{"product_id":"the-political-theory-of-possessive-c-b-macpherson-9780195444018","title":"The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism: Hobbes to Locke","description":"This seminal work by political philosopher C.B. Macpherson was first published by the Clarendon Press in 1962, and remains of key importance to the study of liberal-democratic theory half-a-century later. In it, Macpherson argues that the chief difficulty of the notion of individualism that underpins classical liberalism lies in what he calls its \"possessive quality\"--\"its conception of the individual as essentially the proprietor of his own person or capacities, owing nothing to society for them.\" Under such a conception, the essence of humanity becomes freedom from dependence on the wills of others; society is little more than a system of economic relations; and political society becomes a means of safeguarding private property and the system of economic relations rooted in property. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs the \u003cem\u003eNew Statesman \u003c\/em\u003edeclared: \"It is rare for a book to change the intellectual landscape. It is even more unusual for this to happen when the subject is one that has been thoroughly investigated by generations of historians. . . Until the appearance of Professor Macpherson's book, it seemed unlikely that anything radically new could be said about so well-worn a topic. The unexpected has happened, and the shock waves are still being absorbed.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA new introduction by Frank Cunningham puts the work in a twenty-first-century context.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e C. B. MacPherson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195444019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195444018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/18\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 328\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.60d","brand":"C. B. MacPherson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43994817364223,"sku":"9780195444018","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_96d0a0ce-dd8a-4991-b799-db6d094ecb2d.jpg?v=1683332352","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-political-theory-of-possessive-c-b-macpherson-9780195444018","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}