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| Introduction: From the Declaration of Independence to Political Philosophy | p. 1 |
| Political Knowledge and Political Power: Plato's Apology, Crito, and Republic | p. 11 |
| What is the political lesson of the trial of Socrates? | p. 12 |
| How far is a citizen obligated to obey the laws? | p. 15 |
| In defining justice, how do we move from opinions to knowledge? | p. 18 |
| Is justice the interest of the stronger? | p. 21 |
| Is justice the fulfillment of natural needs? | p. 23 |
| Is justice conventional rather than natural? | p. 25 |
| Is the rule of philosopher-kings meant to be a realistic political goal? | p. 28 |
| Why does Socratic statesmanship require a "noble lie"? | p. 30 |
| Is there any justification in nature for the hierarchical ordering of the city and soul into three parts? | p. 32 |
| Political Science as the Study of Regimes: Aristotle's Politics | p. 39 |
| Is the best regime good enough? | p. 40 |
| Does political life fulfill a natural human end? | p. 41 |
| Are human beings the only animals with the capacity for symbolic speech? | p. 44 |
| How do selfishness and aggression influence political life? | p. 48 |
| Does Aristotle show the prejudices of his culture in his views of slaves and women? | p. 50 |
| Does Aristotle's understanding of citizenship have any application to modern democratic politics? | p. 53 |
| Does Aristotle's regime go too far in restricting individual liberty? | p. 54 |
| How should we settle the conflict between oligarchic and democratic views of justice? | p. 57 |
| How does the Aristotelian leader handle a regime that is less than the best? | p. 59 |
| Why does Aristotle teach tyrants how to preserve their regimes? | p. 60 |
| The Political Realism of Christian Theology: Augustine's City of God | p. 65 |
| Was Augustine the first political realist? | p. 66 |
| Does Christian faith perfect our reasoning about politics? | p. 70 |
| Is nature apart from God a reliable standard for politics? | p. 72 |
| Must earthly political rule always be unjust? | p. 79 |
| Must the Christian be a Machiavellian? | p. 81 |
| Natural Law: Thomas Aquinas's "Treatise on Law" | p. 85 |
| What is natural law? | p. 86 |
| Is law the command of the sovereign backed by threat? | p. 91 |
| How do human beings discover natural law? | p. 95 |
| Does the fact-value distinction refute the idea of natural law? | p. 96 |
| Is law the joint product of nature, custom, and stipulation? | p. 97 |
| Does cultural diversity contradict the idea of natural law? | p. 98 |
| Is it right to legislate morality? | p. 101 |
| Power Politics: Machiavelli's The Prince and Discourses | p. 107 |
| Is Machiavelli a teacher of evil? | p. 109 |
| What is Machiavellian virtue? | p. 111 |
| In politics does the end justify the means? | p. 115 |
| Does political order require "cruelty well used"? | p. 121 |
| Does Machiavellianism subvert popular government? | p. 125 |
| Does Machiavelli elevate political power over political wisdom? | p. 128 |
| Liberal Rationalism: Descartes's Discourse on Method | p. 133 |
| Would the scientific method of Descartes lead us to a free and rational society? | p. 134 |
| Is the Cartesian account of reason correct? | p. 136 |
| Does Cartesian science promote nihilistic tyranny? | p. 142 |
| Does Cartesian science promote technocratic tyranny? | p. 144 |
| If machines can think, do they have rights? | p. 145 |
| Individual Rights and Absolute Government: Hobbes's Leviathan | p. 151 |
| Are human beings too selfish to be naturally political? | p. 153 |
| If human beings are naturally competitive, how is political order possible? | p. 157 |
| Why should we obey an absolute government? | p. 166 |
| Can only an absolute government protect individual liberty? | p. 168 |
| Does the right to revolution subvert good government? | p. 170 |
| Is the founding of political authority on rational selfishness too idealistic? | p. 172 |
| Is the American government a Hobbesian Leviathan? | p. 173 |
| Individual Rights and Limited Government: Locke's Second Treatise of Government | p. 179 |
| Are all human beings naturally equal? | p. 180 |
| Should a just government secure private property rights? | p. 186 |
| Can liberal government combine individual freedom with political authority? | p. 192 |
| Can Lockean government secure the consent of the governed? | p. 193 |
| By what right does the majority rule? | p. 195 |
| Can the rule of law and the separation of powers secure individual rights? | p. 198 |
| Must the executive have the powers of a dictator? | p. 201 |
| What is the right to revolution? | p. 208 |
| Should women have equal rights? | p. 210 |
| Participatory Democracy: Rousseau's First and Second Discourses and Social Contract | p. 217 |
| Does popular enlightenment subvert political freedom? | p. 218 |
| Are human beings by nature asocial and arational? | p. 220 |
| Has the evolution of civilization deprived us of our natural freedom and happiness? | p. 225 |
| Does participatory democracy promote or threaten individual liberty? | p. 228 |
| Does a participatory democracy require a godlike founder? | p. 231 |
| Is representative democracy disguised slavery? | p. 232 |
| Does democracy need a civil religion? | p. 234 |
| Is a true democracy impossible? | p. 236 |
| History and the Modern State: Hegel's Philosophy of Right and Philosophy of History | p. 241 |
| Does history have an ultimate meaning? | p. 242 |
| Is every political philosopher "a child of his time?" | p. 245 |
| What is freedom? | p. 247 |
| Can the modern state unite individual rights and political duties? | p. 248 |
| Does war preserve the health of the state? | p. 253 |
| Is the United States a state? | p. 254 |
| Have we reached the end of history? | p. 257 |
| Socialism: Marx's Communist Manifesto | p. 263 |
| Do economic interests determine history? | p. 266 |
| Must capitalists exploit their workers? | p. 269 |
| Does capitalism prevent workers from finding joy in their work? | p. 270 |
| Would socialism emancipate human beings? | p. 273 |
| Would a socialist economy work? | p. 277 |
| Can we have Marx without Stalin? | p. 279 |
| Can socialism be democratic? | p. 280 |
| The Death of God and the Will to Power: Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy; Human, All Too Human; Thus Spoke Zarathustra; and Beyond Good and Evil | p. 287 |
| Do we need the illusions of mythic art to conceal the meaningless chaos of the world? | p. 291 |
| Can a free-spirited science give us "humble truths?" | p. 294 |
| Can human beings live without transcendental longings? | p. 295 |
| Is a free-spirited science compatible with modern liberal democracy? | p. 297 |
| Who is Zarathustra? | p. 299 |
| Does going "beyond good and evil" lead us to a new nobility? | p. 307 |
| Equality and Liberty: Rawls's A Theory of Justice | p. 311 |
| Are the principles of justice those we would choose under certain conditions of fairness? | p. 313 |
| Should we force the more fortunate people of our society to help those less fortunate? | p. 316 |
| Does justice require socialist equality? | p. 321 |
| Does justice require capitalist liberty? | p. 323 |
| Should we seek equality of opportunity but not equality of result? | p. 325 |
| In asking political questions, must we ask about the meaning of life? | p. 328 |
| Epilogue | p. 335 |
| The Declaration of Independence | p. 339 |
| Index | p. 343 |
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