Principles of politics and government

Why another introduction to politics book? The answer is the reason I decided to write this book. Most of the existing works on the subject begin by assuming that the student is already intellectually well into the field. More often than not, this is simply not the case. My purpose herein is to enable the beginning student to understand what politics and government are all about (and what they aren't). Most American college freshmen and sophomores have been ill taught or are generally ignorant about politics and government. I have bemoaned students' myths and misconceptions for two decades in large and small colleges and universities. I have attempted to get them to unlearn" the myths and to teach the basic realities of political science. We in the profession have all too often assumed that they already know these realities.
This book attempts to teach students to better understand the world environment in which government operates; to acquire a theoretical and analytical structure in which to approach questions about government; to relate Western political democracy to other governmental alternatives; to clarify the verbiage of political discourse; to examine the problems of achieving political democracy in the last quarter of the twentieth century; and to gain a historical perspective with regard to the age-old dilemma of achieving order without servitude.