Foundations of Political Theory

Harvard FAS

This course offers an overview of fundamental questions in political theory, with a focus on the meaning of individual liberty and its tension with the duties we owe to each other. It is organized around two thematic areas: first, the historical development of key political concepts (such as the ideas of justice, freedom, and authority) as they emerge in the work of thinkers like Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rawls, and others; second, normative debates about how these ideas continue to inform our…