This fourth edition of The Individual and the Political Order provides a careful, accessible, and reasoned liberal justification for the democratic state and political authority. The central feature of liberalism is the commitment to individual autonomy. The authors show how that commitment provides a defense of democracy, and they give a liberal interpretation to such core values as liberty, equality, and political authority. Although the authors support liberal theory, they also provide a sympathetic treatment of the critics of liberalism. The authors give a sound explanation of such positions as feminist political theory, communitarianism, and postmodernism, but they also argue persuasively that these theories fall short as adequate theories of the political order. A significant feature of the new edition is the treatment of international issues and globalization, particularly the war on terrorism and poverty in the third world.

Love it or leave it? individual conscience and political authority -- Utilitarianism -- Human rights : meaning and justification -- Justice -- Liberty -- Democracy -- Liberal political theory and its critics -- Ethics and international affairs -- War, morality, and terrorism.