Putting Ideas to Work

In this innovative new text, Mark Mattern offers a unique alternative to the traditional approaches to the study and teaching of political philosophy. Rather than approaching it solely as a world of abstractions, Putting Ideas to Work emphasizes its practical task. Political ideas drawn from historical and analytical political philosophy are used to help rethink current public problems and imagine potential solutions to them. Putting Ideas to Work is organized around five central tensions in political theory and practice: individual and community, freedom and equality, justice and political order, democracy and capitalism, and power and citizenship. Each section begins with a description and analysis of several contemporary public problems arising from these tensions. Key political thinkers are then drawn upon to help understand the genesis of the public problems, and to offer alternative ways of thinking about them. The text is anchored throughout to an idea of strong democracy that functions as a standard against which theory and practice are measured.

Mark Mattern has written a wonderful innovative introduction to political thought and its relevance for political practice that illuminates a host of issues for beginners and sophisticates alike. This is an important book that deserves wide attention., Focusing on the crucial connection between ideas and social engagement, Mark Mattern offers a highly original approach to the study of politics. Comprehensive and sophisticated, this book stands out as one of the most readable introductions to political theory., Mark Mattern brings political philosophy to bear on practical political questions in ways that are original, compelling, and marked by a radical commitment to democracy. Putting Ideas to Work recasts old debates with insight and clarity....., This text is one of a kind. An innovative introduction to Western political philosophy that delivers exactly what it promises to do: engage classic principles in working through the issues at stake in global commons tragedies; taxation, public spending, and social stratification; achieving equality in education, employment, and housing; promoting market freedoms alongside democratic political values, and more. There is a wealth of factual information in each thematically-organized chapter to fuel informed and respectful classroom debate on many of the most deeply-held myths of American political identity., Putting Ideas to Work fills a need for books on political theory that address political practices while simultaneously enhancing our understanding of basic concepts and tensions in the history of philosophy. Mattern offers a new and synthetic approach to political theory, which he articulates clearly and pursues systematically. Although political theorists often gesture toward political practices and marginalized groups, we seldom give practical problems the sustained attention they receive here. Mattern not only brings theory and practice together, he also creates an ongoing dialogue between mainstream and marginalized voices.

Mark Mattern is associate professor of political science at Baldwin-Wallace College. He is the author of Acting in Concert: Music, Community and Political Action.