The Civic Conversations of Thucydides and Plato

Download or read book The Civic Conversations of Thucydides and Plato written by Gerald M. Mara and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2008-07-15 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that classical political philosophy, represented in the works of Thucydides and Plato, is an important resource for both contemporary democratic political theory and democratic citizens. By placing the Platonic dialogues and Thucydides' History in conversation with four significant forms of modern democratic theory—the rational choice perspective, deliberative democratic theory, the interpretation of democratic culture, and postmodernism—Gerald M. Mara contends that these classical authors are not enemies of democracy. Rather than arguing for the creation of a more encompassing theoretical framework guided by classical concerns, Mara offers readings that emphasize the need to focus critically on the purposes of politics, and therefore of democracy, as controversial yet unavoidable questions for political theory.