Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

1. Explain the differences between the ideas of Plato and his student Aristotle.

2. Compare and contrast the ideas of other significant political thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Burke, Wollstonecraft, Mill, and Marx.

3. Explain the significant differences between ancient and modern political thinkers.

4. Analyze the conflict between authority and liberty.

5. Describe differing conceptions of justice.

6. Identify four elements in contemporary political philosophy.