquinas. St. Augustine argued that the best that people could hope for on Earth was peace and order. Aquinas was more optimistic about the good political life on Earth and believed that political communities were necessary to fulfill man’s nature.

The Renaissance and the modern era, which, in important ways, shaped modern thinking about politics, opened with a deep concern about order and with the belief that in thinking about politics, people should be realistic. Machiavelli, although a complex thinker, was clearly a proponent of realism and a champion of the lion-and-fox approach to politics. Hobbes, who lived through the turbulent seventeenth century, was an exponent of the need for order and the need for an all-powerful sovereign who can guarantee that order.

While the contributions of these thinkers are vital to our thinking about politics, modern political theory involves a concern for democracy, freedom, and the difficulties (and hopes) posed by a changing economy. John Locke praised limited government, defended the right to property, and insisted that governments can only exist by the consent of the people. Rousseau articulated what he called the general will, which supposedly reflects the true will of all the people. As such, Rousseau is a great defender of democracy. Edmund Burke, the founder of modern conservatism, believed that the French Revolution had gone too far, that a healthy politics was built upon tradition (the successful inheritance of those who had gone before), and that we must be prudent in statesmanship.

In On Liberty, John Stuart Mill defended the ideal of personal liberty, which he took to mean that “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.” Karl Marx reminds us that economic forces shape politics to a significant degree. For Marx, human freedom can only be achieved when a classless society becomes reality after the inequalities of capitalism are overcome.

What each of these great writers reminds us is that when we think about what to do in politics, we need to understand what ideas are guiding our actions. Do we want to achieve excellence, freedom, equality, or justice? Of course, these are not necessarily mutually exclusive ideals. However, reality has a way of making us decide how to prioritize our goals.