Books

Leviathan (1651)

Thomas Hobbes describes the necessity of an all powerful state to protect against the ‘nasty brutish and short’ state of nature

My Disillusionment in Russia (1923) 

Emma Goldman

Two Treatises of Government (1689)

John Locke attacks the idea that the monarchy has a natural right to rule and supports social contract theory and ‘government by consent’

Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

Edmund Burke argues the French Revolution will end disastrously because its abstract foundations ignore the complexities of human nature and describes the ‘little platoons’ of society

A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790)

Mary Wollstonecraft responds to Burke, attacking the aristocracy and defending the ongoing French Revolution

A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792)

Mary Wollstonecraft argues women should be given formal equality to allow them to prosper and ensure true ‘government by consent’

The Communist Manifesto (1848)

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels explain historical materialism and social alienation to a wide audience to promote class consciousness

On Liberty (1859)

John Stuart Mill defends his ‘harm principle’

The Subjection of Women (1869)

John Stuart Mill argues in favour of gender equality including that women should be given the right to vote on the grounds of individual and societal progress

Critique of the Gotha Programme (1875)

Karl Marx discusses the transition from capitalism to communism and the two phases of communism and criticises the SDAP for their alleged willingness to concede the demands of the proletariat for political gain

Das Kapital (1867-1894)

Karl Marx explains his theories of alienation, dialectical materialism and primitive accumulation

Lectures on the principles of political obligation (1895)

TH Green argues in favour of positive liberty

The Preconditions of Socialism (1899)

Eduard Bernstein argues socialism can be achieved through evolutionary change, rejecting dialectical materialism

Social Reform or Revolution? (1899)

Responding to Eduard Bernstein, Rosa Luxemburg argues that the struggle for reform is integral to building class consciousness, but must be seen as a means of accelerating the conditions for revolution

The Mass Strike (1906)

Rosa Luxemburg argues the revolution must take the form of a spontaneous mass strike

The Minority Report of the Poor Law Commission (1909)

Beatrice Webb provides the foundation for much of the modern welfare state introduced by Attlee’s 1945-51 government

The Accumulation of Capital (1913)

Rosa Luxemburg expands on Marx’s theory of accumulation, arguing imperial expansion is an inevitable product of capitalism seeking new markets for surplus labour

Clause IV (1917)

Beatrice Webb displays the support of herself and the Labour Party for the ‘common ownership of the means of production’

The Russian Revolution (1918)

Rosa Luxemburg criticises Lenin and the Bolsheviks for their creation of a centralised one party state and suppression of civil liberties

The Road to Serfdom (1944)

FA Hayek argues liberalism should return to its classical roots

On Being Conservative (1956)

Oakeshott characterises conservatism as a general attitude rather than an ideology

The Future of Socialism (1956)

Anthony Crosland argues the goal of the left should be more social equality and that this can be achieved without the abolition of capitalism

Atlas Shrugged (1957)

Novel by Ayn Rand depicting a dystopia where heavy industry companies suffer under government regulations and business owners struggle against ‘looters’ exploiting their productivity

The Feminine Mystique (1963)

Betty Friedan argues that many American women are left unsatisfied by the social pressures of the ‘feminine mystique’ and that this can be countered through education and meaningful work

The Virtue of Selfishness (1964)

Ayn Rand argues in favour of laissez-fare capitalism and social atomisation based on an egotistical view of human nature

A Theory of Justice (1971)

John Rawls argues in favour of greater redistribution of wealth with his ‘original position’ thought experiment

Anarchy State and Utopia (1974)

Robert Nozick argues in favour of a minarchist state that functions merely to enforce a ‘non aggression principle’

The Second Stage (1981)

Betty Friedan suggests that the ‘first stage of feminism’ had failed to challenge many social values and institutions, arguing in favour of affirmative action to promote equality of opportunity for social minorities

The Third Way (1998)

Anthony Giddens argues in favour of the ‘new way’, a compromise between neoliberalism and social democracy

Capitalist Realism (2009)

Mark Fisher argues modern dominant ideology involves a prevailing narrative that capitalism is the only conceivable economic system

How to Be a Conservative (2014)

Roger Scruton argues traditional conservativism takes a more tolerant approach towards human nature than socialism and liberalism as it accepts human nature for what it is, rather than seeking to change it

What is Property? (1840) 

Proudhon

The Ego and Its Own (1844) 

Stirner

Statism and Anarchy (1873) 

Bakunin

Mutual Aid (1902) 

Kropotkin

The Preconditions of Socialism (1899)

Eduard Bernstein