* Introductory : the nature of political ideas - THOMSON, David * Machiavelli and the self-sufficient State - HALE, J R * Martin Luther and the "two kingdoms" - CARGILL THOMPSON, W D J * Thomas Hobbes and the philosophy of absolutism - MINOGUE, K R * John Locke and government by consent - CRANSTON, Maurice * Montesquieu and the varieties of political experience - MORRIS, G C * Rousseau and the general will - THOMSON, David * Tom Paine and the rights of man - HAMPDEN JACKSON, J * Burke and the conservative tradition - PARKIN, C W * Hegel and the Nation-State - PETERS, R S * Mazzini and revolutionary nationalism - BEALES, D E D * John Stuart Mill and the liberty of the individual -WATKINS, J W N * Marx and modern capitalism - VIGOR, P H * Recent political thought - MACINTYRE, A C * Conclusion : the idea of equality - THOMSON, David