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The Concept of “the State” in Modern Political Thought
Author(s) -
Hindess Barry
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
australian journal of politics and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-8497
pISSN - 0004-9522
DOI - 10.1111/ajph.12319
Subject(s) - politics , history of political thought , epistemology , state (computer science) , positive economics , philosophy , political philosophy , political science , law , economics , computer science , algorithm
Quentin Skinner's magisterial The Foundations of Modern Political Thought was first published in 1978. A commemorative volume appeared almost thirty years later. My aim in this paper is less to revisit this last discussion by questioning either the importance or the impact of Skinner's book, both of which seem to me undeniable, than it is to unsettle a few of the assumptions that not only inform The Foundations and much of the work that it inspired, but which are all too often taken for granted. In particular, I note some limitations both of Skinner's use of the term “modern” and of his understanding of political thought before concluding that it may be time to reconsider the category of modern political thought.