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

1. Identify five key themes in politics.
2. Discuss the theme of political obligation and the moral life.
3. Discuss Madison’s struggle for a creative breakthrough resolving the tension between liberty and authority in political life.
4. Discuss the burden of freedom in political life.
5. Discuss the perils of choice in the nuclear age.
6. Recognize the value of accurate information and reasonable assumptions in political decision-making.