{"product_id":"political-theory-of-possessive-individualism-hobbes-to-locke-9780195444018","title":"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\u003cbr\u003eunderpins 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\u003cbr\u003ewills 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\u003cbr\u003eunlikely 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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eC.B. Macpherson\u003c\/strong\u003e (1911-1987) was Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Widely regarded as Canada's pre-eminent political theorist of the twentieth century, he was the author of numerous books, including \u003cem\u003eThe Life and Times of Liberal Democracy \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Real World of Democracy\u003c\/em\u003e, and was named to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press Canada","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50459970142482,"sku":"9780195444018","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6ef1da35-b191-41f5-8086-992cabd5bc60.jpg?v=1730018967","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/political-theory-of-possessive-individualism-hobbes-to-locke-9780195444018","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}