Women, Political Philosophy and Politics

An ambitious volume, a compact but sweeping survey of major figures in the history of political philosophy on the question of women's role in politics and society ... The book is intelligent and well written ... Sperling offers a compendium of major concepts in political theory and their authors, demonstrating the sources, both ancient and modern, of the exclusion of women from citizenship and political legitimacy. Sperling's motivating thought, that understanding the philosophical past can help empower women to take a greater part in the politics of the future, is surely a sound one ... Sperling's approach challenges us to find ways of dealing with an issue that is important for the future life not only of political philosophy, but maybe also of the planet and its inhabitants. An ambitious volume, a compact but sweeping survey of major figures in the history of political philosophy on the question of women's role in politics and society ... The book is intelligent and well written ... Sperling offers a compendium of major concepts in political theory and their authors, demonstrating the sources, both ancient and modern, of the exclusion of women from citizenship and political legitimacy. Sperling's motivating thought, that understanding the philosophical past can help empower women to take a greater part in the politics of the future, is surely a sound one ... Sperling's approach challenges us to find ways of dealing with an issue that is important for the future life not only of political philosophy, but maybe also of the planet and its inhabitants.