Contemporary political systems : an Introduction to Government
- New York Charles Scribner 1970
- 387p.
The basic concern of this book is to explain rather than change political systems. We have not been free of particular orientations to subject matter, but neither have we been conscious of propagating or protecting an ideological posture. Our work is much too eclectic for that. With Spinoza, we "have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not bewail, nor to scorn human actions, but to understand them." Doing so is no easy task for this is a text which necessarily generalizes about a wide range of political matters which, for many persons, tend to produce passions or tensions as much as intellectual detachment and tolerance. As for textbooks on politics, it is all too often the case that they attempt to cover everything and touch little or nothing. Regarding students who use them, there is the risk that they emerge from the ordeal of reading with their curiosity diminished and their biases more or less unscathed. Where useful, we have subordinated coverage for its own sake to the goal of engaging student curiosity and challenging some of his preconceptions. Hopefully, the primary value of the book to the student lies in the pur- poseful balance of the topical and analytical materials encountered. In this connection, we have avoided excessive use of technical language since its relevance for an introductory book such as this would be lost on the typical reader. As to the teacher, we have sought to promote his autonomy by developing chapter discussions that lend themselves to the identification and elaboration of particular topics congenial to the instructor's own orientations toward lecturing and classroom activities.