Description:
Authority is one of the key issues in political studies, for the question of by what right one person or several persons govern others is at the very root of political activity. In selecting key readings for this volume Joseph Raz concerns himself primarily with the moral aspect of political authority, choosing pieces that examine its justification, determine who is subject to it and who is entitled to hold it, and whether there are any general moral limits to it.
The readings--by such modern political thinkeres as Robert Paul Wolff, H. L. A. Hart, G. E. M. Anscombe, and Ronald Dworkin--examine the basic moral issues and provide an essential introduction to the debate about the nature of authority for all students of political theory.
Brief description: Joseph Raz is Professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Balliol Colelge, Oxford.
Review Quotes:
"Describes for the first time the difficulties Wesley Brown endured and the concerted effort by a 'tight knot' of Southern upperclassmen to oust him using racial epithets, ostracism, and demerits."
-"Washington Post",