Political Development : a critical perspective

The idea of political development is the explicit theme of this book. But behind it lie the ideas of progress and evolution - unilinear or dialectical and a uni-modal notion of rationality which define for many the heart of modernity itself. Are these ideas tenable? And even if they are, are they relevantly applicable to all domains? In what sense can we relevantly talk of progress or development in the field of, say, the arts or religion or philosophy or science? The theme of the book is thus larger than the title indicates. It deals with the modern mind as it views itself in several pursuits and the image of man built for public and private consumption.

Specifically, the theme of this study is the thought of American scholars about political development in the sixties and early seventies. The ideas of Almond, Pye, Huntington, Riggs and others are subjected to a detailed and critical scrutiny. In the process, the author also discusses the work of neo-evolutionists in the social sciences like Sahlins, and such 'classical' thinkers on the subject as Marx.