---
title: "History of political thought"
chunk: 6/8
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_political_thought"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:00:11.308994+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== Jean-Jacques Rousseau ====
Rousseau analyzed the social contract as an expression of the general will, and controversially argued in favor of absolute democracy where the people at large would act as sovereign. The Social Contract (1762) outlines the basis for a legitimate political order within a framework of classical republicanism, becoming one of the most influential works of political philosophy in the Western tradition. It developed some of the ideas mentioned in earlier work, the article Discours sur l'oeconomie politique (Discourse on Political Economy), featured in Diderot's Encyclopédie. The treatise begins with the dramatic opening lines, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Those who think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they."
Rousseau claimed that the state of nature was a primitive condition without law or morality, which human beings left for the benefits and necessity of cooperation. As society developed, the division of labor and private property required the human race to adopt institutions of law. In the degenerate phase of society, man is prone to be in frequent competition with his fellow men while also becoming increasingly dependent on them. This double pressure threatens both his survival and his freedom.

==== G. W. F. Hegel ====
G. W. F. Hegel emphasized the "cunning" of history, arguing that it followed a rational trajectory, even while embodying seemingly irrational forces. Hegel influenced Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Oakeshott.

=== Industrialization ===

The Industrial Revolution changed societies dramatically. As a consequence, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels became the first theorists of Socialism and Communism. Their ideas were further developed by Vladimir Lenin, leading to the ideology of Leninism. Under Joseph Stalin these ideas would be further developed into Marxism-Leninism and put into practice in the Soviet Union and later the Eastern Bloc. During the Cold War, this line of thought would further result in Maoism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, Hoxhaism and Titoism.
As industrialisation enabled the rise of colonialism, this was accompanied by the ideology of Imperialism. Later, anti-imperialist ideologies would counter this, such as Gandhism and Nasserism.

=== Anarchism ===

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is commonly considered the father of modern anarchism, specifically mutualism. Peter Kropotkin is another classic anarchist thinker, who was the most influential theorist of anarcho-communism. Mikhail Bakunin's specific version of anarchism is called collectivist anarchism. Max Stirner was the main representative of the anarchist current known as individualist anarchism and the founder of ethical egoism which endorses anarchy.
Henry David Thoreau was an influential anarchist thinker writing on topics such as pacifism, environmentalism and civil disobedience – notably with his written work Civil Disobedience – who influenced later important political activists such as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Hard-lining on the individual citizen's right to seek justice over the state's, he was also an outspoken advocate and apologist for John Brown following his raid on Harper's Ferry for the purpose of abolitionist efforts, writing A Plea for Captain John Brown and The Last Days of John Brown.
Noam Chomsky is a leading critic of U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism and contemporary state capitalism, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and mainstream news media. His ideas have proven highly influential in the anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements, and aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism.

=== Austrian School ===

The Austrian school is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivations and actions of individuals along with their self interest. Austrian-school theorists hold that economic theory should be exclusively derived from basic principles of human action.
The Austrian school originated with the work of Carl Menger, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Friedrich von Wieser, and others. Among the theoretical contributions of the early years of the Austrian school are the subjective theory of value, marginalism in price theory and the formulation of the economic calculation problem.
Friedrich Hayek argued that central planning was inefficient because members of central bodies could not know enough to match the preferences of consumers and workers with existing conditions. Hayek further argued that central economic planning—a mainstay of socialism—would lead to a "total" state with dangerous power. He advocated free-market capitalism in which the main role of the state is to maintain the rule of law and let spontaneous order develop.
An economist of the Austrian School, Murray Rothbard was the central theorist of anarcho-capitalism.

=== Christian democracy ===

Christian democracy is a centre-right ideology inspired by Christian social teaching. It originated as a reaction against the industrialisation and urbanisation associated with laissez-faire capitalism. Jacques Maritain has been recognized as the leading Christian-democratic philosopher. Key ideas in Christian-democratic thought include personalism, popularism, subsidiarity, and stewardship.
In post-war Europe, Christian-democratic parties dominated politics in several nations—the Christian People's Party in Belgium, CDU and CSU in Germany, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in Ireland, and Christian Democracy in Italy. Many post-war Europeans saw Christian democracy as a moderate alternative to the extremes of right-wing nationalism and left-wing communism. Christian-democratic parties were especially popular among European women, who often voted for these parties to a large extent due to their pro-family policies.

=== Communitarianism ===

Another debate developed around the (distinct) criticisms of liberal political theory made by Michael Walzer, Michael Sandel and Charles Taylor. The liberal-communitarian debate is often considered valuable for generating a new set of philosophical problems, rather than a profound and illuminating clash of perspective. These and other communitarians (such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Daniel A. Bell) argue that, contra liberalism, communities are prior to individuals and therefore should be the center of political focus. Communitarians tend to support greater local control as well as economic and social policies which encourage the growth of social capital.

=== Conservatism ===